An Iceberg Rises Above The Frozen Water Of Greenland’s North Star Bay

As a support scientist for NASA’s Operation IceBridge mission, Jeremy Harbeck spends most of his time processing data at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. But it was on a recent visit to Greenland that he snapped this striking composite image of an iceberg frozen into North Star Bay. According to NASA: He had…

Two Candy-Crazed Monsters Battle For Sweet-Tooth Supremacy In This Short

Brown-eyed beastie Chubzilla may seem like a harmlessly delusional fellow (except for all the indiscriminate stomping), but don’t get between him and dessert. Seriously, DON’T. This thesis film was co-directed Elizabeth Lee and Dominik Koscinski, students at New York City’s School of Visual Arts. [Via Kuriositas]

Texas Storm Spawns Baseball-Sized, Windshield-Smashing Hailstones

A severe storm front in Texas spawned many inches of rain, multiple tornadoes, and hail huge enough to smash windshields last week, according to the National Weather Service. (Thankfully, no injuries were reported.) This baseball-sized hail fell April 26 near Rising Star, 150 miles southwest of Dallas. Photo: Ben McMillan via AP

Two Leading Biologists Discuss The Next Step In Saving The Planet

Edward O. Wilson made his name by arguing that human society and the natural world are governed by the same principles. Sean B. Carroll made his name by unifying the study of humans and animals, showing that development in both is driven by the same fundamental molecular and genetic processes. So what happened when these…

io9 Newsstand: The Best Stories from the Week of April 26 – 30

Just two more April stories to check out this week (the May stories mostly aren’t out until Monday). A short, fun tale of alien invasions and a beautiful story for library lovers. In the House of the Seven Librarians by Ellen Klages | Uncanny Magazine Perhaps, for a while, some citizens remembered the old library,…

Josh Trank Will Not Direct The Second Star Wars Anthology Film After All

The official announcement came directly from the Star Wars website: Fantastic Four director Josh Trank, a mysterious no-show at the recent Star Wars Celebration convention, will not direct the second Star Wars Anthology film after all. Here’s the statement that was posted yesterday: Josh Trank, who was attached to direct the second Star Wars Anthology…

These Baby Falcons Would Like To Wish You A Very Pleasant Saturday

Oh yeah and if you have any worms or whatever, insert ‘em HERE! K thanks! This pair of li’l baby falcons was born on a farm near the northern Serbian town of Coka. Once they’re grown, these birds of prey will be trained for falconry, a practice which dates back to 2,000 BC. AP Photo…

Watch An Emormous ‘Plasma Snake’ Erupt From The Sun

Over the course of April 28–29, a gigantic filament, briefly suspended above the surface* of the sun, broke off and created an enormous snakelike eruption of plasma that extended millions of miles out into space. The event was both powerful and beautiful, another demonstration of the incredible energy and activity of our home star… and…

Artist Redesigns Marvel Comic Characters As Retro Pulp Heroes

In honor of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, artist Chris Schweizer (creator of the historical adventure comic Crogan’s Adventures) took Marvel’s heroes back in time, turning them into characters from an old-school pulp adventure story. Yes, I think we need this comic now. See more of Schweizer’s pulp Marvel heroes, including Pulp Daredevil, Pulp Luke…

Watch The Trailer For What Could Be The Scariest Documentary Ever

If the new trailer is any indication, the latest documentary from Rodney Ascher (last seen deconstructing The Shining with Room 237) is going to deliver what it promises: nightmares. The Nightmare takes on the peculiar phenomena of sleep paralysis and night terrors. Here’s the synopsis; the doc will be out June 5: The movie chronicles…

Which TV Show Squandered Its Potential The Most?

Nobody ever pitches a TV show thinking it’s going to be an epic disaster. People always start out with a good, or maybe a great, idea. And some shows just… go way off course. It’s a complicated process akin to juggling live hamsters, and mistakes are made. Which TV show had the greatest potential and…

How Should We Address Science’s Selective Memory?

At Slate, Ben Lillie reflects on the ongoing battle between those who would build a colossal, $1.5-billion telescope atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea and the native Hawaiians who regard the dormant volcano as a sacred place. The conflict, says Lillie, is emblematic of a larger, and largely unspoken, truth about science: that many of its milestones…

Watch Buildings Appear Before Your Very Eyes In Construction Timelapses

What was it like to watch Disneyland’s fanciful structures, Las Vegas’ Luxor hotel, or One World Trade Center go from their first girders to their completed stated? These timelapse videos follow days and weeks of construction, letting us watch buildings appear in a matter of minutes. A 30-storey hotel near Dongting Lake, China, built in…

Watch The Shock Waves Made By Different Guns

Schlieren photography lets us see the interference patterns in light created by the different densities in the air that the light passes through. This video uses it to let us look at the shock waves given off by different guns. What you see is what you get with this one. The Splash Lab, which usually…

Been meaning to catch up on animated shows like Steven Universe, Adventure Time, and Rick and Morty? Starting today, Hulu Plus subscribers can binge on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim shows. Well, there go our weekend plans.

Watch Over 20 Minutes Of Glorious Mad Max: Fury Road Footage

We’ve got the mother lode of Mad Max: Fury Road footage right here, right now. Behold gratuitous sand ‘sploding mayhem and madness as only Mad Max can deliver. It’s spectacle and blistering stupendousness all on film! Warner Bros. just release six Mad Max clips and a monstrous B-roll. Now feast your filthy eyes on the…

Incredible Short Film The Reward Gets An Equally Amazing Prequel Film

The Reward was one of our favorite short films of 2013, a dialogue-free animated tale of two men who go on a heroic quest and become great friends in the process. Now the creators have released a longer prequel film and are raising funds for a webseries. The First Hero tells the backstory behind the…

The Buzzkills At The British Medical Journal Want To Ruin Your Weekend

British Public Health Doctor Fiona Sim says it is time that alcoholic beverages be treated the same way as other food items in the EU. Labels on alcohol products should indicate caloric value in addition to other nutritional information. Most adults who drink, she says, are quite unaware of the energy content of their preferred…

Channing Tatum To Star In The Forever War Movie

The movie adaptation of Joe Haldeman’s Forever War has been in development purgatory for forever. But now there’s a full-on bidding war for a Forever War project in Hollywood, and surprise, it’s starring Channing Tatum. THRis reporting that Sony, Warner Bros. and another nameless studio are all fighting to make scifi novel Forever War into…

One Of Superman’s Powers Has Reverted To Its Original Form

Over the years, Superman’s power-level has fluctuated rapidly, as writers have given and taken away some of the Man of Steel’s abilities in order to embolden or humanise him. But in this week’s Superman #40, Clark Kent underwent one change that brought him back to a level not seen in over 70 years. Warning: Minor…