These autonomous, floating robots are embarking on their first trip out along the Alaskan coast. They are headed out on a 5-month expedition to survey the melting glaciers, which researchers have long suspected are contributing to ocean acidification in the area.

Why The Destruction Of A Blue Supergiant Star Is Unlike Any Other

The recent detection of a gamma-ray burst from a massive blue supergiant is helping astronomers understand how the universe’s primordial stars ended their lives in cataclysmic explosions. But more than this, it revealed several features never seen before in a stellar explosion. Astronomers recently detected an anomalous flash of energetic radiation streaming away from a…

Maps of an Alternate North America That Never Became the United States

Imagine a world very different from our own, where North America developed not into the stable geopolitical regions we know today, but Balkanized into smaller empires, territories and republics. Visualizing such a world is a favorite past time of graphic designer Jordan Penny, who has spent the better part of a decade combining his love…

The Book You Need To Read To Understand The Economics Of Digital Comics

Want to understand what is going on in the world of webcomics and digital comics publishing? Here’s a book all about the current digital landscape, available as a crowdfunded preorder. You can also crowdfund a magical transgender TV series, a comic about an all-female space crew, and a chance to have your own superhero action…

Game Of Thrones Meets Teen Wolf? MTV Is Really Putting Shannara On TV!

This could be the most interesting new TV show of the next year or so. MTV has ordered Shannara, based on the heroic fantasy novels by Terry Brooks, straight to series. The first season will be 10 episodes, based on The Elfstones of Shannara. Top image: Doug Beekman, Sword of Shannara. As we reported last…

The World’s Most Fascinating Places, As Seen In Science Fiction Books

It’s the middle of summer — the time of year when wanderlust takes over our brains. You want to leave your home and your job and explore what the world has to offer. But here’s the next best thing — 15 books that take place in science fiction and fantasy versions of the most fascinating…

The Constantine TV Show Has Already Had A Major Change Of Direction

Judging from the extended featurettes we’ve seen so far, the pilot for NBC’s Constantine focuses on John Constantine’s meeting with the ordinary woman Liv, who gets caught up in demonic business and needs to team up with Constantine to survive. But don’t get too attached to Liv. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the character of…

The U.S. Centers for Disease control have shut down their flu and anthrax labs, citing “accidents.” Over the past month, hundreds of C.D.C. employees have been exposed to potentially deadly anthrax and H1N1 flu strains due to flubbed safety measures and sample contamination.

The Curiosity Rover Has Now Ventured Beyond NASA’s ‘Safety Zone’

Curiosity is now officially coloring outside the lines. The rover recently drove out of the area NASA had initially demarcated as safe terrain for its 2012 landing in Gale Crater. The landing ellipse established by NASA measured approximately four miles wide and 12 miles long (7 x 20 km). THe HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars…

The Remarkable Predictions And Inventions Of Winston Churchill

Though primarily known as a statesman, Winston Churchill was also a very capable futurist and inventor. From the rise of Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain to the advent of tanks, the atom bomb and synthetic biology, here are some of Churchill’s most incredible predictions and inventions. Top image: A colorized image of Winston Churchill’s…

6 Animals Shaped By Artificial Selection into Beautiful Monsters

Artificial selection, also known as selective breeding, is a nice way of saying that humans have guided the evolution of other animals until they become mutants. The stories of these six human-created mutants offer a fascinating perspective on how evolution works. The lowly pigeon. Flying Rat. Carrier of disease and dirt. They bob around our…

There Is Already Tons Of Amazing Fan Art Featuring Batgirl’s New Costume

We’re in love with Babs Tarr’s new design for Batgirl, and so are many artists who have already taken to the Internet to celebrate Barbara Gordon’s new look. Check out just a few of the Batgirl fan illustrations featuring her new costume. Cameron Stewart, who is writing Batgirl once Gail Simone’s tenure is up, is…

True Blood Titles Turned Into Cheers Is Astoundingly Well Done

Watch Merlotte’s replace Cheers in what is probably one of the best True Blood spoofs ever created. It’s really, really good. They even went back and got vintage werewolf illustrations to replace the old timey bar scenes. Created for The Wil Wheaton Project, this whole thing is just wonderful. But the cherry on top is…

Once, She Was Princess Buttercup. Now, She’s Only Fit To Be Digitized.

What happens to Robin Wright from The Princess Bride when she gets too old to be an ingenue? Find out, in this wonderfully sardonic clip from The Congress, the new movie from Waltz With Bashir director Ari Folman — exclusively at io9. In The Congress, as you can see in our exclusive clip, Robin Wright…

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Is the Most Upsetting Dystopia of All

Three years ago, audiences were blown away by Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a smart reimagining of the Apes franchise for the biotech age. Now ape protagonist Caesar is back in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, where humanity has been decimated by a plague and the planet’s future is the grimmest…

The Antares Rocket Launch Will Be Visible July 12 – Here’s How To Watch

If you’ve never witnessed a rocket launch in person, you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled this Saturday, when the launch of Orbital Sciences Corp.’s commercial Antares from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility will be visible from much of the East Coast. Here’s what you need to know to catch a glimpse. The above map shows…

See Doctor Who‘s Tenth And Eleventh Doctors Meet Their New Companions!

The new Doctor, Peter Capaldi, takes the role in just over a month. But the saga isn’t over for the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. Titan Comics is unveiling brand new Doctor Who series, in which both David Tennant and Matt Smith’s Doctors get new companions. And we’ve got the first exclusive preview pages! See for…

253 Behind-The-Scenes Images Show How Alien Came To Life

Here is an incredible collection of images sure to take over your day. Dozens upon dozens of sketches and photos show how that first Alien movie went from concept designs to prop making to sheer terror in space. Imgur user Valaquen, who runs the Alien blog Strange Shapes, has been collecting concept art and behind-the-scenes…

The Hubble Just Spotted This Odd “Star Bridge” Connecting Two Galaxies

Using the Hubble telescope (along with the natural “zoom lens” of gravitational lensing) researchers over at NASA spotted this odd star structure, which they’re describing as similar to both a spiral bridge and a corkscrew-shaped string of pearls. Close-ups after the jump. Images: NASA/ESA The structure measures in at 100,000 light-years long and is made…

The recent revelations about the NSA’s clandestine electronic surveillance programs have highlighted the risks of European dependency on U.S. technology, says a new report—which adds that Germany’s spying scandals should spur the EU to revitalize its declining science and technology sectors.