Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

Sitting In a Tin Can High Above the World

Over the weekend, space shuttle astronaut Steve Swanson climbed outside the International Space Station to do some repair work and inspections. Here he floats beneath one section of the growing space structure. The ISS is growing another section, which will allow more astronauts to live and do research for months at a time in space.…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 24

Black Market Body-Switching Tech from New Zealand

You know how time travel flicks can get really, really weird if they’re done right? Nothing is weirder than Event 16, a movie about what’s happening in Wellington today, tomorrow, and yesterday. I loved this low budget mindbender, even though Event 16 has some of the usual problems of time-travel movies, with a convoluted plot…

Movies Annalee Newitz Mar 24

Most Awesome Chemistry Machine at the Photon Factory

This crazy machine is a new kind of microscope that can identify a chemical based on just a few atoms. Awesomely, it sucks up intense X-ray beams from a synchrotron to do it. Developed by a research team in Japan, this method of magnifying the nanoverse is called Synchrotron Radiation Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy. Testing was…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 23

Anti-Corporate Libertarian Futurism in “The Unincorporated Man”

Imagine the late, philosophical Heinlein crossed with cheesetastic 1980s Buck Rogers TV series, and you’ve got a good feel for political economy adventure novel The Unincorporated Man. Written by California brothers Dani and Eytan Kollin, the novel has garnered advance praise from Kage Baker and Robert J. Sawyer, as well as earning its first-time authors…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Mar 23

Declassified Government Docs Reveal Secret British UFO History

Over 1,000 pages of government reports on UFO activity in Britain were revealed yesterday at the National Archives in Kew. They clearly indicate several famous sightings in the early 1990s were never solved. The opening of this treasure trove of information on UFOs comes during an increase in reports of UFO sightings in England, including…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 23

As Battlestar Ends, God Is In the Details

Battlestar Galactica concluded with a moving, pyrotechnic two-hour finale last night, wrapping up its central storyline in a way that offered closure – but only via a turn to spiritualism and anti-scientific sentiment. Spoilers ahead. First of all, let me get one thing straight. I think Battlestar Galactica was an incredible achievement – not only…

Television Annalee Newitz Mar 21

It’s Your Very Last Friday Night Battlestar Commenter Liveblog

Battlestar Galactica’s originality and vision has changed science fiction television forever, but tonight it comes to an end. Tell your fellow io9ers what you think of the finale as it happens. Spoilers ahead! I don’t have very high hopes for the episode after reading Charlie Jane’s BSG spoilerfest this morning, but I’m still excited and…

Television Annalee Newitz Mar 20

Cory Doctorow Headlines Geek Reading to Support EFF This Monday in San Francisco

Join scifi greats Cory Doctorow and Rudy Rucker, with io9 editors Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders, in San Francisco Monday night at a benefit for high tech civil liberties organization Electronic Frontier Foundation. Doctorow will be reading from his new novel Little Brother, and hopefully Rucker will read from the sequel to his novel…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 20

Watch Crazy Norwegian People Reenact the Show “Heroes”

I am confused but intrigued. Thanks, Andrew Liptak!

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 20

Researchers Discover the Secrets of Flower Sperm

Flowering plants go through a complicated double-fertilization process that involves a lot of sperm. But until today, researchers hadn’t fully understood the genetic mechanism behind plant sperm production (pictured) and how flowers have sex. Plant biologists at the University of Leicester researched the unusual plant reproduction system, trying to figure out how it works on…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 20

12 Plotholes That Must Be Filled in the Battlestar Finale

The final episode of beloved, critically-acclaimed series Battlestar Galactica airs tonight, and we feel tragic that it has to come to an end. Especially when we still have so many burning questions. 1. What, exactly, is this “plan” that the Cylons have? Remember how every episode used to begin with the promise that the cylons…

Television Annalee Newitz Mar 20

The Device Ripped His Molecules Apart and Swallowed The Haze That Remained

This glowing, massive tunnel is the gateway to a device that knows only one thing: Deconstructing life at the atomic level. Unfortunately it’s so ancient that it has forgotten how to do the reconstruction. The throat of this machine is actually a piece of huge, walk-in conceptual art by Las Vegas artist Stephen Hendee. Known…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 20

Your Brain Starts Deteriorating By Age 27, Say Neuroscientists

A depressing new study from a group of neuroscientists at University of Virgina suggests that people begin experiencing age-related cognitive deterioration in their late 20s. Published today, a summary of the study explains: Some aspects of peoples’ cognitive skills – such as the ability to make rapid comparisons, remember unrelated information and detect relationships –…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 20

How Does Shark-Jumping Really Affect Audience Numbers?

When fans say a TV series has jumped the shark, do the masses really notice? We did some research on Battlestar Galactica’s audience numbers to see if bad moments in the show drove audiences away. The chart above shows Nielsen Ratings that measure audience numbers on the Y axis, and every episode of Battlestar by…

Television Annalee Newitz Mar 19

Watch the Spacewalk via Helmet Cam for the Next 3 Hours on NASA TV

Check out NASA TV right now – you can see the spacewalk first-person-shooter style, with cameras mounted on the crews’ helmets. Cool! Not exactly sure what they’re doing, but it seems as if they’re installing the new truss on the ISS. Lots of views of Earth in between cool shots of space tech.

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 19

A Mega-Molecule That Invaded The OC

Though the upstanding citizens of Orange County, CA, tried to defend themselves against this crystalline molecule entity, their weapons were no use. Its translucent hulk dominated the skyline for years. This gigantic, plastic structure was a kid’s playground in the OC city of Irvine back in the late 1970s and early 80s, when nobody had…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 19

Giant Worm Not Actually Making Spice in Cornwall

Researchers at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Cornwall made a discovery worthy of a Frank Herbert novel: A massive, 4-foot-long reef worm that was chomping through their local corals. According to This Is The West Country: Staff eventually lured it out with fish scraps – but not before it bit through 20lb fishing line. Curator…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 19

How You Inherit Genes That Make You Smarter

This intriguing diagram shows which parts of your brain can contribute to your intelligence and how much of their smooth functioning you inherited genetically. Yes, sexual selection may be making you stupid – or smart. Medgadet has the story: Genes appear to influence intelligence by determining how well nerve axons are encased in myelin –…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 18

Astronauts Tour the Ruins of Earth’s Future

By the time the first extraterrestrials arrived on Earth, they found only the ruins of human civilization. But the landscape, at least outside in the deserts, was beautiful. Want to see what else they found? This is an extremely small sampling from the work of otaku artist Kenji Yanobe, who blends pop images from scifi…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 18

Shortlist for Prestigious UK Scifi Book Award Announced

The shortlist has been announced for the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke award has been announced in the UK, and it includes six books that should be on everyone’s “must read” list. Here’s the shortlist, posted today by SF Crowsnest: Song of Time: Ian R. MacLeod – PS Publishing The Quiet War: Paul McAuley – Gollancz…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Mar 18

Annalee Newitz

Sitting In a Tin Can High Above the World

Black Market Body-Switching Tech from New Zealand

Most Awesome Chemistry Machine at the Photon Factory

Anti-Corporate Libertarian Futurism in “The Unincorporated Man”

Declassified Government Docs Reveal Secret British UFO History

As Battlestar Ends, God Is In the Details

It’s Your Very Last Friday Night Battlestar Commenter Liveblog

Cory Doctorow Headlines Geek Reading to Support EFF This Monday in San Francisco

Watch Crazy Norwegian People Reenact the Show “Heroes”

Researchers Discover the Secrets of Flower Sperm

12 Plotholes That Must Be Filled in the Battlestar Finale

The Device Ripped His Molecules Apart and Swallowed The Haze That Remained

Your Brain Starts Deteriorating By Age 27, Say Neuroscientists

How Does Shark-Jumping Really Affect Audience Numbers?

Watch the Spacewalk via Helmet Cam for the Next 3 Hours on NASA TV

A Mega-Molecule That Invaded The OC

Giant Worm Not Actually Making Spice in Cornwall

How You Inherit Genes That Make You Smarter

Astronauts Tour the Ruins of Earth’s Future

Shortlist for Prestigious UK Scifi Book Award Announced

Artemis 2 Day 10: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

I Can’t Decide Which ‘Resident Evil Requiem’ Perspective I Liked More

I Rewatched the Live-Action ‘Speed Racer’ to Feel Something Again

Microsoft Says You Should Take Copilot Seriously but Not Literally

The Trump Administration Wants Gamers to Step Up and Fill the Air Traffic Controller Shortage

Watch a Comet Get Torn Apart by the Sun and Become a Headless Ghost

Sam Altman’s Home Hit With Molotov Cocktail, 20-Year-Old Man Arrested

‘Tales From the Crypt’ Is Creeping Onto Streaming for the Very First Time

Scientists Used Medieval Poems and Trees to Uncover a 13th-Century Solar Surge

INIU 20,000mAh Power Bank Gets Another Price Cut, Making Fast Charging for iPhone and Galaxy Even More Affordable

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