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How a caste system reshapes the bodies of ants

Two ants that begin life with the same genetic information can develop dramatically different body sizes, or a lifespan of 15 times their cohorts, depending on their place in ant society. What does ant caste teach us about humans? A group of scientists focused on “epigenetics” – the study of how environment shapes the way…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Fuel up with coffee before you race back to the 1980s (Plutonium sold separately)

Support your local nerd businesses! This Chicago coffee shop The Wormhole celebrates all things 1984 and not only do they have vintage Star Wars mugs and Ghostbusters memorabilia but they’ve also put a real-life time-traveling DeLorean, front and center. This is a wonderful thing to see. Chicago readers: Think globally, geek locally. More entrepreneurs should…

io9 Meredith Woerner

SMS Replier Not Only Automatically Replies to Texts, It Knows When You’re Driving

Aha! It looks like State Farm’s app isn’t the only app that helps keep you from texting while driving—there’s SMS Replier too. And this app will know when you’re driving. https://gizmodo.com/imagine-an-android-app-that-automatically-responds-to-t-5623867 So not only can you set customized replies, you can also choose how long you’re doing the activity, so the phone will only reply…

Tech News Jason Chen

This Week’s Best Apps

In this week’s rootin’ tootin’ roundup: Gmail, pushed; Don Draper, emulated; Phantasy Star II, had on your iPhone(!); pets, rescued, your Netflix instant queue, chewed through at any and every moment, and much much more! iPhone To view these on one page, click here https://gizmodo.com/iphone-apps-august-27-5624035 Android To view these on one page, click here https://gizmodo.com/android-apps-august-27th-5624055…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert

The New iPod Nano Is Like, Nano

After years of the same form factor, this is the new iPod nano, according to AppleInsider: More like a shuffle, it has a 3cm x 3cm screen but retains the classic 30-pin dock connector. Looks harder to use. [AppleInsider]

Tech News Matt Buchanan

Rockler Bench Cookies Make Woodworking Deliciously Easy

Woodworkers know too well the trouble of sanding an edge without screwing up a project’s finish. Rockler’s “Bench Cookies” are versatile little hockey pucks with traction coating on either side. Tap to clean. $12-four-pack. [Rockler]

Tech News Joel Johnson

Heroes and villains of imaginary worlds: A quick primer

Why does science fiction have so many heroes and villains? Why are some heroes so much cooler than others, and why can’t villains be ruthless and competent? Here’s our introductory guide to the eternal struggle of good versus evil. So you may have noticed that a lot of our favorite science fiction TV shows and…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

This mysterious cosmic eye is two galaxies in one

This strange galaxy has puzzled astronomers for six decades. Its outer ring of bright blue stars is separated from an inner cluster of older stars by a massive void tens of thousands of light-years across. First discovered by Art Hoag in 1950, the galaxy is located some 600 million light-years away and measures 100,000 light-years…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The Patents Paul Allen’s Suing the Whole World Over

If you haven’t heard, Paul Allen, mostly famous for his early role at Microsoft, has sued basically the entire tech world over patents filed by his former company, Interval. The WSJ has a more in-depth look at the patents, and who he’s suing for what. Spoiler: One of them is basically a news aggregator, and…

Tech News Matt Buchanan

Inspiring a Nation to Take War to the Skies

During World War II, President Roosevelt declared that America would manufacture 185,000 military aircraft in 1942 and 1943. To illustrate and inspire the effort, 4,500 model airplanes were hung spectacularly from the ceiling of Union Station in Chicago. The planes were hung 60 feet from the station floor, creating a dazzling tessellated representation of the…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert

New fuel cell could power your gadgets with energy from calories

Another day, another breakthrough in battery technology, guaranteed to change our lives. This one is powered by mitochondria, tiny organelles inside cells which could suck the energy out of anything with calories — like soda or oil. Sure it would be awesome, but we constantly hear of amazing battery breakthroughs, and they never end up…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Let Gizmodo’s Matt Buchanan Teach You All About The Single Man’s Burger Maker

In a piece for the New York Times’ Diners Journal, our very own Matt Buchanan took a look at one of the more important devices in any bachelor pad: The single serving burger maker. Is it worth buying? Are you better off going with a different device? You can read what he discovered about the…

Tech News Rosa Golijan

Android Apps August 27th

Fennec Alpha: It’s an official alpha version of “Firefox Mobile” on your Android phone. Gary says: https://gizmodo.com/fennec-alpha-released-for-android-and-nokia-n900-5623605 You’ll need an Android OS tagged 2.x for it to work, and Mozilla suggests it’s been tested the most on Google’s own Nexus One. And as you can no doubt tell from the tell-tale finger-work pictured above, Fennec…

Tech News Casey Chan

iPad Apps August 27

No, Human: Every once in a while you’ll come across a game that looks like it was designed by someone who only thinks of “angry birds” as a description for that one Hitchcock movie. No, Human is one of those, a blast of fresh air that is a little bit different in its game play…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert

My First 3D: The Story of View-Master

No matter your age, there’s a good chance that a View-Master was lying around either your bedroom or a friend’s. The iconic red goggles are the perfect childhood diversion—cheap and briefly amusing. They also have a long history. The principle that makes the View-Master a bit of quasi-3D fun is a fundamental one behind all…

Tech News Sam Biddle

All flashbacks are time travel

That’s basically author Frederick Reiken’s argument in this provocative post, about novels that approach time in unconventional ways. Why can we accept flashbacks so easily, even in the most conventional narratives? Because novels use “block time,” conceiving of time as space. That makes jumping between 2010 and 1986 as conceptually simple as a flight from…

io9 Kelly Faircloth

Someone Convinced Samsung’s Newest Monitors That They’re HDTVs

Samsung’s latest monitors appear to enjoy pretending they’re HDTVs in their spare time. Labeled as the 30 and 90 series, they have 1920 x 1080 worth of pixels, built-in HDTV tuners, built-in speakers, and a 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The monitors range from 21.5- to 24-inches and are priced from $270 to $330. Samsung Expands…

Gadgets Rosa Golijan

Mysterious New HTC Device “Makes the Droid 2 Look Like a Kids Toy”

The folks at BGR have gotten their hands on a rather nice-looking and great-sounding HTC device which they believe is headed to Verizon soon. Here’s what they discovered about the mystery device: Our source describes the phone as being an EVO in a larger and more polished Nexus One body; brushed aluminum, very upper end…

Tech News Rosa Golijan

iPhone Apps August 27

Google Mobile: Get pushy, Barrett: https://gizmodo.com/google-mobile-app-adds-push-notifications-for-iphone-5619733 Gmail and Google Calender notifications, pushed to your iPhone home screen? Yes please. This might be enough to lure me away from the iPhone’s native mail app. The interface, shown above, looks intuitive, and I can see it being especially helpful on the calendar side. Plus, always remember: the…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert

How Nathan Myhrvold and Intellectual Ventures Would Change the Patent System

Patents! They’re a big deal. Nathan Myhrvold‘s Intellectual Ventures depends on patents to make money, and they file a lot of ’em. So I asked him how he’d change the patent system. https://gizmodo.com/does-paul-allen-suing-the-entire-internet-prove-our-pat-5623893 Eureka is our week-long meditation on the wonders of invention, inventors and genius. Videos by Mike Short.

Tech News Matt Buchanan

How a caste system reshapes the bodies of ants

Fuel up with coffee before you race back to the 1980s (Plutonium sold separately)

SMS Replier Not Only Automatically Replies to Texts, It Knows When You’re Driving

This Week’s Best Apps

The New iPod Nano Is Like, Nano

Rockler Bench Cookies Make Woodworking Deliciously Easy

Heroes and villains of imaginary worlds: A quick primer

This mysterious cosmic eye is two galaxies in one

The Patents Paul Allen’s Suing the Whole World Over

Inspiring a Nation to Take War to the Skies

New fuel cell could power your gadgets with energy from calories

Let Gizmodo’s Matt Buchanan Teach You All About The Single Man’s Burger Maker

Android Apps August 27th

iPad Apps August 27

My First 3D: The Story of View-Master

All flashbacks are time travel

Someone Convinced Samsung’s Newest Monitors That They’re HDTVs

Mysterious New HTC Device “Makes the Droid 2 Look Like a Kids Toy”

iPhone Apps August 27

How Nathan Myhrvold and Intellectual Ventures Would Change the Patent System

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