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Greenland’s Ice Sheet Melting Faster than We’ve Ever Seen

It was just yesterday when we showed you what would happen if you got too close to a melting glacier in Greenland — a disturbing glimpse of what’s becoming a regular fixture in that part of the world. And now, as we find ourselves having to endure yet another scorchingly hot July, new data from…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 25 '12

Biologists now say that red tide algal blooms could be the ‘killer of the ocean world’

Scientists have long known that so-called red tide phytoplankton is toxic to marine life, but new research from the University of Connecticut is suggesting that it’s actually far deadlier than we feared. Professor Hans Dam from the Department of Marine Sciences has sounded the alarm on the red tide, saying that it could have grave…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 25 '12

Buckyballs Magnets Have Been Banned by the Feds (Updated)

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has just banned the sale of Buckyballs, those magic magnets that can be shaped any which way, because the balls are a serious health hazard for children. It’s the first stop-sale order by the CPSC in 11 years. Update: The CPSC contacted us saying that the CPSC is “actually suing…

Tech News Casey Chan Jul 25 '12

This Magnesium Firestarter Will Impress Fellow Outdoorsmen—And Maybe Save Your Ass

If you get lost in the woods, sooner or later you’re going to run out of waterproof matches. Right? Or at least that’s why I always go hiking with a block of magnesium in my bag. This handy firestarter tool takes that rudimentary lifesaver to a magnificent new level. The Magnesium Fire Starter from Kaufmann…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Jul 25 '12

The Best Gaming PC for $1500 or Less

Ah, July. School’s out, the sun is up and the days are long. You know what that means? It’s the perfect time to go inside and play video games. You’ve squeezed all the entertainment you can out of the old Xbox 360’s circa-2005 hardware. It’s time to think about a new machine dedicated to real,…

Tech News Alex Castle Jul 25 '12

Cops retrieve woman’s body from river — turns out to be a sex doll

What is it with people confusing sex toys for organic matter these days — and why does it keep happening in China? https://gizmodo.com/newly-discovered-chinese-mushroom-turns-out-to-be-an-ab-5919849 Eighteen policemen spent an hour struggling to recover the (very deflated) inflatable sex doll pictured up top from a river in China’s Shandong province, after mistaking it for a woman’s body. “Officials…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jul 25 '12

Another Reason Not to Fear Robots Just Quite Yet

I think most of us have accepted the fact that one day robots will become so advanced that they’ll take over the planet and enslave mankind. But until that day comes, we’ve still got a good five or six years when we can mock their feeble attempts to imitate humans. “Haha! Way to climb the…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski Jul 25 '12

What Science Can Tell us About James Holmes’s Brain

As humans, it’s only natural for us to search for explanations in the face of senseless violence. So it’s no surprise that people have floated many weird and offensive theories to explain the tragic shootings late last week at a movie theatre in Colorado, that left 12 people dead and dozens more injured. http://gawker.com/5928324/is-james-holmes-a-nerd https://jezebel.com/lets-not-blame-the-aurora-shootings-on-james-holmes-not-5928571…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 25 '12

This Smallville Collection Is Your Going-Out-This-Weekend-Kryptonite Deal of the Day

Why does everyone love Superman so much? I’ve never been all that into him as a superhero. Too powerful. Too alien. I guess it helps that he looks human? Or that he had TEEN ANGST like the rest of us? That must be it. But just to be sure, you can check this collection of…

Tech News J.D. Levite Jul 25 '12

Bioluminescent whales soar in the first beautiful trailer for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi

Not one single word is spoken in the first ever trailer for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, which is perfect. Words could only have distracted from the insane beauty of this wildly theatrical magical realist movie. Fingers crossed, the boy and his tiger friend eventually come upon the carnivorous plants on the mystical floating islands…

io9 Meredith Woerner Jul 25 '12

Shooting Challenge: BUGS!

Two years ago, we hosted our first bugs Shooting Challenge. The results were unreal. Now, it’s time to top yourselves. https://gizmodo.com/shooting-challenge-bugs-5581568 The Challenge Take a photo of one or more bugs. The Technique Macro lenses will rule for this one, but don’t be afraid to take a photo without macro—just be sure to check your…

Tech News Mark Wilson Jul 25 '12

Newly discovered deep-water fish are some of the strangest and nastiest creatures on Earth

National Geographic is reporting on how marine biologists working off the coast of New Zealand have pulled up a number of rare and unknown species of fish from more than a mile down. After taking a look at them, however, the scientists would probably do well to put them right back down where they found…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 25 '12

You Never Have To Remove This Automatic Replacement Lens Cap

Point and shoot cameras typically feature built-in lens caps that automatically snap shut when the camera is powered down. But larger cameras don’t, which is what inspired the creation of the X-Cap. It attaches to a camera lens like a removable cap, but features an opening that automatically opens and closes when the lens is…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski Jul 25 '12

The Bots That Run Wikipedia

Wikipedia is probably the most impressive crowdsourced endeavor in history, but if you think that every little edit is being clacked out in the basement lair of some volunteer, you’re way, way wrong. Wikipedia relies on an army of bots to keep the quality of articles high and trolls at bay. The BBC has a…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Jul 25 '12

The 50-Year History of NASA’s Revolutionary Sky Crane

NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory will set down on Mars, via a revolutionary landing system dubbed the “sky crane”. The idea is to lower the rover from the delivery spacecraft, as the latter hovers above the surface of Mars. Once the rover has landed, the delivery vehicle will touch down at a safe distance. The idea…

io9 Ron Miller Jul 25 '12

First images from Cloud Atlas show off the wild face implants of the future!

Feast your eyes on the very first images from the movie adaptation of David Mitchell’s time jumping novel Cloud Atlas. The movie features a massive cast of big name actors (Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant and more) playing multiple roles throughout time, from the 19th century to the future. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly we…

io9 Meredith Woerner Jul 25 '12

The io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s talk about Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In July, we read Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You read the book. We create a special book club post on io9…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jul 25 '12

OS X Mountain Lion: All the Good Stuff

The public release of OS X Mountain Lion is available for download now. Is it worth it? Should you upgrade? We’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know. https://gizmodo.com/mountain-lion-review-os-x-needs-a-new-vision-5928783 Mountain Lion Review: OS X Needs a New Vision Bad news, people. As expected, nothing has changed in the final version of OS X…

Tech News Gizmodo Jul 25 '12

This graph of whooping cough cases in Washington State should scare the crap out of you

The United States is in the middle of its worst whooping cough (aka pertussis) outbreak in over half a century, but few states have been hit as hard as Washington. This graph, released just a few days ago by the CDC, compares the state’s pertussis cases in 2012 against those documented in 2011 — and…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jul 25 '12

Why Aren’t All Fireworks As Awesome As This One?

Check out this amazingly fun firework. It’s actually a flying vehicle powered by fireworks that propel it up in a spiral of fire. It apparently uses different stages, until the final one explodes in a ball of light. I love normal fireworks, but I want to see them used in more non-conventional ways. [Pork] It’s…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Jul 25 '12

Greenland’s Ice Sheet Melting Faster than We’ve Ever Seen

Biologists now say that red tide algal blooms could be the ‘killer of the ocean world’

Buckyballs Magnets Have Been Banned by the Feds (Updated)

This Magnesium Firestarter Will Impress Fellow Outdoorsmen—And Maybe Save Your Ass

The Best Gaming PC for $1500 or Less

Cops retrieve woman’s body from river — turns out to be a sex doll

Another Reason Not to Fear Robots Just Quite Yet

What Science Can Tell us About James Holmes’s Brain

This Smallville Collection Is Your Going-Out-This-Weekend-Kryptonite Deal of the Day

Bioluminescent whales soar in the first beautiful trailer for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi

Shooting Challenge: BUGS!

Newly discovered deep-water fish are some of the strangest and nastiest creatures on Earth

You Never Have To Remove This Automatic Replacement Lens Cap

The Bots That Run Wikipedia

The 50-Year History of NASA’s Revolutionary Sky Crane

First images from Cloud Atlas show off the wild face implants of the future!

The io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s talk about Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon

OS X Mountain Lion: All the Good Stuff

This graph of whooping cough cases in Washington State should scare the crap out of you

Why Aren’t All Fireworks As Awesome As This One?

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