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What if Mad Max was played by a Panda? It would look a lot like this…

What if Mad Max was played by a Panda? Kung Fu Panda goes Post Apocalyptic in this trailer for Wastelander Panda by Epic Films. It’s a whole lot of ridiculous, with a generous helping of dystopian mayhem. I think we even spotted the Panda in the Thunderdome at the end? For more information on Wastelander…

io9 Meredith Woerner Jan 24 '12

10 Most Undignified Deaths in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Death comes for everyone — but it doesn’t always come in style. Sometimes instead of a heroic death or a cool death, a fictional character will get kind of a crappy death. (Often literally.) Sometimes a beloved character will die in a totally motifying fashion. Here are 10 of the most undigified deaths in science…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jan 24 '12

Here’s the Closest We’ll Get to That Star Wars Animated Chess Set

The company that brought us the iPhone Appgun is back with another augmented reality toy. This time it’s a board game called CheckARz which takes a crack at recreating that awesome battling chess set from Star Wars, with marginal success. Using an iPad 2 running an accompanying app developed with Qualcomm, players can view an…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jan 24 '12

Avengers fine art covers present The Hulk à la Michelangelo and Al Hirschfeld

Marvel’s gearing up for the release of The Avengers with some curious promotions, but here’s one that’s pretty magnificent. Come April, Marvel will give select comics variant covers depicting Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as illustrated by the likes of Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and Monet. Here’s what they’ve unveiled so far. I wouldn’t mind having that Georges Seurat…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jan 24 '12

Clever 1-Minute Video Shows How Airplane Wings Really Work

You probably think that a wing lifts an airplane because the airflow moving over the top has a longer distance to travel and “needs to go faster to have the same transit time as the air travelling along the lower, flat surface.” Well, you are wrong. University of Cambridge’s Professor Holger Babinsky was so frustrated…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Jan 24 '12

How Do You Police Cars That Drive Themselves?

Google is already testing its autonomous cars on the roads of California, and plenty of other manufacturers are starting to muscle in on the act, too. But when they hit the roads, how do you go about policing a city full of self-driven cars? The New York Times reports that that very question is causing…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Jan 24 '12

Hunger Games’ Capitol Couture clothing line is unsuitable for deathmatches

The Hunger Games is starting its slow, inevitable fall into the Twilight marketing K-hole. This entails slapping “may the odds be ever in your favor” on anything that moves and peddling it to the disposable-cash-heavy demographic. The latest and greatest of the virtual marketing move for Hunger Games is a Capitol Couture line, which shows…

io9 Meredith Woerner Jan 24 '12

The Science of Cramming

Many of us don’t learn in optimal ways. We know that we forget new material, neglect to review older material, and study in ways that elevate cramming and procrastination to art forms. But there is research about how to be more efficient in these things. For example, dating back to 1885, there is a rich…

Tech News Samuel Arbesman - Wired Jan 24 '12

In this week’s comics, a new Airbender book is on the stands!

What can you look forward to this Wednesday? A new Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novel, Cthulhu versus The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and futuristic teens trapped in video game dystopias. Let’s hop on in! First Issues The debut issue of Infestation 2 — which promises to unite (among several franchises) Transformers, Ninja Turtles, 30…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jan 24 '12

Hideous G-Shock Phone Is Too Durable to Be Destroyed

Try to drown it, crush it with up to a ton of weight, or give it a ten-foot toss—this prototype G-Shock phone will just laugh its heinous mug at you. Why can’t super-rugged things not look like this? The phone, which appears to be running Android, is only a concept for now—so we hope Casio…

Tech News Sam Biddle Jan 24 '12

Newborn bear cubs sound exactly like humans

This is incredible on so many levels. The video you’re watching is of a black bear named Jewel giving birth to two cubs. The delivery was captured live via webcam just two days ago by scientists at the Wildlife Research Institute (WRI) in Ely, Minnesota. For those who’ve never seen a bear giving birth (I’m…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jan 24 '12

Stunning short film explores the underwater realm of manatees

In Sirenia Shadows, a short film by video production house Built By Wildman, a submarine cameraman captures the endangered West Indian manatee placidly gliding through Florida’s Crystal River. It’s a marvel seeing these sea cows serenely traverse the riverbed (without the risk of getting skimmed by some gaudy cigarette boat). [Via TDW]

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jan 24 '12

This Sandstorm Is So Big That It Could Eat The Entire Northeastern United States

Earth never ceases to amaze me. Look at this sandstorm taking over the east Atlantic from the coast of Africa on January 19, 2012. At more than a million square kilometers, it could engulf the entire Northeastern United States. In fact, it would consume Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia and parts of North Carolina. This natural…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz Jan 24 '12

Stem cells prevent blindness, suggests first-ever human trial

It’s one of the biggest milestones for stem cells since their discovery. Researchers yesterday published the first results of a clinical trial where doctors transplanted of stem cells into the eyes of patients suffering from a form of progressive blindness. And the preliminary results look very good. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were first discovered…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jan 24 '12

The 2012 Oscar nominations: Hugo soars, Andy Serkis is ignored

The Oscar nominations are out. Our only hope for a genre win in Best Picture is Hugo or Midnight in Paris, and the odds aren’t in our favor. Biggest snub of all? Andy Serkis in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Hugo is leading the pack with 11 nominations with The Artist close behind…

io9 Meredith Woerner Jan 24 '12

How To Turn Your Wall Into a Touchscreen Phone Using a Kinect

Okay, this isn’t going to be easy, but a developer has posted a video on YouTube showing how it’s possible to use an Android handset, a projector, a Kinect and a computer to create the future. In your living room. Now. In the video, he shows how, by hooking his Galaxy Nexus up to a…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Jan 24 '12

John Dies At The End is the closest thing to this generation’s Big Trouble in Little China

Based on the cult novel first serialized on the web, John Dies At The End tells the tale of two twenty-somethings who battle demons while tripping on extra-dimensional hallucinogens. The titular John, is either unstuck in time and living in multiple, parallel planes of reality, or is perhaps dead and being projected from memory by…

io9 Jordan Hoffman Jan 24 '12

Meet He-She, the most unsung comic book villain ever

For most comic fans, Two-Face is the gold standard for bilateral asymmetry (though I’m sure there’s a small band of Ultra the Multi-Alien loyalists among you). But did you know that there was a malefactor who debuted around the same time as Two-Face who was twice as weird? Meet Charles Biro’s He-She, a bad guy…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar Jan 24 '12

Julian Assange Is Getting His Own TV Show

Julian Assange has announced that he’s going to have his own TV show, where he’ll interview “key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries”, and it’s going to be hitting the screens in spring. Is there anything this man won’t do? The announcement was made on the WikiLeaks website yesterday, and explained how Assange is “uniquely placed…

Television Jamie Condliffe Jan 24 '12

Which Marvel characters will make ultra surprise appearances in The Avengers?

The head of Marvel Studios debunks two of the biggest Avengers casting rumors, while an unexpected source promises the craziest cameo yet. Plus Man of Steel adds a vital character from Superman mythos, and there are more details on the new show from Doctor Who’s Russell T. Davies. Spoilers from here on out! Top image…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jan 24 '12

What if Mad Max was played by a Panda? It would look a lot like this…

10 Most Undignified Deaths in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Here’s the Closest We’ll Get to That Star Wars Animated Chess Set

Avengers fine art covers present The Hulk à la Michelangelo and Al Hirschfeld

Clever 1-Minute Video Shows How Airplane Wings Really Work

How Do You Police Cars That Drive Themselves?

Hunger Games’ Capitol Couture clothing line is unsuitable for deathmatches

The Science of Cramming

In this week’s comics, a new Airbender book is on the stands!

Hideous G-Shock Phone Is Too Durable to Be Destroyed

Newborn bear cubs sound exactly like humans

Stunning short film explores the underwater realm of manatees

This Sandstorm Is So Big That It Could Eat The Entire Northeastern United States

Stem cells prevent blindness, suggests first-ever human trial

The 2012 Oscar nominations: Hugo soars, Andy Serkis is ignored

How To Turn Your Wall Into a Touchscreen Phone Using a Kinect

John Dies At The End is the closest thing to this generation’s Big Trouble in Little China

Meet He-She, the most unsung comic book villain ever

Julian Assange Is Getting His Own TV Show

Which Marvel characters will make ultra surprise appearances in The Avengers?

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