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Check Out The Frozen Easter Eggs That Snuck Into Big Hero 6

The animators behind Big Hero 6 hid a few Easter eggs from other Disney films in San Fransokyo, including a few from Frozen. See how Olaf the Snowman and Prince Hans found their way into Big Hero 6. These aren’t the only Frozen nods that folks have spotted in the movie. For one thing, as…

Ezra’s Jedi Trial On Star Wars Rebels Is More Brutal Than We Expected

The big tease for this week’s episode of Star Wars Rebels was that Frank Oz would be reprising his role as the voice of Yoda. But what was truly interesting was not the return of the old Master, but Ezra’s own “Luke on Dagobah” moment and what it reveals about Ezra — and Kanan. We’re…

Of Course 23andMe’s Plan Has Been to Sell Your Genetic Data All Along

Today, 23andMe announced what Forbes reports is only the first of ten deals with big biotech companies: Genentech will pay up to $60 million for access to 23andMe’s data to study Parkinson’s. You think 23andMe was about selling fun DNA spit tests for $99 a pop? Nope, it’s been about selling your data all along.…

Our Best Glimpse Yet Of The Andromeda Galaxy

You’re looking at the biggest and sharpest image ever taken of the Andromeda Galaxy. Though it only includes one third of the massive celestial object, the image contains a jaw-dropping 1.5 billion pixels. At that resolution, it would require more than 600 high-definition television screens to display the entire image. The full size original image…

Punk’s not dead: Scientists have named a particularly spiky-looking snail after late Clash rocker (and environmentalist) Joe Strummer. Alviniconcha strummeri “lives in clusters around deep-sea hydrothermal vents” and its shell “is a myriad of colors due to chemicals found around the vents, and sometimes features Mohawk-like spikes.”

io9 Book Club Is in Session! Let’s Talk About The Three Body Problem

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In December, we read Cixin Liu’s The Three Body Problem, translated by Ken Liu. 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…

A Planet Whose Oceans Are 10 Billion Years Old

Earth’s oceans have been around for about 4 billion years, but they’ve changed a lot since the early millennia when they covered the whole planet and harbored methane-loving microbes. On a super-Earth, however, oceans might persist for more than twice as long — with intriguing results. Photo by bierchen via Shutterstock A group of researchers…

Report: A Radically Redesigned 12-Inch MacBook Air Is Coming

Everyone’s been waiting years and years for a meaningful update to the MacBook line. According to a report from 9to5 Mac, this will be the year that a new design will arrive. The blog just published a few renderings based on details from unnamed Apple employees. And if they’re correct, this new MacBook looks awesome.…

Samsung’s 110-Inch 8K Glassesless 3DTV Is Beautiful and Awful

Since we last checked-in on Samsung’s 8K television prototype a year ago, the technology has progressed considerably. The new model that Sammy is showing off at CES is a huge 110-inch monster. Its resolution is even more infinite than I remember it. And then, they switched on the glassesless 3D and I almost threw up…

The Ultimate Guide To 2015’s Science Fiction And Fantasy TV

This is going to be a huge year for science fiction and fantasy television, including some major A-list creators (Jonathan Nolan, Chris Miller and Phil Lord!) coming to the small screen to make beautiful love your eyes and faces. This is your year, people! Here’s our complete guide to 2015’s science fiction and fantasy television.…

Nikola Tesla’s Incredible Predictions For Our Connected World

We might complain that it’s 2015 and we’re still waiting on our hoverboards. But if Nikola Tesla were alive today, he’d probably wonder where the hell our fuel-free, super fast airplanes were. And who could blame him? Fuel-free planes aside, he actually predicted a lot of 21st century technologies quite accurately. The January 30, 1926…

The Mountains of Antarctica, Hidden Under 40,000 Years of Ice

Under its flat icy expanses, Antarctica is, like any other continent on Earth, wrinkled with mountains, ridges, and valleys. But only with radar can we penetrate through 40,000 years of accumulated ice and see the craggy landscape hidden below. Winter is in full swing for us in the northern hemisphere, but summer is just getting…

​Traveling With Two-Factor: How To Access Your Accounts Abroad

With massive security hacks now coming on what feels like a weekly basis, two-factor authentication has become a modern necessity. But, leave the country and getting that access code can become a lot more difficult than just waiting for a text. Here’s what you need to know and do before your next trip. What’s Two-Factor…

Driving a BMW Remotely With a Smartwatch Feels Preposterously Dangerous

The BMW I3 is a lovely hunk of automobile, the kind of vehicle you would save up for years to buy, and then polish with a diaper. Hold on there, sir. Do you really want to drive this masterpiece of engineering with a Samsung Gear S smartwatch? At CES BMW is illustrating how the future…

Razer’s $200 VR Headset Is Not Worthy Yet

Razer just announced a bunch of ambitious things here at CES, including an open source initiative to jumpstart the virtual reality ecosystem, complete with its own VR headset to get devs started. Is that headset any good, though? Uh… let’s just say it’s no Oculus. Keep in mind that the headset I just tried is…

FLIR’s New Tiny Predator-Vision Thermal Camera Now Fits Any Device

We loved everything about the compact FLIR ONE thermal camera the company announced at CES last year, except for the fact that it was initially only available for iOS devices, and it required your phone to be trapped inside a fairly cumbersome case. So the company decided to fix that, revealing a tiny new version…

Researchers Turn DNA Into Robotic “Transformers”

Inspired by full-sized mechanical parts like hinges and pistons, researchers at Ohio State University have designed pieces of DNA that could eventually be used to construct nano-scale robots. The new paper, which now appears in PNAS, is the first to show that macroscale design principles can also be applied to DNA to produce intricate, dynamic,…

LG’s Ludicrous 8K TV Is Too Insane For My Eyes To Handle

4K is for losers. The real mind-blowing screens at this CES are the giant 8K prototypes that will seriously blast your eyeballs. I just saw LG’s 98-inch 4K-times-four OLED screen, and yes, it was absolutely insane. I’m not sure exactly how insane though because my eyes just aren’t good enough. I don’t even know how…

Why You Hear Things When Someone Grabs Your Mouth

At Yale University there is a robot that can make you hear what it wants you to hear. It does so by grabbing the corners of your mouth with string. But it’s not the threat of pain that messes up your ears. It’s the “head-had” effect. A lot of factors influence what we hear. Only…

Don’t Sleep On The Reissue Of Kilian Eng’s Stunning Art Book Object 5

Swedish illustrator Kilian Eng does the kind of mindblowing science fiction artwork that looks like concept art for the greatest movie you’ve ever seen. And his first book collection, the sold-out Object 5, is coming back in a bigger format, with nicer versions of his incredible illustrations. We’ve featured Eng’s poster art before, but his…