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Saw Writers Crafting A “Recalibration” Of Halloween, Whatever That Means

Everyone settle down, the Saw writers aren’t remaking horror classic Halloween (again). Instead, they are “recalibrating” the series… whatever the hell that means. THR is reporting that Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (who penned four out of the seven Saw movies) are working on the project, which is going out of its way to announce…

Why The Human Brain Isn’t As Special As We Think It Is

The human brain is special. Just not that special. To understand animal minds, and our own place in the living world, we should remove ourselves from centre stage. Tommy the chimpanzee got his day in court on October 8th, 2014. He was unable to attend the hearing in ‘person’ – spending the day, like any…

This freezing pan makes ice cream from scratch in just seconds

Some people claim that ice cream tastes best just made, so Alton Brownwent down to try it at Three f(x) Ice Cream & Waffles in Jacksonville, Florida, where they make ice cream to order. They have a machine that stays at -30°F (-34.4°C) and cools the mixture in seconds. As reader Tsalonich points out, this…

Yes, There’s A Masculine Side To Estrogen

Male aggression is commonly pinned on testosterone, and estrogen is credited with imparting females with maternal instinct – but the true story of the sex hormones, and their roles in male and female behavior, is a lot more subtle. Here’s why estrogen is an important hormone for males and females alike. Photo Credit: Flickr user…

Doctor Who‘s Kate Lethbridge-Stewart Is Getting Her Own Audio Spinoff

The no-nonsense daughter of Doctor Who’s beloved Brigadier has been a welcome addition to the Who-niverse in the past few years. Now, she’s getting her own spinoff series as part of Big Finish’s collection of Doctor Who audio dramas. But the news could have far reaching implications beyond just Kate… First, here’s the good news…

The R&D Machines That Push Your Smartphone ‘Til it Breaks

Ever wondered what machinery smartphone firms use to test out those shiny handsets they keep shifting by the truckload? I have. Well, they spend a full six months of the phone’s now-year-long pre-release life just checking if they’re fit for purpose, so that’s got to be some pretty interesting, exhaustive probing and pummelling. So I…

A Researcher Just Published 10 Million Real Passwords and Usernames 

Security consultant Mark Burnett has just published 10 million passwords along with their corresponding usernames. It’s a thoughtful offering to other researchers—but a legally risky move given the current legal situation surrounding hacking. Usually, passwords are released alone to researchers, but that prevents them from analyzing how username and password might go together. Burnett has…

Finally, A Real Netflix For Comic Books Is Here

If you’ve moved from single comic issues to reading them digitally, you know it can still be kind of pricy. But the online ebook service Scribd has just announced it’s added a massive comics library to its service, allowing users to read all the comics they want for one monthly fee, beginning today. A few…

Tell Us Some Six-Word Science Fiction Stories!

Science fiction epics can stretch onwards through hundreds of thousands of words, but you can spin one for us in just six? We want to hear your very best (but also very, very brief) science fiction stories! Whether you have a potentially Faustian internet bargain to strike (Terms: tldr; for immortality, click agree. – dkasper)…

This Extraordinary Shot Of Jupiter Was Taken From The Earth’s Surface

Normally, images as detailed as this infrared shot of Jupiter can only be captured by space-based telescopes or planetary probes. But this picture, taken with a special camera on the Subaru Telescope, was captured from our planet’s surface. Ko Arimatsu of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency used the Infrared Camera and Spectrograph (IRCS) to capture…

New Video Standard Will Allow 8K Laptop Screens

If you think your 4K laptop drips with graphical power, remember that all things are relative—and a new video standard will allow laptops to make use of 8K screens. The Video Electronics Standards Association has unveiled the Embedded DisplayPort 1.4a. It’s a new video transfer format, and it uses compression to squeeze more data into…

​The Legend Of The Surgery With The 300% Mortality Rate

Robert Liston was a competent surgeon who contributed significantly to medicine as a science. Then he had the misfortune to have one seriously bad day, and became a legend in the medical community. A Scottish surgeon who practiced all over Britain, he earned respect for his skill in amputations. Liston practiced in the early 1800s,…

Patrick Stewart Wants To Team Up With Hugh Jackman in Wolverine 3

Aside from last night’s big Spidey news, The Flash casts a Walking Dead alum as an enemy of the Atom, while another Marvel hero is returning to Agents of SHIELD. Plus, sneak peeks at what’s in store for The Returned, Supernatural, Once Upon A Time and more. Spoilers Now! Top image: X-Men: Days of Future…

A New Government Agency Will Fight Digital Terrorism

In the wake of the Sony Pictures hack the Obama administration is to establish a new government agency which will “combat the deepening threat from cyberattacks,” according to the Washington Post. The newspaper explains that, later today, the president’s counterterrorism chief will announce the new agency, which will be known as the Cyber Threat Intelligence…

This is why most action movies today suck so badly

The majority of action films today suck. They became repetitive formulas. Sterile displays of visual effects, annoying camera movements, and happy ending duels between the hero and his foes. Luckily, there are exceptions. Chris Stuckmann analyzes why this happens in this interesting video. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Watch How a Real Kidney Grows From Cells Into an Organ

We all grow from small bunch of cells into fully-fledged adults, but rarely do we get to see the process in action. In this video, researchers have peered into a mouse kidney, to watch how cells branch out to form the organ’s internal pipework. The images, a time-lapse created by Nils Lindstrom from the University…

The Best Spy Comedy Is: Get Smart

It’sspy week here at io9, and every night we’ll be highlighting a particularly stellar example of spy fiction. Tonight: parody and humor. And the king of it all, Get Smart. (Don’t worry, you’ll get the chance to tell me how wrong I am.) There are a lot of spy comedies out there. In movies, there’s…

California’s submitted a plan to the EPA to bring it into compliance with federal safe drinking standards, after 2,5oo instances where the state authorized oil and gas operations in protected water aquifers. 140 of 2,553 injection wells were actively injecting oil-field fluids into “good water quality” aquifers. [New York Times]

Amazing aerial photos show Las Vegas like you have never seen it before

After capturing the most amazing images of New York ever,Vincent Laforet is using the same technology to photograph other major cities around the world. This is Las Vegas. The results are even crazier than NYC—with this unprecedented clarity and from this vantage point, Sin City looks like the world of Tron. Unreal. Click on the…

In This Short, The Ghost Only Appears When You Hold Your Breath

This short focuses on two men who visit a location with woman who can only be seen when they hold their breaths. For an under-five minute movie, there’s a lot going on here that’s plenty eerie. [via Vimeo Staff Picks]