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Slavemaker ants bend only the strongest rivals to their will

Slavemaker ants raid other ant colonies to bring back pupae, who then grow up to be the labor force. Now it turns out these social parasites show remarkable strategy and intelligence in choosing their future slaves. Nature is often very brutal, but even so slavemaker ants are really something else. Like other ant colonies, they…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

In 1978, Darth Vader’s actor spoiled the Empire Strikes Back’s ending to a local newspaper

In 1978, David Prowse, better known as Darth Vader’s body, spoiled The Empire Strikes Back to a cheering crowd in Berkeley, California…two years before Empire came out. But did Prowse actually know the ending, or was this sheer coincidence? Here’s how vinvectrex from The Retroist describes the above clipping: [M]y mother was good to keep…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

On Supernatural, everybody just wants a piece of those monsters

Friday night’s Supernatural, “Family Matters,” managed to pack a hell of a lot into one episode. Now we know the secret connection between Grampa, Sam, and the monsters. And the answer will send the brothers on a quest. So what’s the deal with Sam having no soul? As we learned in the teaser for this…

Television Annalee Newitz

Doctor Who’s Amy Pond goes gorgeously Art Nouveau!

What if Doctor Who’s TARDIS landed in Paris around the turn of the 20th century, and Amy Pond found herself the subject of Alphonse Mucha’s gorgeous illustration? It might look a bit like this. And check out medieval River Song. The Amy Pond illustration is the work of fantastic artist Bill Mudron, who has created…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

November Books Bring Greg Bear’s deep-space mystery and steampunk secrets

In this month’s books, Greg Bear serves up disaster in deep space, while a beautifully designed book sheds new light on steampunk. Plus medieval utopias, star-crossed loves, and a flaming zeppelin! Steampunk Reloaded, ed. Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (Tachyon Publications) This lavishly designed compilation offers up short fiction, essays, comics, collage art, and a…

Books & Comics Kelly Faircloth

Walking Dead gets a second season, twice as long as the first

There’s plenty more shambling to be had — Frank Darabont’s TV adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s end-of-the-world zombie comic has been picked up for a second season! That’s not all, the new season will have a total of 13 gore-filled episodes. Here’s the full press release from AMC: (New York, NY – November 8, 2010) AMC…

Television Meredith Woerner

Study Shows Some Evidence Of Human Precognitive Powers

A new scientific study shows that humans may have some ability to predict the future. In particular, “participants correctly identified the future position of erotic pictures.” It’s long been regarded as pseudo-science or simple lore, but precognition – that is, the ability to not just predict but to actually perceive the future – is getting…

io9 Clay Dillow - Popular Science

What Karen Joy Fowler learned from reading The Hobbit as a child

“I learned how to comport myself among trolls, elves, hobbits or goblins. I learned that a friend can be lost to greed and avarice. I learned that solving riddles may be as important a survival skill as bowmanship. I know how to talk to a dragon and that it’s best not to. Added to the…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

A computer that can predict hurricanes up to ten years in advance

Currently, we’re only able to predict the next year in hurricanes with any accuracy. But a new system that incorporates 35 years worth of hurricane data has found patterns that could predict hurricanes a decade in advance. UK researcher Doug Smith used a computer model known as DePreSys, which is currently used to make general…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

News article from 80 years ago warns of the impending robot age

Anxiety over the mechanization of labor isn’t a new phenomenon. In 1931, Modern Mechanics asked, “Is man doomed by the machine age?” Learn about the dangers of “robot music” and how miniature golf is a catalyst for economic progress. https://gizmodo.com/robots-are-stealing-our-jobs-and-the-love-of-our-childr-5665664 Perhaps my favorite segment from this retrofuturistically fascinating article is the part where theater musicians…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Producer of Space Battleship Yamato dies after falling off a ship called Yamato

Yoshinobu Nishizaki, the 75-year-old producer of the Space Battleship Yamato animated series, marketed in the United States as Star Blazers, has died. The producer, whose real name was Hirofumi Nishizaki, reportedly fell from the steamship Yamato, which was anchored off the coast of Tokyo’s Chichijima Island before its trial voyage. He was wearing a wetsuit,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

The brains of human and Neanderthal babies were almost identical

When we’re born, our brains are pretty much indistinguishable from those of our extinct Neanderthal relatives. Were our ancestors really so different from Neanderthals after all? It’s a major ongoing debate among scientists as to how intelligent Neanderthals really were. Although there’s a entrenched popular notion that Neanderthals were dullards compared to modern humans, recent…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The only thing you need to see from last night’s Simpsons Treehouse of Horror

Maybe our expectations were a little high, after compiling the best moments of past Treehouses of Horror, but last night’s Simpsons special was a bit lackluster. However, there were at least two few funny jokes — and here they are. https://gizmodo.com/the-10-best-moments-from-the-simpsons-treehouse-of-horr-5683045 The Simpsons’ best bit might have been the all monster-parody of The Office. Which…

Television Meredith Woerner

Celebrate the work of Octavia Butler — and win an e-reader packed with great science fiction!

Want to help make the future of science fiction more diverse — and possibly win an e-book reader full of amazing writing by writers of color? Enter the Carl Brandon Society’s drawing to support the Octavia Butler Memorial Scholarship fund. The Octavia Butler Scholarship sends two writers of color to the Clarion writers workshops every…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Three days of Mad Max-style mayhem: an exclusive look at the cars, the weapons and the gear!

Fans of the greatest post-apocalyptic movies of them all, the Mad Max trilogy, met in the desert for three days to reenact life in a radioactive oil-thirsty post-apocalyptic wasteland. And we’ve got the bloody, sexy photos to prove it. We told you about Wasteland Weekend — three days of Mad Max-style carnage and post-apocalyptic punkness…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

How you can help Neil Gaiman’s “The Price” get made into CG movie

An unknown filmmaker is attempting to bring his eerie vision of Neil Gaiman’s short story “The Price” to life, with Gaiman’s blessing. But this project needs your help — here’s how. Animator and filmmaker Chris Salmon has started a Kickstarter page in attempt to raise enough money ($150,000) to bring his CG-animated vision of “The…

Movies Meredith Woerner

Pluto is once again the solar system’s biggest dwarf planet

Pluto lost its status as a planet because of the discovery of Eris, another Kuiper Belt object that was slightly larger. But now Pluto has put Eris back in its place. Astronomers were long uncomfortable with Pluto as a planet, because its small size and eccentric orbit didn’t make it a good match for the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

German scientists discover “altruism gene” associated with giving money to charity

German scientists have discovered that a variation in a certain gene corresponds with a greater propensity to give money to charitable causes. The researchers looked for variants of the COMT gene, which is involved with the release of dopamine. Variations of the COMT gene, COMT-Val and COMT-Met, are equally common among human populations. Prior to…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Ask guest editor Edgar Wright your questions now

Tomorrow Scott Pilgrim director Edgar Wright will be stepping in as an io9 guest editor. So now’s your chance to ask him anything you want. Write your questions for Edgar Wright in the comments.

Movies Meredith Woerner

Iron Man’s biggest challenge, Star Wars’ greatest Jedi and Fringe’s deadliest secret!

Things television has in store for you this week: A double dose of Bruce Campbell! More Fringe and The Walking Dead! King Arthur in high school! A Jedi team-up on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Plus some amazing so-bad-they’re-great movies! Today: There’s no new Scooby Doo – Mystery Inc. tonight, but there is a new…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Slavemaker ants bend only the strongest rivals to their will

In 1978, Darth Vader’s actor spoiled the Empire Strikes Back’s ending to a local newspaper

On Supernatural, everybody just wants a piece of those monsters

Doctor Who’s Amy Pond goes gorgeously Art Nouveau!

November Books Bring Greg Bear’s deep-space mystery and steampunk secrets

Walking Dead gets a second season, twice as long as the first

Study Shows Some Evidence Of Human Precognitive Powers

What Karen Joy Fowler learned from reading The Hobbit as a child

A computer that can predict hurricanes up to ten years in advance

News article from 80 years ago warns of the impending robot age

Producer of Space Battleship Yamato dies after falling off a ship called Yamato

The brains of human and Neanderthal babies were almost identical

The only thing you need to see from last night’s Simpsons Treehouse of Horror

Celebrate the work of Octavia Butler — and win an e-reader packed with great science fiction!

Three days of Mad Max-style mayhem: an exclusive look at the cars, the weapons and the gear!

How you can help Neil Gaiman’s “The Price” get made into CG movie

Pluto is once again the solar system’s biggest dwarf planet

German scientists discover “altruism gene” associated with giving money to charity

Ask guest editor Edgar Wright your questions now

Iron Man’s biggest challenge, Star Wars’ greatest Jedi and Fringe’s deadliest secret!

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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