We loved artist Sean Hartter’s “alternate universe” science fiction movie posters. Sadly, he died over the weekend, and there’s a fundraiser to pay his funeral expenses. Please give!

Scientists have engineered the world’s first glow-in-the dark sheep

Nighttime sheep-herders rejoice, for green-glowing sheep are now a thing. Two questions, though. How? And why? Photo courtesy Funcación IRAUy/J. Calvelo Here’s the how: last year, a team of researchers led by Alejo Menchaca at the Animal Reproduction Institue of Uruguay genetically modified some wooly ruminants to express a peptide commonly known as green fluorescent…

Playing favorites with children can be deadly

In eastern bluebird society, fathers favor their sons over their daughters, with brighter-colored sons winning out over their duller brothers, according to a new study. This favoritism has dire consequences for the less loved chicks, which are more likely to end up as crow food. In the last 15 years, a lot of work has…

The Limits of the Earth

This is part one of a two-part series on the limits of human growth and prosperity on planet Earth. Both parts are based on Ramez Naam’s new book, The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet. You can also read part two. https://gizmodo.com/expanding-the-planets-limits-475944711 Is the world doomed? Are we headed for a…

AOL shuts down Comics Alliance because they are jerkfaces

Sad news for comics journalism and the blogosphere, as AOL has decided to shutter Comics Alliance. Started by Laura Hudson in 2009, Comics Alliance quickly established itself as one of the biggest and best comics news-sites on the Internet, thanks in no small part to its smart criticism, progressive attitude, and wicked humor. No site…

Treasure Trove of Empire Strikes Back photos will amaze you

Just when we think we’ve seen every single Star Wars photo in existence, we find a new cache of behind-the-scenes glimpses that show just how crazy this set got. Here’s a collection of images shows just how the sausage was made in The Empire Strikes Back. Some of these you’ve seen, some you probably haven’t……

The best interview with Neal Stephenson you’ve ever heard

Over on Slate’s Future Tense, the brilliant internet law professor Tim Wu has just launched a series of interviews with science fiction writers — and he starts with Neal Stephenson. They talk about everything from Stephenson’s hope for the future to Plato’s Republic. It’s heady, awesome stuff. Look out for future installments in the coming…

On Game of Thrones, some men just want to watch the world burn

The Mad King of Westeros really, really liked wildfire. A lot. Crazy King Aerys has been dead a long time, but he still overshadows the realm — not just because those who deposed him are ruling, but also because his terrible reign raises the ultimate question: When is it okay to break your oath and…

Why Drew Goddard Should Direct the Next Star Trek Movie

Maybe J.J. Abrams will really be able to helm Star Trek 3 after Star Wars VII. But we kind of doubt it. And out of all of the people in Abrams’ orbit, there’s one guy we’d actually like to see direct the next Star Trek: Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard. (Assuming Brad Bird…

Pacific Rim’s Latest Trailer Is Even Better Than the First

When we first saw Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim back in December, it was just a tease filled with robots, creatures, loud noises and explosions. And now we have a little more insight into both the mechs and creatures from a new trailer cut with scenes from Con-exclusive footage. Pacific Rim drops in theaters July…

Freakish Pulsar Reaffirms Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity

Astronomers studying an absolutely enormous neutron star and its white dwarf companion have shown that Einstein’s calculations still work even under the most extreme gravitational conditions. And indeed, extreme is the word to use when describing this binary system. Located 7,000 light years away, the neutron star has twice the mass of our sun —…

It’s the UAE’s answer to a post-apocalyptic Vin Diesel movie

Short film “Sons of Two Suns” is being billed as the UAE’s first science fiction film. It’s about a city that’s dying of heat, and you couldn’t ask for a better landscape than Dubai to film in. The movie played at the Middle East Film and Comic Con and will be at other festivals soon.…

The last 20 seconds of this Pacific Rim trailer will make you scream

Watch the new trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim right now — and be transformed into the sandbox-squatting younger version of yourself. Pacific Rim feels like it was produced by a 10-year-old child whose only storytelling note was SMASH! And it totally works (from what we’ve seen so far). Especially that last scene in…

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo has made its first powered test flight!

Good news, spacefans: the image up top is real. Virgin Galactic’s rocket plane made history this morning, igniting its engines for the first time and hitting supersonic speeds. The achievement brings would-be passengers one step closer to a trip to the edge of space. Above: The first telescope image of SS2 in supersonic flight |…

The 9 Most Incompetent Wizards of All Time

There’s no IQ test to become a wizard. Sure, it usually takes years of training, apprenticing and studying to be able to cast spells and such, but really, any nincompoop can luck into immense magical power and make the lives of everyone near them a magical hell. Here are nine wizards that should drop their…

Introducing Morphees, mobile devices that can change their shape

Imagine downloading an app that can change the shape of your mobile phone. Researchers from the University of Bristol are looking to make it happen. The concept is called shape resolution, and a research team led by Anne Roudaut and Sriram Subramanian have added 10 of these new features to its six flexible prototypes. The…

If you’re not watching Warehouse 13, you’re kind of a bad person

We’re not judging or anything, but yeah — if you’re not watching Warehouse 13, then your soul is probably in mid-decay. And you’re part of why we can’t have nice things. Tonight’s midseason opener is a pretty good jumping-on point for all things Warehouse, too. Plus check out our guide to all the rest of…

So the Batmobile has a baby seat now, apparently

I know Batman’s whole shtick is that he’s prepared for any eventuality, which would presumably include the possibility that he may need to drive a toddler somewhere in the Batmobile. And I know he likes putting Bat-logos on things. But I still can’t help but feel this thing is a little self-indulgent. Still, the cup…

First footage from Snowpiercer looks like the Polar Express FROM HELL

From the director of The Host comes a wacky Thomas the Train-goes-to-snow hell movie titled Snowpiercer. Set in the new Ice Age, the surviving members of humanity travel the icy Earth via giant train, for reasons. Check out the very first footage! Bong Joon-ho’s post apocalyptic movie has a stellar cast including Chris Evans, Tilda…

This shirt can go 100 wears without washing and we couldn’t care less

Some kids are hawking a new line of button-ups they claim can endure 100 wears (unwashed) and come out looking and smelling like new. So what’s the big, scientific secret? https://gizmodo.com/this-shirt-can-be-worn-for-100-days-without-washing-wh-5995490 The fledgling company goes by Wool&Prince, and their secret is no secret at all: the shirts are made of wool. And while the whole…