Cheryl Eddy

Sharks Can Remember What They’ve Learned For A Year, Probably Longer

Last year, we found out that sharks have social personalities. Now comes evidence that they can identify shapes and optical illusions — and remember what they’ve learned for a full year, and maybe even longer. https://gizmodo.com/do-sharks-really-have-social-personalities-1641619317 In a new study published in Animal Cognition (read the full scientific paper here), Institute of Zoology researchers from…

American Junk Food Is Officially Ruining The Children Of The World

Food habits are getting worse around the world, even in countries with traditionally healthy diets. The reason, according to a new series of obesity studies, is Western junk food. And since the makers of said junk food specifically target children with advertising, the problem is only likely to get worse. Reports the New York Times:…

New Study Reveals Smoking Weed Is 114 Times Safer Than Drinking Booze

It’s a long-held belief, not just among stoners, that marijuana is the safest drug. A new scientific study comparing the risks associated with various drugs backs this up, and proves that weed might even be safer than we thought. The study looked at alcohol, heroin, cocaine, tobacco, ecstasy, meth, and cannabis; the way they appear…

The Truth About The Future Of The Skeptic Movement

Daniel Loxton is the editor of Junior Skeptic, a periodical aimed at kids that’s bound into every issue of Skeptic magazine. He’s also an artist (the image above is from one of his three books about dinosaurs), a cryptid enthusiast, and a passionate advocate of the skeptic movement. We caught up with him right after…

Iron Is Better Than Fluoride At Preventing Cavities, But There’s A Catch

Materials scientists studying beavers have discovered why the crafty rodents never get cavities: the enamel in their teeth is rich in iron. Iron, they found, resists acid more effectively than fluoride. Scientific American reports: If you zoom way in, tooth enamel looks almost like the weave of a basket “where each thread is made from…

Why It’s Amazing News That Takashi Miike Is Adapting This Scifi Manga

Well, this is exciting: cult-beloved Japanese director Takashi Miike is planning a live-action adaptation of popular manga Terra Formars, described as “a crazy, bloody, adrenaline-pumped action-sci-fi-horror series.” Yes. We like that. All of that. The manga is set in the year 2577, when the first six humans land on Mars … which has spent the…

Drug-Resistant Malaria Is On The Verge Of Spreading Into India

In Southeast Asia, the malaria parasite has been steadily building resistance to the drug that’s used to treat it. This scary news, but even worse: the resistance is on the verge of spreading into densely populated India. This data comes from a new study in infectious diseases publication the Lancet (read the scientific paper here).…

We Like This Theory About The Simpsons, But We Don’t 100 Percent Agree

On his Bad Astronomy blog, Phil Plait puts forth a novel theory about the mysterious location of Springfield, hometown of the Simpsons. His come-to-Homer moment springs from the recent episode that featured Elon Musk (“The Musk Who Fell to Earth“), specifically a scene, pictured below, in which the SpaceX CEO is staring up at the…

Stare In Awe At This Fiery Footage Of A Solar Eruption In Progress

The Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) project satellite captured this dazzling, hypnotic footage of a solar eruption yesterday. SOHO is a joint effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA; its purpose, besides capturing incredible images like the one above, is “to study the internal structure of the Sun, its extensive outer atmosphere and…

How much do you know about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space? This detailed profile sheds light on the cosmonaut’s life and accomplishments, as well as her struggles.

Wonder Woman Movie Will Begin Filming This Fall

Get the invisible jet ready: the standalone Wonder Woman movie, starring Gal Gadot and directed by Michelle Maxwell MacLaren, will begin filming in the fall, with a summer 2017 release planned. Gadot will first appear in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

A Creepy-Cute Vintage Illustration Of A Vampire Bat

From the British Library archives comes this delightful plate from naturalist J. Leyland’s “Adventures in the far interior of South Africa; including a journey to Lake Ngami, and rambles in Honduras,” circa 1866.

Update: Science Fiction Bookstore Borderlands Will Stay Open!

Here’s a huge chunk of happy news to brighten your Sunday: San Francisco’s scifi and fantasy bookstore, Borderlands, will stay open for at least another year thanks to a successful sponsorship campaign. YAY! If you’ll recall, the beloved institution (which we here at io9 are huge fans of, for many obvious reasons … and the…

There’s Still Plenty Of Time To Celebrate World Pangolin Day!

It’s the third Saturday in February, which means … it’s World Pangolin Day! (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) This CNN post offers some ways to celebrate (get a pangolin tattoo!), with a link to this clip of Randall (the guy who let the world know that honey badgers don’t care) sharing some fun facts about everyone’s favorite…

Did an asteroid hasten the spread of black death in Europe? Dendrochronologist and author Mike Baillie says that tree rings “reveal a major event just before 1350. Something catastrophic,” similar to the Tunguska event, changed “the composition of the atmosphere and provided ideal conditions for a lethal infection to spread,” making the population more vulnerable…

Scan Reveals This Buddha Statue Has A Mummy Inside

This is no ordinary Buddha statue. As the CT scan at the right clearly shows, there’s a mummy concealed inside! This fascinating artifact is currently on display as part of a mummy-themed exhibit at the Netherlands’ Drents Museum (link also offers a glimpse of a particularly rad cat mummy). It’s the first time the “Buddha…

A World-Weary Puppy In Antarctica, Circa 1912

This poignant image (cheer up, buddy!) of a pup named “Blizzard” was taken in 1912 by Antarctic adventurer Frank Hurley, who two years later would be the photographer on Ernest Shackleton’s famed Endurance Expedition. This shot is from the First Australasian Antarctic Expedition, which set out in 1911. Over a period of years, Hurley visited…

Rumor: Taron Egerton Is Your New Han Solo

Wait, who? Get to know the name, because 25-year-old Welsh actor Taron Egerton, formerly known as “breakout star of Kingsman: The Secret Service” is rumored to be playing young Han Solo in the second standalone Star Wars film. (This builds on the rumor that the second standalone Star Wars film, slated for 2018, is actually…

Frozen Meets The Thing In This Adorably Vile Claymation Mash-Up

Animator Lee Hardcastle shares his latest creation, a lovingly gory, amazingly accurate claymation sequence that imagines what would happen if the Frozen gang enacted the blood-test scene from John Carpenter’s The Thing. The answer? Magic. Magic happens. Though it would prefer not to spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!

In Honor Of Lunar New Year, Here’s An Underwater Lion Dance

Happy Year of the Sheep! Here’s something you don’t see every day: divers performing a Chinese lion dance … underwater. With a big ol’ reptilian buddy providing some verrrry slow backup moves. This shot was taken at the Lunar New Year celebration February 19 at the Aquaria KLCC underwater park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (AP…