Science

Plastics Could Mark the Start of a Geological Era

Take a look into the geological record, and you might just find…plastic? A new study based on sediment collected off the coast of Santa Barbara, California found that plastics have been building dramatically in the sediment record since 1945. Published in Science Advances Wednesday, the study looks at a single sediment core that dates back…

Conservation Yessenia Funes

SpaceX Says a ‘Bug’ Prevented It From Receiving Warning of Possible Satellite Collision

The European Space Agency was forced to perform a “collision avoidance maneuver” to prevent its Aeolus spacecraft from potentially smashing into one of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, in what is quickly becoming an all-too-common occurrence. According to SpaceX, it never received the expected alert that a collision was possible. ESA pumped out a series of…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

A Boy’s Extreme Picky Eating Left Him With Permanent Blindness

A UK teenager’s diet of potato chips and other junk foods led to shocking health consequences, according to a new case report out this week. The boy’s doctors described how his disordered “fussy” eating led to chronic nutritional deficiencies that left him with a variety of symptoms, including permanent partial blindness. According to the case…

Health Ed Cara

How I Tried to Sell the ‘Healing’ Crystals in My Ears

If you’ve ever been dizzy without a cause—no alcohol in your system, no blunt trauma to the head, no ear infection—you may have experienced benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. It’s a common condition: approximately 10 percent of people will experience BPPV before they die. Despite its prevalence, vertigo’s cause borders on the mystic. Deep inside the…

Health Eleanor Cummins

Different Dog Breeds Have Different Brains, Scientists Find

As humans have gone, so have their canine companions. But a new study shows the subtle ways our long-lasting partnership has molded the noggins of our dogs. Different breeds have slightly different brains from one another, the study found—differences that seem to be linked not just to the shape and size of the breed, but…

Biology Ed Cara

Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders on the Intersection Between Writing About Science and Writing Science Fiction

io9 was founded as a website dedicated to both science journalism and science-fiction and cultural criticism. And although that mission has evolved over the years, that intersection between science and science fiction is something that still drives co-founders Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz’ work as authors. At a recent talk in London, England, the…

Books & Comics James Whitbrook

Black Market THC May Be Causing the Alarming Surge in Vape-Related Lung Illnesses

The toll of people sick with acute lung illness tied to vaping has doubled since last week, with around 354 suspected cases across the U.S. Now, health officials are finally starting to publicly zero in on a leading suspect: unlicensed additives and contaminants, particularly those found in products containing THC. The Washington Post reported Thursday…

Health Ed Cara

What Would Life on an Ocean Moon Look Like?

Special thanks to Darlene Lim of NASA’s Ames Research Center, Mike Malaska of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jill McDermott of Lehigh University, Kevin Raskoff of Monterey Peninsula College, and Samantha Trumbo of Caltech for contributing their expertise to this comic. JoAnna Wendel is a science cartoonist and writer in Washington, DC. She loves space, planets,…

Space & Spaceflight JoAnna Wendel

Being Drunk and Helmet-less Is a Recipe for E-Scooter Disaster

The e-scooter craze has been convenient for some, annoying to others, and painful or even deadly to an unlucky few. A new study out Thursday seems to highlight some of the (perhaps obvious) common factors behind e-scooter accidents: being drunk or otherwise intoxicated and not wearing a damn helmet. Researchers in California—the state where the…

Health Ed Cara

Surgeon General Warns America That 21st-Century Weed Can Really Fuck You Up

The Surgeon General issued a very somber advisory to the people of the United States on Thursday: Weed may be legal in a lot of states now, but if you’re pregnant or a kid, you should stay away from it. Sage advice, to be sure. The advisory is the first to be made this year…

Health Ed Cara

Stunning Video Reveals Conditions Inside Wreck of Doomed Franklin Expedition

The ill-fated Franklin Expedition to map the Northwest Passage resulted in the loss of two ships, one of which, the HMS Terror, was explored by researchers earlier this month. Unprecedented footage taken from inside the well-preserved wreck highlight various artifacts left behind by the sailors who ultimately perished. The scene inside the HMS Terror is…

Human History George Dvorsky

There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Gay Gene,’ Large Genome Study Finds

A new study seems to firmly bury the idea of a so-called “gay gene.” Scientists looked at the genes of nearly a half million people and couldn’t find any genetic variations that could reliably predict someone’s same-sex behavior. Rather, they argue, our sexual preferences are influenced by a complex mix of our genes, environment, and…

Health Ed Cara

New Evidence Bolsters Theory That First Americans Arrived by the Pacific Coast

Archaeological evidence excavated in western Idaho suggests humans were in the region well over 15,000 years ago—prior to the opening of the massive ice sheets that blocked entrance into North America via the Bering land bridge. It’s further evidence that the continent’s first people arrived by traveling along the Pacific coast. Prior to the Late…

Human History George Dvorsky

Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz on Creating Worlds, and How to Tell If You’re in an Alternate Timeline

Readers of io9 are no doubt very aware that since leaving the site, co-founders Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz have gone on to write their own award-winning works of fiction. But how do science fiction and fantasy bloggers move to writing science fiction themselves? At a recent talk in London, England, the duo discussed…

Books & Comics James Whitbrook

Scientists See Human-Like Brain Waves in Lab-Grown Mini-Brains

One way that scientists can non-invasively study the human brain is by growing “mini-brains,” clusters of brain cells each about the size of a pea, in the lab. In a fascinating progression of this line of research, a team this week reports that they observed human-like brainwaves from these organoids. Previous studies of mini-brains have…

Tech News Sarah Wells

Europe Is Warming Even Faster Than Climate Models Predicted

Over the past seven decades, the number of extreme heat days in Europe has steadily increased, while the number of extreme cold days has decreased, according to new research. Alarmingly, this trend is happening at rates faster than those proposed by climate models. For most Europeans, this new study will hardly come as a surprise.…

Climate Change George Dvorsky

MIT Researchers Designed this Robotic Worm to Burrow Into Human Brains

Robotics engineers at MIT have built a threadlike robot worm that can be magnetically steered to deftly navigate the extremely narrow and winding arterial pathways of the human brain. One day it could be used to quickly clear blockages and clots that contribute to strokes and aneurysms, while at the same time making the current…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

MIT Researchers Build Functional Carbon Nanotube Microprocessor

Scientists at MIT built a 16-bit microprocessor out of carbon nanotubes and even ran a program on it, a new paper reports. Silicon-based computer processors seem to be approaching a limit to how small they can be scaled, so researchers are looking for other materials that might make for useful processors. It appears that transistors…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Incredible Fossil Discovery Finally Puts a Face on an Elusive Early Hominin

The discovery of a nearly intact skull in Ethiopia is the first to show the facial characteristics of a critically important species linked to early hominin evolution. At the same time, the 3.8-million-year-old fossil is further complicating our understanding of Australopithecus—the genus that likely gave rise to humans. Before the rise of Homo there was…

Human History George Dvorsky

Chocolate Interferes With THC Testing, Making It Hard to Measure the Potency of Edibles

Your next chocolatey pot edible could be more or less potent than labeled, new preliminary research suggests. It found that chocolate-based products can sometimes provide inconsistent lab readings on the amount of THC found in them. Scientists at CW Analytical, a cannabis testing lab in California, had started to notice that their potency readings for…

Health Ed Cara

Plastics Could Mark the Start of a Geological Era

SpaceX Says a ‘Bug’ Prevented It From Receiving Warning of Possible Satellite Collision

A Boy’s Extreme Picky Eating Left Him With Permanent Blindness

How I Tried to Sell the ‘Healing’ Crystals in My Ears

Different Dog Breeds Have Different Brains, Scientists Find

Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders on the Intersection Between Writing About Science and Writing Science Fiction

Black Market THC May Be Causing the Alarming Surge in Vape-Related Lung Illnesses

What Would Life on an Ocean Moon Look Like?

Being Drunk and Helmet-less Is a Recipe for E-Scooter Disaster

Surgeon General Warns America That 21st-Century Weed Can Really Fuck You Up

Stunning Video Reveals Conditions Inside Wreck of Doomed Franklin Expedition

There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Gay Gene,’ Large Genome Study Finds

New Evidence Bolsters Theory That First Americans Arrived by the Pacific Coast

Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz on Creating Worlds, and How to Tell If You’re in an Alternate Timeline

Scientists See Human-Like Brain Waves in Lab-Grown Mini-Brains

Europe Is Warming Even Faster Than Climate Models Predicted

MIT Researchers Designed this Robotic Worm to Burrow Into Human Brains

MIT Researchers Build Functional Carbon Nanotube Microprocessor

Incredible Fossil Discovery Finally Puts a Face on an Elusive Early Hominin

Chocolate Interferes With THC Testing, Making It Hard to Measure the Potency of Edibles

Avast Premium Isn’t Flashy — But It Might Be the Smartest Cheap Antivirus Right Now

Data Centers Create Heat Islands Stretching 6 Miles, Study Finds

Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition Smartwatch at 41% Off Is Flying Off the Shelves on Amazon

Aragorn Is Officially Being Recast For ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

DJI Slashes $500 Off the Mini 5 Pro Fly More Drone After Avata 360 Launch, Bundled With RC 2, Batteries, and More

Artemis 2 Day 3: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Illumination Is Officially Learning Nothing

Good News for Nintendo Switch Users, This 45W Charger With Cable Just Hits Its Lowest Price on Amazon

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

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Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

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