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Dark Matter May Not Solve This Galactic Mystery After All

Physicists would love to find hints of dark matter to explain the parts of the universe we just haven’t been able to figure out. Dark matter would neatly explain the strange behaviors of galaxies and oddly bent light in our universe. But a new paper may have snuffed out dark matter as a candidate for…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum Mar 12 '18

Gail Simone Is Writing a New Plastic Man Series and This Is Good News

After spending the better part of the past few months trapped in a protective stasis that transformed him into a huge egg (comics!), Plastic Man is finally back in action in the DC universe. He will also soon be headlining his own new comic miniseries, courtesy of writer Gail Simone and artist Adriana Melo. In…

Books & Comics Charles Pulliam-Moore Mar 12 '18

Apple Just Bought a ‘Netflix for Magazines’ App and Whoa, What Year Is It?

Apple exec Eddy Cue took the stage at SXSW in Austin on Monday to talk about Apple’s latest moves into content. The biggest news of the day is that Apple has agreed to purchase the all-you-can-read magazine subscription app Texture. Cue also talked about Apple’s plans for TV shows and answered questions about purchasing Netflix.…

Tech News Rhett Jones Mar 12 '18

Netflix’s Collectible ‘Patches’ Could Train Kids to Binge, Children’s Safety Group Warns [Updated]

Netflix’s latest A/B test is drawing criticism from child advocacy groups. On Friday, Variety reported that Netflix is testing collectible “patches” for some kids’ shows. These are collectible images that viewers gain access to after watching “Fuller House,” “Trollhunter” or “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” The patches are their own rewards, collecting them doesn’t offer…

Tech News Sidney Fussell Mar 12 '18

You Have No Idea How Much Christopher Eccleston Hated Working on Thor and G.I.Joe

Christopher Eccleston has rarely been diplomatic in discussing why he took roles in blockbuster comic book movies like G.I.Joe or Thor: The Dark World. But his latest declaration about the times he grabbed glitzy Hollywood roles for the cash might just be his strongest burn yet. Speaking to The Guardian in a wide-ranging interview, Eccleston…

Movies James Whitbrook Mar 12 '18

Judge Says Users Can Sue Yahoo for Massive Breach

A federal judge in California has ruled that a class action lawsuit against Yahoo related to a series of data breaches at the company can move forward. Verizon, which bought Yahoo last year for a reduced price of about $4.5 billion, had asked the judge to dismiss many of the lawsuit’s claims. Yahoo users have…

Privacy & Security Kate Conger Mar 12 '18

Why I Will Never Run and Pick Up Trash

There’s a new trend sweeping the nation—the world actually—and it’s called plogging. No, not blogging on platforms (that “plogging” came and went three years ago) but running while picking up trash. Plogging comes from the Swedish phrase “plocka upp,” which means to pick up, and publications from The Washington Post to Men’s Health are picking…

Conservation Ari Phillips Mar 12 '18

io9 Chats About the Hits and Misses of Jessica Jones Season Two

The second season of Netflix’s Jessica Jones is a bit of a mixed bag. There are lots of things to praise, especially how it handles trauma and recovery, but the slower pacing and villain issues do hold it back. We’ve released a list of some things we loved—and didn’t—about the latest Marvel series return. Now,…

Television Beth Elderkin Mar 12 '18

X Prize Offers $8 Million Dollar Bounty for Building Robot Avatars for Humans by 2021

From Power Rangers to Pacific Rim, we’ve always had the same dream: controlling a badass robot and saving the world. Now’s the time. The X Prize Foundation (stylized as “XPRIZE”) is a nonprofit helmed by Peter Diamandis that funds technological grand challenges. Since the inaugural 1996 competition, challenge themes have included adult literacy, AI, women’s…

Tech News Sidney Fussell Mar 12 '18

Ready Player One Is an Orgy of Nostalgia in All the Wrong Ways

The early reactions to Ready Player One after its screening at SXSW were mostly positive, but don’t count io9’s among them. It isn’t so much a movie about loving old video games and other cultural artifacts. It’s about loving to love those things, which makes Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of the bestselling novel feel hollow…

Movies Evan Narcisse Mar 12 '18

This Company Wants to Pay You Virtual Money to Watch Porn (and Hand Over Your Data)

A new cryptocurrency and porn platform is banking on you wanting to spank it in return for internet money. Vice Industry Token Inc. hopes that offering consumers, content creators, and distributors free “money”—in the form of its proprietary cryptocurrency—will help shake up the adult entertainment industry. The concept behind Vice Industry Token (VIT) is seemingly…

Tech News Melanie Ehrenkranz Mar 12 '18

Can We Make Sure Geoengineering Doesn’t Backfire?

Solar geoengineering—altering the atmosphere to reflect more sunlight back into space and cool the planet—has moved from the scientific fringes into mainstream climate mitigation discourse. The idea is untested, and may prove catastrophic. But a pair of researchers are now pushing back against one of its biggest criticisms: that, if a solar geoengineering scheme was…

Energy Maddie Stone Mar 12 '18

This Lego Pacific Rim Uprising Trailer Un-Cancels the Apocalypse With Thousands of Bricks

We’re already excited for what will undoubtedly be another giant robot smashapalooza when Pacific Rim Uprising hits theaters on March 23. But then someone went and painstakingly recreated the sequel’s first trailer using everyone’s favorite building toy, and now we’re also pining for some official Lego Jaeger sets. It took Brick Force Studios roughly seven…

Movies Andrew Liszewski Mar 12 '18

Thanks to the CIA, Issues of the Agency’s Most-Hated Magazine Are Now Online

Long before Wikileaks was promoting “radical transparency” in the digital age, CounterSpy was publishing a magazine that named CIA station chiefs and exposed covert operations. Now, 23 issues from its 32-issue run have been pulled from the CIA’s own archives and digitized for your perusal. We can neither confirm nor deny that the agency is…

Tech News Rhett Jones Mar 12 '18

6 Things We Loved—and 4 We Didn’t—About Jessica Jones‘ Second Season

This weekend we were reunited with the Marvel universe’s best, and drunkest, private investigator, the one and only Jessica Jones. There was a lot to like in Jess’ sophomore season, but there were some things that didn’t quite work for us. Here’s our spoilery thoughts on Jessica Jones season two. We Loved… The Alisa Reveal…

Television James Whitbrook Mar 12 '18

23andMe Data Shows That Kind People Might Have Empathy in Their Genes

Scientists have long been interested in understanding the underpinnings of empathy. Being able to share the feelings of another person plays a critical role in our inner lives, how we behave towards others, and the way human societies function as a whole. Harnessing the power of empathy, some suggest, could go a long way toward…

Biology Kristen V. Brown Mar 12 '18

Report: Things Aren’t Going So Well for Stan Lee

You’d imagine that—as one of the most important people in comics history, who always happens to have executive produced and had cameos in all of Marvel’s films—Stan Lee wouldn’t exactly have to worry about money. But according to a report from The Daily Beast, Lee’s finances are in a state of disarray thanks to people…

Books & Comics Charles Pulliam-Moore Mar 12 '18

Microsoft Wants You to Touch the VR World With a Giant CLAW

What Microsoft Research lacks in cinematography skills, it’s making up for with super-fun solutions to virtual reality’s biggest problem: the lack of real-world feedback. In a blog post published late last week, Microsoft detailed four different experimental methods for delivering haptic feedback, including a cane that would allow the visually impaired to “see” in VR,…

Tech News Alex Cranz Mar 12 '18

Absurdly Super-Sized Lighter Makes Playing With Fire Extra Fun and Even More Dangerous

Our brains are hard-wired with an unhealthy fascination with fire, and humanity will probably never get to the point where we treat it with as much respect as it deserves. But that’s because playing with fire is always so much fun! And watching videos of mad inventors building super-sized, flame-throwing lighters undoubtedly scratches a primitive…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski Mar 12 '18

These Early Humans Prospered During What Should Have Been a Devastating Volcanic Winter

Around 74,000 years ago, a massive caldera erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggering a prolonged and devastating volcanic winter. Scientists have speculated that the Toba eruption pruned back human populations to a considerable degree, but new research published today suggests at least one group of humans living in southern Africa not only managed…

Human History George Dvorsky Mar 12 '18

Dark Matter May Not Solve This Galactic Mystery After All

Gail Simone Is Writing a New Plastic Man Series and This Is Good News

Apple Just Bought a ‘Netflix for Magazines’ App and Whoa, What Year Is It?

Netflix’s Collectible ‘Patches’ Could Train Kids to Binge, Children’s Safety Group Warns [Updated]

You Have No Idea How Much Christopher Eccleston Hated Working on Thor and G.I.Joe

Judge Says Users Can Sue Yahoo for Massive Breach

Why I Will Never Run and Pick Up Trash

io9 Chats About the Hits and Misses of Jessica Jones Season Two

X Prize Offers $8 Million Dollar Bounty for Building Robot Avatars for Humans by 2021

Ready Player One Is an Orgy of Nostalgia in All the Wrong Ways

This Company Wants to Pay You Virtual Money to Watch Porn (and Hand Over Your Data)

Can We Make Sure Geoengineering Doesn’t Backfire?

This Lego Pacific Rim Uprising Trailer Un-Cancels the Apocalypse With Thousands of Bricks

Thanks to the CIA, Issues of the Agency’s Most-Hated Magazine Are Now Online

6 Things We Loved—and 4 We Didn’t—About Jessica Jones‘ Second Season

23andMe Data Shows That Kind People Might Have Empathy in Their Genes

Report: Things Aren’t Going So Well for Stan Lee

Microsoft Wants You to Touch the VR World With a Giant CLAW

Absurdly Super-Sized Lighter Makes Playing With Fire Extra Fun and Even More Dangerous

These Early Humans Prospered During What Should Have Been a Devastating Volcanic Winter

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