Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

This interactive painting can explain why we are still obsessed with zombies

Zombies have come to mean so much more than they once did, even just a few decades ago. These shambling monsters have become metaphors for everything from the wrathful masses of Occupy, to awkward teens in high school trying to deal with love. They are the perfect symbol for people who have been treated like…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 5

Meteorite discovered in Antarctica — what could go wrong?

The International Polar Foundation (IPF) has just posted a fantastic series of pictures of a joint Belgian-Japanese research team discovering a fairly hefty meteorite near their research camp. The meteorite is about 18 kg and was discovered in the Nansen Ice Field, 140 km south of Princess Elisabeth, a zero-emissions research station in Antarctica. This…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 5

The io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s talk about Karen Lord’s The Best of All Possible Worlds.

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In February, we read The Best of All Possible Worlds, a brand-new novel from Karen Lord. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You read the book. We create a special…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 5

The man who created internet memes — before the internet

This video, known only as “The Reagans Speak Out on Drugs,” was released on VHS in 1988. It’s an almost seamless re-edit of the the famous “Just Say No” speech given by the Reagans in September of 1986 — except in this version, the President and the First Lady are doing their best to get…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 4

The io9 Calendar: Your Guide to Everything That’s Astounding in March!

In March, you can live the science fiction life pretty much every day. There are a ton of new books, and multiple cons every weekend. Get ready for a new novel from Nalo Hopkinson, alien/human hybrid consciousness in the Saoirse Ronan movie The Host, plus the premiere of BBC America series Orphan Black. And there’s…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 4

Tehran suffering plague of hyper-evolved “mutant rats”

In Iran’s capital city of Tehran, a rat infestation has led officials to claim that they’re basically in the middle of a 1950s giant animal movie, or maybe a Star Trek episode. The rats, which are said to be “bigger than cats,” are apparently the result of radiation and chemicals causing them to make a…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 4

This is a taser sword. That is all you need to know.

Now you can stab and deliver an electric shock at the same time. Plus, it’s something you can make in your garage! If this weapon doesn’t show up in the next installment of The Hobbit, I’m just going to get drunk and go home. (Thanks for the tip, @noahpinion!)

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 4

Is this the city of the future?

A century ago, we imagined futuristic cities full of hulking, steel buildings, their towers surrounded by a lace of elevated roads. But today, the future of architecture is biology. Synthetic biology architects and designers imagine cities that are made from bioengineered materials, fed by energy from sunlight. These cities sometimes look more like forests than…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 1

The software program who publishes papers in mathematics journals

Should software programs be allowed to publish papers in scientific journals? Over at the Simons Foundation, Natalie Wolchover has a terrific article about how computer programs are slowly becoming part of math departments — sometimes even as colleagues. From the article: Shalosh B. Ekhad, the co-author of several papers in respected mathematics journals, has been…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 1

Jack the Giant Slayer gives good vine, but not much else

I can kind of understand why X-Men director Bryan Singer wanted to tackle a grown-up reboot of Jack and the Beanstalk. There’s a lot of potential for amazing visuals with the giant vine that grows up to the sky, and indeed the vine VFX are absolutely spectacular in the film. Plus there are the giants,…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 1

Messing with the gods is no big deal on Supernatural

On Wednesday night’s Supernatural, “Remember the Titans,” we took yet another detour from what Kevin is up to with the tablets to investigate a zombie report. Unfortunately for Dean, who wants to kill a little zombie, the situation is a little more complex. Spoilers ahead! The guy who keeps coming back from the dead is…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 1

Virginia Woolf’s secret career as a science fiction writer who inspired Attack of the 50 Foot Woman

Sometimes you come across a satire that sounds so plausible that you wish you lived in an alternative universe where it were true. Such is the case with this article from Check Your Facts about Virginia Woolf’s pulp career writing under the pen name EV Odle to make money. The article reads, in part: Virginia…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 28

On Cult, it’s super scary when actors clash with network execs

I love this scene from last night’s episode of Cult, where we’re supposed to know that something super scary is happening because the actor who plays cult leader Billy Grimm is upset over his lines — but showrunner Steven Rae won’t listen to his complaints and be flexible! Spoilers ahead. So last week was the…

Television Annalee Newitz Feb 27

Ancient fossil reveals that Cthulhu really did live on Earth 500 million years ago

About half a billion years ago during the Cambrian period, in the early years of multicellular life on Earth, there existed a creature out of our nightmares. A scaly arthropod, distantly related to today’s lobsters and spiders, Fuxianhuia crawled along the ocean floor with those insane-looking tentacle legs. Those limbs may also have been involved…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 27

The First Pictures of Life in the Deepest Ocean Vents Ever Discovered

For the first time, we have pictures of life in the deepest hydrothermal vent ever discovered in the oceans of Earth. Hydrothermal vents are like the oases of the deepest ocean — they’re areas where the freezing waters are warmed and enriched by geothermal activity like volcanoes. In this image of the newly-discovered vent, that…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 27

Get to know the friendly side of tongue-eating parasites

In this video from NOVA, you’ll learn about how the isopods known colloquially as tongue-eating parasites aren’t just about, well, eating tongues. They also have a cool reproductive cycle, complete with hermaphroditism. Plus, you’ll get some helpful advice about checking the mouths of your favorite fish for these strange invaders.

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 27

The final episode of Black Mirror gives you Big Brother for the social media age

Last night marked the final episode in the second series of Black Mirror, the ultra-dark UK show that explores the future of media. This series, like the first, was a set of three short stories (we reviewed the first episode here), each set in the near future. Though this second series was more uneven than…

Television Annalee Newitz Feb 27

Is artificial intelligence more of a threat to humanity than an asteroid from space?

Over at Aeon magazine, Ross Andersen has a fascinating story about a group of futurists who are trying to prepare humanity for the intelligence explosion. This is the moment when artificial intelligence surpasses humanity in its ability to control the planet. For these thinkers, AI is a much more deadly threat than asteroids from space,…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 26

These instant emergency homes will be your new apartments when the next asteroid hits

When the next mega-disaster flattens your city, or just blasts all your windows out, you’re going to want one of these Modularflex disaster shelters, created by Argentinian architecture studio Proyecto 2M These shelters can be packed flat, for easy storage, and built in just half an hour. You can create a number of designs, including…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 26

Will we soon be able to predict the future of civilization?

Over at the Economist, they’re celebrating the rise of psychohistory from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Psychohistory is a possibly soon-to-be-real discipline that allows researchers to study the development of societies using science — in essence, it’s a kind of social scientific futurism. And now, a few researchers who spoke at the American Association for the…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 25

Annalee Newitz

This interactive painting can explain why we are still obsessed with zombies

Meteorite discovered in Antarctica — what could go wrong?

The io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s talk about Karen Lord’s The Best of All Possible Worlds.

The man who created internet memes — before the internet

The io9 Calendar: Your Guide to Everything That’s Astounding in March!

Tehran suffering plague of hyper-evolved “mutant rats”

This is a taser sword. That is all you need to know.

Is this the city of the future?

The software program who publishes papers in mathematics journals

Jack the Giant Slayer gives good vine, but not much else

Messing with the gods is no big deal on Supernatural

Virginia Woolf’s secret career as a science fiction writer who inspired Attack of the 50 Foot Woman

On Cult, it’s super scary when actors clash with network execs

Ancient fossil reveals that Cthulhu really did live on Earth 500 million years ago

The First Pictures of Life in the Deepest Ocean Vents Ever Discovered

Get to know the friendly side of tongue-eating parasites

The final episode of Black Mirror gives you Big Brother for the social media age

Is artificial intelligence more of a threat to humanity than an asteroid from space?

These instant emergency homes will be your new apartments when the next asteroid hits

Will we soon be able to predict the future of civilization?

Two Songs We Really Wish Were the Anime Outros for ‘Steel Ball Run’

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

US Airlines Are Hiking Bag Fees Amid Iran War Oil Crisis

This Ridiculously Simple Trick Might Stop Gulls From Nabbing Your Lunch

‘Starfleet Academy’ Season 3 Could Have Done the ‘Voyager’ Sequel Episode of Robert Picardo’s Dreams

Judge Kills Lawsuit Against Infamous Study That Might Have Increased Teen Suicides

Artemis 2: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Researchers Discover How to Add Psilocybin, DMT, and Other Psychedelics to Tobacco

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

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life