Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

A Robot Who Can Be Your Real-Life Avatar

One of the dreams of robotics has been to create a machine that can act as a remote version of its operator – like the movie Surrogates, only cool. Now a group of Korean engineers have brought us closer to this goal. According to Plastic Pals: The Korea Institute of Science & Technology (KIST) held…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 4

Give Me A Biotech Apocalypse That I Can Believe In

So Hollywood trashed the world in 2012, and scourged it in The Road. But neither apocalypse delivered the sweet tang of satisfaction. That’s because what the Earth needs now are life-distorting biotech mutation stories. Here’s why. First of all, there haven’t been very many biotech apocalypse flicks at all, even though genetic engineering and other…

Movies Annalee Newitz Dec 3

The Last Field On Earth

It’s rare to find an eco-catastrophe story that strikes a note of hope (or that doesn’t have explosions), but novelist Lydia Millet has done it in her short story “Alpha,” which you can listen to free online. It’s the story of a plant biologist who flies into a remote northern area to research a new…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 3

Where To Buy A Freeze Ray And A Spiffy New Cape

This is a rare photograph of the mystery-shrouded exterior of Brooklyn’s only superhero supply store. Want to see what they have inside? If you’re extra lucky, they’ll let you into a secret lair (behind a bookshelf, of course). Earlier this year, we wrote about the products available from the store, and now we’re bringing you…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 3

This Weekend, You Take Control Of A Science Fiction Novel On io9

Have you ever started reading a novel and thought, "Hey, why don’t they explore this idea, instead of that one?" Now is your chance to make that kind of question count. This weekend, we’ll have a livewriting event on io9. Canadian novelist MCM, creator of the awesome cartoon TV series RollBots and author of The…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Dec 3

A Sci Fashion Gift Guide: Tees, Socks, and Weirder Stuff

Your friends love science fiction, outer space, and giant monsters, but they really don’t like shopping for clothes. At. All. That’s why we’ve put together this handy gift guide to sci fashion – clothing gifts even a geek will wear! T-Shirts Need some giant monsters in your life? Try Shanalogic’s line of weird monstery goodness,…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 3

Graphic Plant Sex, In Microscopic Detail

This geranium is having sex right now, before your very eyes. Those little grains of pollen clinging to the flower’s stigma are competing to plunge their genetic material deep into this flower and reproduce. National Geographic photographer Martin Oeggerli took a series of gorgeous, and (oddly) recognizably sexual photographs of pollen in action. In this…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 3

It’s Time To Harvest Me Some Irish Zombie

In the charmingly-titled Irish flick Boy Eats Girl, a whole high school gets infected after a young zombie’s dalliance with a girl goes south. Luckily, the girl has a giant harvester and she’s not afraid to use it! Released in 2005, this movie doesn’t have much going for it other than spiritedness and gore, both…

Movies Annalee Newitz Dec 2

Somalia’s Pirates Have Created Their Own Stock Market – And It’s Booming

Excited about the booming pirate economy? Now you can get a tiny cut of Somalian pirate booty by investing in their stock market – that’s right, these pirates are now offering stock in their plundering operations. According to Foreign Policy’s Passport blog: The pirates have set up an exchange in Haradheere, the main port used…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 2

Paralyzed By Light

Just one beam of ultra-violet light left this nematode worm completely paralyzed. A second beam of visible-spectrum light allowed it to move again. That’s right – scientists have created behavioral “light switches,” a way to control animals with light. We’ve written about this kind of work before, specifically the research into optogenetics, which allows scientists…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 2

Recent Poll Reveals Massive Untapped Market for Sexbots

If you could have a personal robot that did just one thing, what would it be? That’s what futurist Mike Treder asked the readers of his blog, and the top answers revealed what we secretly (or not so secretly) suspected. Remember, this is a personal bot, so you couldn’t have it do things like run…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 2

Have We Entered The Biopolitical Age?

We’re obsessed with enhancing our bodies and tuning up our brains; already, our pop culture is full of heroic, cyborg megamutants. But what does it all mean? A seminar in Irvine, CA aims to find out, by exploring “biopolitics.” Caveat: I am a speaker at this seminar, so naturally I’m pretty excited about it. If…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 2

The Airships Floated Into the Ravine Silently, Sails Bulging With Wind

A ravine is a good place to drop anchor. The ship stays aloft, but her crew can scramble to the ground on rope ladders to forage. Best of all, it’s protection from prying eyes. This image is just one of many that made me fall in love with concept designer William Smith‘s art. I first…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 2

Winners Of The “Describe Your Favorite Bookstore” Contest

Over a week ago, we asked you to describe your favorite bookstore or comic book shop to win a giant box of free books from DelRey/Spectra. Now we’ve got our winner – and several runners-up. https://gizmodo.com/describe-your-favorite-bookstore-and-win-free-books-5407246 This was one of my favorite contests we’ve done at io9, because I love bookstores – and the next-best…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Dec 1

The Art of the Space Race

Over at Berg London, Megan Prelinger has an amazing essay about the design of advertisements for defense industry companies during the mid-twentieth century space race. Interestingly, socialist-inspired designs were used to advertise anti-commie missile systems. About this particular advertisement for Los Alamos Labs (which worked on weapons systems), Prelinger writes: The blue spot disrupts the…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 1

On Heroes, Carnies and Cockteasing Combine into Cheese

Just when you thought Heroes might have a chance of getting good again, it comes back with an episode so bad that you’ll yearn for the days when Hiro time-traveled to feudal Japan. Can’t Sylar just die already? In “The Five Stages,” he can’t. Which is just one of its many, many problems as an…

Television Annalee Newitz Dec 1

This Weekend On io9, A Mystery Will Unfold

On Saturday, find out more. And play along!

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 1

What To Wear To Your Next Scifi Warrior Queen Cage Match [NSFW]

One of the most pressing questions for young women who are about to enter the warrior battle ring for the first time is what to wear. What goes with armor? Luckily, fashion designer Rachel Freire has the answer. Freire is a London-based costume and fashion designer who loves to borrow imagery from science fiction and…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 1

What Are The Greatest Fantasy Novels Of All Time?

If you could put together the perfect list of great fantasy novels, what would they be? Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians, put together his list and posted about it over on The Week. Grossman’s list is non-ordered, so these are all ranked as equally awesome: — The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by…

io9 Annalee Newitz Nov 29

Cigar-Shaped “Mothership” Plunges Argentinian Town Into A Blackout

In the Saltan province of Argentina, hundreds of residents of a small town witnessed the arrival of a massive UFO, which hovered over the local power station. And then all the town’s electricity and phones went out for several hours. The ship is of the same type people have been seeing since the 1950s, like…

io9 Annalee Newitz Nov 27

Annalee Newitz

A Robot Who Can Be Your Real-Life Avatar

Give Me A Biotech Apocalypse That I Can Believe In

The Last Field On Earth

Where To Buy A Freeze Ray And A Spiffy New Cape

This Weekend, You Take Control Of A Science Fiction Novel On io9

A Sci Fashion Gift Guide: Tees, Socks, and Weirder Stuff

Graphic Plant Sex, In Microscopic Detail

It’s Time To Harvest Me Some Irish Zombie

Somalia’s Pirates Have Created Their Own Stock Market – And It’s Booming

Paralyzed By Light

Recent Poll Reveals Massive Untapped Market for Sexbots

Have We Entered The Biopolitical Age?

The Airships Floated Into the Ravine Silently, Sails Bulging With Wind

Winners Of The “Describe Your Favorite Bookstore” Contest

The Art of the Space Race

On Heroes, Carnies and Cockteasing Combine into Cheese

This Weekend On io9, A Mystery Will Unfold

What To Wear To Your Next Scifi Warrior Queen Cage Match [NSFW]

What Are The Greatest Fantasy Novels Of All Time?

Cigar-Shaped “Mothership” Plunges Argentinian Town Into A Blackout

Finally, a First Look at Brad Bird’s New Animated Sci-Fi Detective Movie

Two LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon Sets Land at All-Time Lows, Including the Dark Version

Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction Headphones Are Briefly Back at Their Lowest Price on Amazon

‘Man of Tomorrow’ Is On the Hunt For Maxima

HP Laptop With Microsoft 365 Hits Record Low After Multiple Price Cuts, Now Cheaper Than A16 iPad

Artemis 2 Day 9: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

How the Hands Behind Rocky Got Hired for ‘Project Hail Mary’

Google Quietly Drops Nest Cam (2nd Gen) to All-Time Low on Amazon, Turning It Into a Budget Home Security Pick

Galaxy S26 Ultra Now Available for $480 as Samsung Expands Trade-In Offers With Extra Savings on Buds4 Pro

‘The ‘American Horror Story’ Reunion Could Be a Sequel to ‘Coven’

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws