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NYU Film Student Fraud Plagiarizes His Way to Kickstarter Fame (Updated)

Kickstarter’s great! People with neat ideas can show off their concept, win over online backers, and move their brain gems into the real world. Or, they can plagiarize someone else’s cool idea and earn money (and an award). Uhhh. NYU junior film student Matias Shimada did just that, completely ripping off the premise—at some points…

Movies Sam Biddle

10 works of science fiction that are really fantasy

The boundaries between science fiction and fantasy have always been permeable, but sometimes there’s a story that feels just like scifi – until you think about it a little bit. And you realize it’s pure fantasy. Here is a handy definition of fantasy, from the venerable Encyclopedia of Fantasy: When set in this world, it…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Drones fly in formation à la a miniature robotic Top Gun

We’ve seen the zippy quadrotors of UPenn’s GRASP lab build structures autonomously. Now watch them take cues from a leader and fly as a unit. 50% of the time, the drones hover within 2 centimeters of their correct position. https://gizmodo.com/watch-a-swarm-of-flying-robotic-drones-construct-a-tiny-5734564 [Via IEEE]

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

7 new Falling Skies videos introduce the last humans left alive on Earth

We’ve got two new clips from Falling Skies, and a gaggle of character profiles that help flesh out the only human survivors on TNT’s new alien attack drama. Falling Skies tells the story of the aftermath of an alien invasion; It follows a group of survivors who must band together in order to fight back…

io9 Meredith Woerner

If Only More Civil War Reenactments Involved Vampires

Not every book is special enough to merit its very own moving picture trailer, but then again not every book is about our 16th president butchering vampires with an axe. Fortunately for history lovers and gore fans alike, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is such a book. Now is your chance to not only read about…

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Smallville and Stargate Universe come to an end, and Neil Gaiman writes Doctor Who!

This week’s television sees the last ever episodes of Smallville and Stargate Universe. Will Clark become Superman in time to save the Destiny? Plus season finales of Adventure Time, Vampire Diaries and Community. Orc Bikers! Daffy Duck’s social climbing! Ghost-angst! But quite possibly the most interesting bit of television this week is the premiere of…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Someday your existence may be condensed into 27 cubic meters

We’ve seen some tiny houses before, but the University of Hertfordshire’s Cube Project pushes the limits of how much ecologically sound living space you can cram into 27 cubic meters. Is this eco-home a harbinger of a boxy future? https://gizmodo.com/in-the-future-you-will-live-in-a-tiny-little-house-5701745 Here are the Cube’s specs: Constructed from a variety of sustainable materials, the Cube provides…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Why zapping the brain is sometimes a good idea

Electroshock therapy has been featured in many movies, usually as a total nightmare meted out by sadistic doctors on an innocent patient for no reason and with no benefit. And it’s still used today. But why? Because, despite its depiction on film, it’s painless and effective. Electroshock therapy has a bad reputation, and in some…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Japanese university can’t stop building robotic babies

Researchers at Osaka University previously brought us Affetto, the disembodied baby head who was supposed to teach us empathy (or something). Now roboticists at Osaka’s Hosoda Lab have built Pneuborn-7II and Pneuborn-13, pint-sized robots that emulate infants’ movements. https://gizmodo.com/this-robotic-infant-head-was-designed-not-to-scare-baby-5755349 The robots get their names from their tiny pneumatic muscles — Pneuborn-7II mimics the movement of…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

The mind-controlling infection that makes ants always bite at noon

There are several kinds of fungus that infect the brains of insects like ants and crickets. Each fungus controls the mind of its host, eventually killing it and sprouting from the bug’s brain. Probably the creepiest killer of all is a fungus called Ophiocordyceps. But first, some background on the whole zombie ant phenomenon. We…

io9 Annalee Newitz

First True Blood season four trailer slathers on the vampire glamour shots

A brand new promo for True Blood season four has been released. So does it show Bill’s solo misery, or the beginning of a human-vampire war? Nope. Instead we get vampire and werewolf slo-mo glamor shots. Imagine our disappointment when the first ever extended True Blood promo is just a collection of moving profiles with…

io9 Meredith Woerner

A totally insane Avengers plot synopsis claims to reveal just what Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will be up against!

We’ve got tons of Avengers plot details…assuming we can believe any of it. J.J. Abrams talks Star Trek 2, while Colin Farrell discusses the Total Recall reboot. Plus a potentially massive Green Lantern spoiler, and is The Dark Tower doomed? Top image from Immortals. The Avengers Who’s up for a supposed plot synopsis from that…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Watch a gleefully no-budget Star Trek fan film from 1971

YouTube user Ray Glasser has posted this wonderfully homemade Star Trek movie he made for his TV production class at Ohio State in 1971. Check out Spock’s sweet facial hair! He received an A- for this project. [Via Neatorama]

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

The New York Times Is Very Sorry For Getting Bilbo’s Sword Wrong

If you were one of the many New York Times readers (understandably) frustrated with some of the inaccurate coverage in last week’s sports section, fear not: The Times has apologized for writing that Orcrist the Goblin Cleaver was Bilbo’s sword. Orcrist, as everyone knows, was Thorin Oakenshield’s sword. But it’s not the Times’ fault! It’s…

io9 Max Read

Is this the most insane comic Stan Lee’s ever written?

In 1962’s Strange Tales #94, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby teamed up to create the short comic “SAVE ME FROM THE WEED!” In this tale, a weed is bombarded with radioactive dust and immediately conspires to take over the world. It’s absolutely brilliant in its simplicity. A weed becomes irradiated + bushy eyebrows that evince…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

The world’s newest mineral is also one of the solar system’s oldest

The most recently discovered mineral is krotite, which was recently discovered in a meteorite fragment. Krotite has never been seen in nature before now, and yet its origins reach right back to the birth of the solar system. The mineral has been artificially created before now as a part of certain forms of high-temperature concrete,…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

A horrifying look at mad scientist Antonio Banderas and his human guinea pig

‪ A tiny taste of Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In will make your skin crawl, which is perfect as it’s centered around mad scientist Antonio Banderas and his obsession with creating an indestructible epidermis, no matter what pain he inflicts on his test subject. The Skin I Live In The 2011 Cannes Film…

io9 Meredith Woerner

The fate of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is all in how you hold your head

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is good for at least two things: letting tourists have fun with forced perspective, and revealing a basic truth about how we understand balance. Tilting your head really can change your entire whole perspective. Pisa’s famous bell tower is tilted a good twelve feet from where its top should be,…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The monster compound that could help purify water

As more bacteria and algae are getting harder to kill, researchers are looking for new ways to eliminate them in water supplies. One idea is to unleash an electron-starved compound that will rip them apart. Bacteria swim around in water like they own the place, subdividing and spreading. When that water is heading somewhere important…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

According to German TV, anti-Starfleet rebels helped take down Osama Bin Laden

Last Thursday, German news channel N24 was discussing how the Navy’s SEAL Team Six participated in the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden. The report started out normal, but an image search snafu took the broadcast to the final frontier. Rather than show the real logo of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

NYU Film Student Fraud Plagiarizes His Way to Kickstarter Fame (Updated)

10 works of science fiction that are really fantasy

Drones fly in formation à la a miniature robotic Top Gun

7 new Falling Skies videos introduce the last humans left alive on Earth

If Only More Civil War Reenactments Involved Vampires

Smallville and Stargate Universe come to an end, and Neil Gaiman writes Doctor Who!

Someday your existence may be condensed into 27 cubic meters

Why zapping the brain is sometimes a good idea

Japanese university can’t stop building robotic babies

The mind-controlling infection that makes ants always bite at noon

First True Blood season four trailer slathers on the vampire glamour shots

A totally insane Avengers plot synopsis claims to reveal just what Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will be up against!

Watch a gleefully no-budget Star Trek fan film from 1971

The New York Times Is Very Sorry For Getting Bilbo’s Sword Wrong

Is this the most insane comic Stan Lee’s ever written?

The world’s newest mineral is also one of the solar system’s oldest

A horrifying look at mad scientist Antonio Banderas and his human guinea pig

The fate of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is all in how you hold your head

The monster compound that could help purify water

According to German TV, anti-Starfleet rebels helped take down Osama Bin Laden

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

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

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

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