Latest

Which superhuman character (or species) has the most poetic weakness?

Science fiction and fantasy are full of unstoppable badasses. But often, they’ll have a weakness that is fairly poetic. Superman is vulnerable to the ruins of his own home planet. Sontarans can never turn their back on you. But which character or group has the most poetic weakness? Please include a picture or clip of…

The Plan to Conquer the Internet’s Final Frontier: The Deep Sea

Wireless internet is ubiquitous just about anywhere you can send radio waves, from airplanes to ski lifts. One place left conspicuously untouched by open wireless, though, is the ocean. Now, a team of scientists is developing a system of sensors that would connect one of the few remaining unconnected places on Earth. Today, a team…

Watch Felix Baumgartner’s Space Jump from Every Angle Imaginable

It’s been just over a year since the nail-biter of a day when Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a shimmering weather balloon 127,852 feet in the air and reached a top speed of Mach 1.25. And now you can watch it from his point of view—and several others. Fair warning: it’s still nerve-wracking. It feels…

These Faceted Lamps Mimic the Molecular Structure of Crystals

One of the best parts of chemistry—for a math-deficient person like myself—were the wood-and-wire molecular models that appeared in class from time to time. Those days clearly made an impression on Berlin designer Daniel Becker, too: His new collection of lamps double as molecular models. LEM, as the series is called, is just as simple…

Guillermo del Toro explains why he wants to ruin the human face

It’s a big month for Guillermo del Toro. Tomorrow sees the release of the Pacific Rim Blu-ray. And on Oct. 29, he’s releasing his sketchbook collection Cabinet of Curiosities. We talked to del Toro about monsters and art — plus we’re featuring an exclusive Pacific Rim deleted scene and some horrifying pages from his sketchbook.…

It’s the apocalypse, Pinoy-style, in the soap opera Genesis

Check out a teaser for Genesis, the apocalyptic romance TV show that just aired its first episode in the Philippines. Filipino heartthrob Dingdong Dantes stars as a military officer tasked with saving the Vice President after a global disaster. Judging from the plot description in the Manila Standard, Genesis sounds pretty soapy — Dantes’ character,…

This Dynamic Robot Duo Is Making Solar Power Cheap As Hell

Solar power is fantastic, sure. But while the tech behind solar panels is zooming forward, there are other problems holding it back. Problems like installation and cleaning. Fortunately robots are here to help. https://gizmodo.com/half-price-solar-panels-thanks-to-an-ion-cannon-5892801 A pair of robo-workers named Rover and Spot, both from Alion Energy, are working their metal asses off to make installing…

The Absolute Best Cosplay From New York Comic-Con 2013

New York Comic-Con is over, but the amazing cosplay that we saw there will be burned in our brains forever. Here it is the very BEST of the cosplay we saw on the floor of NYCC. It’s pretty awesome. First up the top picture of Ape Frodo and Gandalf is from Geeks Are Sexy (who…

Hear What a Day in the Life of a Drone Pilot Is Really Like

The BBC has managed to get a rare, fascinating look at a day in the life of a US drone pilot. And while some of you might be quick to brush the task off as glorified gaming, Lt Col Bruce Black’s insights should take care of that for you. https://gizmodo.com/nobody-wants-to-fly-air-force-drones-because-its-a-dea-1179733596 The BBC notes: There was…

Five Essential Tools for the Left-Handed Chef

With only about one in 11 people actually being left-handed, it’s no wonder why the world is built for righties. Still, this design discrepancy can make mundane household tasks far more dismemberful than need be. Here are five kitchen tools every southpaw should own. Left-Handed Chef’s Knife Unless you’ve unlocked your dual-wield ability, waving around…

What if the cost of uploading your brain is giving up your body? Forever? That’s just one of the thought-provoking questions raised by Erin Biba’s piece on the ethics of uploading yourself, over at Tested.

New game lets people watch Ellen Page naked from every angle

Perverted nerds and insufferable indie movie lovers everywhere are really excited right now, for someone has discovered a way to watch Ellen Page’s totally naked, even changing the camera angle to focus on all her naughty bits. It’s not the real Ellen, though, but her virtual body in the new video game Beyond: Two Souls.…

Too many storylines spoil the brew on Witches of East End

The good news is that episode two of Witches of East End is way better than the premiere. The bad news? There’s still way too much going on. Stop adding plotlines, show! Spoilers ahead. It may be early and the show may need to set things up, but seriously, pick one or two plotlines per…

Have a shot of Jaegar with Pacific Rim and This Week’s DVDs

There’s no reason to be cute about it; This week’s DVD and Blu-ray releases is all about the arrival of Pacific Rim, which is crushing its competition like a giant robot punching a giant monster in the face. But there’s also scifi TV, evil cavemen and gratuitous nudity as well! • Pacific Rim No need…

Snapchat’s Been Handing Unopened Messages Over to the Police

This summer’s NSA revelations opened a lot of people’s eyes. The government can (and does) surveil the American people, sometimes scooping data right off the servers of Google and Facebook. But surely Snapchat, the service that deletes all messages after they’ve been read, is safe? Not so much. Snapchat just admitted in a blog post…

When Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, the highly contentious achievement was deemed by many as momentous as the discovery of DNA itself. Over at The New York Times, science reporter Nicholas Wade takes a measured look back at Dolly’s story – part of the Times’ latest installment in its Retro Report documentary series.

Pixar’s first TV special is so good you’ll watch it two times in a row

io9’s Charlie Jane Anders says that Toy Story of Terror—Pixar’s first ever TV special—is so good that she watched it two times in a row. It “lives up to the Toy Story legacy.” It’s airing on Wednesday at 8pm on ABC. https://gizmodo.com/this-week-pixar-comes-to-tv-plus-the-cws-answer-to-g-1444731722

Ask the science advisor of Gravity, Kevin Grazier, anything you want!

There have been a lot of questions about the scientific plausibility of Alfonso Cuaron’s hit movie Gravity — so we’ve asked the film’s science advisor, Kevin Grazier, to come in and answer your questions. Grazier has also worked on Battlestar Galactica, Eureka and Defiance. Grazier spent 15 years at the Jet Propulsion Lab at NASA,…

When the Next Flu Pandemic Hits, Keep Your Smartphone to Yourself

At the end of World War I, tens of millions of people died in just a few short years. But these deaths had nothing to do with the bullets and bayonets that had taken so many lives in battle. It was, instead, the Spanish Flu, which killed off about 5% of the world’s population from…

What’s going on inside the brains of musicians while they improvise?

Watching a skilled musician improvise a piece, you almost feel as though he or she is plucking the notes straight from thin air. Fortunately, science has given us a few clues as to what’s actually going on inside the brains of musicians who are improvising. The Link Between Improvisation and Dreaming Charles Limb, a professor…