Suspended Animation Now Possible — Using Sewer Gas

Scientists have unlocked the secret of suspended animation, a state of “undeath” where the body’s metabolism shuts down but all major organs continue to function. Hydrogen sulfide, also known as sewer gas, may be the miracle substance that finally allows humans to stay alive in a frozen, non-aging state. In science fiction, of course, suspended…

The Man Receives His Own Excelsior

Proving that you only have to die creatively instead of literally before receiving any kind of lifetime achievement award, Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee will be given the first “New York Comic Legend Award” as part of this year’s New York Comic-Con. The award recognizes not only his amazing contribution to the comic medium, but…

You Can Plan The Kessel Run with a Map of the Star Wars Galaxy

Okay, this may be my new favorite thing on the internet: A map of the Star Wars galaxy, letting you know just how to get from Dantooine to Endor, and what other planets you pass on the way. It apparently originally appeared in the first issue of The Official Star Wars Fact File in 2002,…

Spirit, the Mars Rover, Left to Die Before Its Time

The brave, unflagging Mars rover Spirit, who has lived on the Red Planet for almost four years, has been given a death sentence by the U.S. government. Right now, the little robot is resting on a sunny slope, waiting out the winter and preparing to do more tests on the Martian atmosphere. But now it…

Eddie Murphy Is The World’s Lamest Spaceship

The basic plot idea of Eddie Murphy’s next scifi movie is utterly brilliant, and has the potential to create an instant classic. But the execution, from Norbit director Brian Robbins, looks to be utterly awful. In Meet Dave (formerly known as Starship Dave), Murphy plays a starship shaped like a human, with a tiny crew…

See Inside Dragonball’s Mexican Hell-Pit!

This morning we have spoilers so intense, they earned someone a cease-and-desist letter with the Hulk on it. There are rumors about the Iron Man movie, and a new set picture from the live action Dragonball. There are also new hints about Lost, Smallville and Battlestar Galactica. And comic-book spoilers for Marvel Comics and the…

Anyone that has a WIFI Guardian installed on their PC (that encrypts what you do online by connecting you through a secure US or UK server) will be able to download the BBC iPlayer from www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer. The BBC iPlayer allows you to watch the last 7 days worth of BBC programmes. You can only use…

A New Street Drug That Boosts Your Brain’s Ability to Get High

It turns out the gateway drug for amphetamine addiction is a substance provided by your own brain. The culprit protein is called DAT, so named because it is a dopamine transporter — and dopamine is the feel-good, get-motivated neurotransmitter that keeps you happy, hungry, and full of energy. Just as some people are born with…

Torchwood Shocks Our Nipples With Sudden Greatness

Wow. The latest Torchwood episode was amazing, and not just for this chloroforming, nipple zapping scene. If only “Fragments” had aired during season one, preferably as the second or third episode. It would have made the BBC’s Doctor Who spinoff seem like a much cooler show, and might actually have improved the other episodes. Spoilers…

NASA’s Probe Will Buzz Titan Landing Site

NASA may have failed to prove there’s an underground ocean on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, but now scientists claim they’ve found outstanding new evidence that there may be a vast ocean under the surface of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. In this newly released image, Titan peeks out from behind Saturn while another moon, Tethys, streaks past…

Futurama Made Out of Lego

Matt De Lanoy, aka Pepa Quin the Lego-making sci-fi geek, made this diorama of Planet Express, the spaceship in Futurama, out of Lego. You’ll notice Leela’s shooting at somebody and Fry is about to go into the suicide booth. Fun times. This is on display at the Northbrook Lego Store in Illinois until April. More…

Creepy Corporate Data-Sucking Machines of the Future

It’s time to monetize your datastream. You’re generating all this data while you surf the web: what you buy, what you read, where you work, where you vacation, your current favorite music/video, where you bank, and of course what you’re talking about in email. Shouldn’t there be some way to commoditize all that? I mean,…

The Secret Origin of the Ray Gun in Science Fiction

We’ve told you all about our favorite rayguns, blasters, flechette pistols, and laser guns before, but where did they all come from? Laser pistols are as identifiable with science fiction as rocketships, aliens, and robots, even though the first laser wasn’t invented until 1960. So what spurred science fiction writers to start arming their characters…

Sci Fi Must Be Pretty Above All?

Never mind the quality, dig the visuals. That’s the sentiment being expressed over at Warren Ellis’s Whitechapel message board, where fans are talking about the films that may not be very good, but are still very watchable. What are their suggestions for what looks great but ultimately tastes less so? Says one: We’re not talking…

Do Bosses Dream of Electronic Secretaries?

Why bother with a wage-earning, vacation-taking, lunch-going human female when a machine could do her job without asking for a single benefit or sick day? This 1962 ad for a table-top-sized answering machine (which appeared in Business Week, then aimed at an almost entirely male readership) showed management the way of the future. According to…

Welcome Back Starbuck! Every Leak, Hint, Rumor or Spoiler There Is to Know About Battlestar Season 4

Starbuck and Boomer clown around on a recent episode of Canadian scifi show Hypaspace — and show a bit of new footage from the next season of Battlestar Galactica, airing April 4. With two weeks still to go, a surprising amount of information and footage from the new season has already leaked out or been…

Robo-Bear Armed with a Canon Awaits His Perfect Shot

An armored polar bear, living in a future where bears have been uplifted into an intelligent but militarized species, controls a massive canon with a big old lens. But even though he’s waiting to make his perfect shot, he manages to fall asleep while bunnies hop around his massive, armored paw and on his giant…

Nothing Can Stop The Machine-Gun Zombies, Except A Grenade

What would happen in a shootout between two zombies with machine guns? Would they just keep shooting each other endlessly without accomplishing anything? We’re lucky we have movies like Dead Heat to answer these tough questions for us. Also, if you’ve ever wondered what Vincent Price would sound like if he channeled an undead Mr.…

Sample The Hugo Selections Online

You can read several of the stories and novellas on the Hugo nominations list, including Elizabeth Bear’s “Tideline,” Ted Chiang’s “The Merchant And The Alchemist’s Gate,” Gene Wolfe’s “Memorare” and Nancy Kress’ “The Fountain of Age” online. The novel nominees include Michael Chabon’s Yiddish Policeman’s Union, Charles Stross’ Halting State, Ian McDonald’s Brasyl, and John…

Contest: Make the Best Fake Footage from New “Star Trek” Movie

We’re tired of waiting for leaked footage from the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie, and so it’s time to make some up. Over the weekend, we got our knickers in a bunch about some fake footage allegedly from the new Star Trek flick, and the guys over at Trek Movie subsequently hired a Romulan…