Latest

20% Off GoPros, Roku Streaming Stick, Kindle Fires [Deals]

Today at REI, take 20% off the two best GoPro cameras around with promo code SAVE20. The catch is that you’ll need to be an REI member to use the code, which costs $20 for a lifetime membership. Just add the membership to your cart along with the promo code, and you’ll see the discount…

Tech News Shep McAllister Mar 28 '14

Andy Serkis Built a New World for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

What has happened to the mighty leader of the apes since we last saw him in Rise of the Planet of the Apes? In our exclusive interview with Apes star Andy Serkis, the man behind the primate reveals all the details behind Caesar’s new world order — plus more information on his next feature Jungle…

Movies Meredith Woerner Mar 28 '14

Tesla, Electronica and Aliens — What Could Go Wrong?

We’ve got an exclusive look at the trailer for web movie ETXR, which is like Ziggy Stardust crossed with electronica. Some mad scientists have figured out that one of Tesla’s secret inventions can communicate with aliens — using electronic music! It’s your basic alien rave cult scenario — we’ve all been there, right? From FOX…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 28 '14

Creepy Robot Looks Like Your Friends, Knows What You’re Thinking

Humans are the worst—there’s no denying it. But isolating yourself from the rest of humanity doesn’t exactly come with the best track record either. Now, though, you can get the best of both worlds thanks to SociBot-Mini, a depth-sensing, mood-reading, friends’-identity-stealing disembodied robot torso. Created by Engineered Arts in the UK, SociBot-Mini may not be…

Artificial Intelligence Ashley Feinberg Mar 28 '14

New amazing experiment opens door to record dreams

University of Yale’s researchers have extracted faces from human brain activity with shocking accuracy—an incredible feat that gets us one step closer to record brain videos after a UC Berkeley team reconstructed brains’ visions into digital video back in 2011. According to one of the paper authors—professor of psychology, cognitive science and neurobiology Marvin Chun—”it…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Mar 28 '14

The World’s Smallest Sandcastles, Each Etched On A Single Grain Of Sand

These are sandcastles only in the technical sense; instead of temporary structures erected on the beach, they’re images engraved on individual grains of sand, best enjoyed with the help of a microscope. Artist Vik Muniz often plays with medium and scale; he recreated a photograph of Jackson Pollock in chocolate syrup, photographed giant portraits rendered…

io9 Lauren Davis Mar 28 '14

Amazing Ancient Viking Sun Compass Even Worked After Sunset

Even the best Eagle Scout prefers to navigate during the day. The Vikings, apparently, would have laughed at such a preference—according to new research, the North Atlantic seafarers’ sun compass was so advanced it even worked after dark, thanks to clever engineering and mystical crystals. In a Royal Society paper published this week, a team…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich Mar 28 '14

How to Get People to Accept Unfairness

Say you want to swindle people. You want to force them to take your bad deals, and give you the minimum amount of lip in return. There’s an easy way to sway them. And scientists have demonstrated it with a simple game. Welcome to another lesson in practical evil! In the past, we’ve mostly talked…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 28 '14

The Egyptian Gods’ 8 Biggest Dick Moves

Compared to some ancient religions, the Egyptian gods were pretty chill. They rarely tried to wipe out humanity, get in drunken bar brawls with their own followers, or eat their own babies — although “rarely” is not “never,” and Ra, Horus and the rest definitely had their moments of divine dickishness. Here are a few.…

io9 Rob Bricken Mar 28 '14

Concrete-Dissolving Bacteria Are Destroying Our Nation’s Sewers

Underground in places nobody likes to look, bacteria are doing terrible things to our sewage pipes. The concrete pipes that carry our waste are literally dissolving away, forcing engineers into a messy, expensive battle against tiny microbes. “The veins of our cities are in serious trouble, and they’re in serious trouble because of corrosion, and…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Mar 28 '14

Bobak Ferdowsi is the Geek of the Week!

Head over to Geek-a-Week for the backside of the card, and for an interview with the always-enthusiastic NASA engineer.

Tech News Mika McKinnon Mar 28 '14

The Purge 2 trailer asks: Can you murder away your sadness?

The answer is no. No, you cannot murder away the bad feelings inside of you. Seriously, why is “The Purge” an actual thing? This is a terrible government plan on which to establish a terrible society of murders and rapists and jewel thieves, etc. You’re a bad government, fake future America. Bad. Everyone who came…

Trailers Meredith Woerner Mar 28 '14

There Are More Ways To Arrange a Deck of Cards Than Atoms on Earth

When you’re shuffling a deck of cards, you’re trying your best to ensure everything gets as mixed up as possible. But it turns out you might not have to try so hard. In this wonderful TedEd animation, Yannay Khaikin outlines the staggering number of ways a deck of 52 cards can be arranged. But just…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Mar 28 '14

This Is What It Looks Like When An Alien And A Terminator Make A Baby

Entertainment Earth posted this amazing, fan-made, life-size sculpture of a Xenomorph made out of pure scrap metal on Twitter, and now we’re more terrified of the inevitable robot apocalypse than ever. What do you suppose runs through its veins? Battery Acid? [Via Blastr]

io9 Rob Bricken Mar 28 '14

Eliza Dushku Stars In a Web Series About Developing A Cure For War

In the pilot for the web series The Gable 5, James Morrison plays a neuroscientist looking to create a cure for war. But he’ll need test subjects—and that’s naturally where Eliza Dushku comes in. Kevin Tancharoen—who was behind the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy—co-wrote and directed the pilot, which could become a full web series…

io9 Lauren Davis Mar 28 '14

Playing Star Wars at Home in Mexico City

Darth Maul has probably made you a coffee—at least if you’ve been to Mexico City. This is one conclusion you can draw from photographer Marcel Rius‘s Fanatic Wars. He’s spent years documenting Star Wars cosplayers and collectors in Mexico, visiting their homes and putting together a visual answer to the question: how do you live…

Tech News Lev Bratishenko Mar 28 '14

Why Asimov’s Three Laws Of Robotics Can’t Protect Us

It’s been 50 years since Isaac Asimov devised his famous Three Laws of Robotics — a set of rules designed to ensure friendly robot behavior. Though intended as a literary device, these laws are heralded by some as a ready-made prescription for avoiding the robopocalypse. We spoke to the experts to find out if Asimov’s…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 28 '14

Here Is Comet Siding Spring’s Dual Jets And Glowing Coma

The Hubble Space Telescope snapped a portrait of Comet C/2013, alias Siding Spring. The comet is projected to whisper past Mars, and astronomers are trying to predict if our Martian explorers can expect a fresh coating of comet-dust in October The Hubble Space Telescope photographed Siding Springs on March 11th, after the comet had passed…

Tech News Mika McKinnon Mar 28 '14

BlackBerry Death Rattle: We’re Bringing Back the Bold

In a move that is equal parts admirable and bleak (but mostly bleak), BlackBerry has chosen to valiantly fight the imminent march of time. Instead of trying to build the next Big Thing, the company is going back to what it knows works best: 2011. Say hello to the Bold. Again. After continued losses this…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg Mar 28 '14

Comet Siding Spring Is Headed Towards Mars