-
io9
That Horrible Starfish Disease May Be Spreading To Northern Waters
There’s a plague currently afflicting starfish along the North American West Coast. Called sea star wasting disease, it’s a terrifying affliction that causes echinoderms to tear themselves apart. Now, for the first time ever, the disease has been spotted in northern waters—a possible consequence of global warming. The recent discovery of sea star wasting disease … Continued
-
io9Movies
9 Dumbest Ways To Reboot The Marvel Movie Universe
Avengers: Age of Ultron launches Phase 3 of Marvel’s movie universe. Which means even more interconnected stories, and brings us closer to the inevitable time when the universe is crushed under its own weight and has to restart from scratch. Here are the nine absolute worst ways that Marvel could reboot its movies. And yes, … Continued
-
io9
Over 1,400 Terracotta Soldiers Could Be Uncovered In New Dig
Archaeologists excavating a burial pit in the ancient capital of Xi’an are hopeful that a trove of ancient artifacts will be unearthed at a site that once guarded the mausoleum of China’s first emperor. Above: A figurine discovered at Pit No. 2 — an excavation site called “the essence of the terracotta warriors” The dig, … Continued
-
io9
What Does It Take To Become A Professional Faerie Princess?
After seven years working in the tech industry, Jenny Richman decided that she needed more magic in her life. So she traded her keyboard for a pair of shimmery wings, taking a job as a professional faerie at children’s parties. There, she found the job fulfillment she had been hoping for. Illustration by Tara Jacoby. … Continued
By Lauren Davis -
io9
Torchwood Will Return… As A Series Of Audio Plays
Long have fans waited for Torchwood to make a return, after the end of the (deeply disappointing) Miracle Day. Captain Jack may not return to TV any time soon, but Torchwood will continue in another form: as a series of new audio plays from Doctor Who audio producer Big Finish. The six-part series will see … Continued
-
io9
How All The Spacecraft Circling Mars Keep From Crashing Into Each Other
Two moons and five spacecraft: it’s getting pretty crowded up there. So how do all those Martian satellites manage to keep missing each other? NASA put together this map of what all is drifting around up there, and it has us wondering just how they all manage to keep missing each other. Essentially, there are … Continued
By Ria Misra -
io9Television
36 Questions About Last Night’s Completely Ridiculous Gotham Finale
Sorry, guys, but there’s really no other way to convey the complete WTFery of Gotham’s terrible but entertainingly insane season one finale than to list the many, many questions it left me with. Seriously, if anybody knows what the hell was up with the chicken, please let me know. 1. What the hell happened to … Continued
By Rob Bricken -
io9
The First Observation Of Atmospheric Changes On A Rocky Exoplanet
It may be a terrestrial planet, but the changing atmospheric conditions on the so-called “Diamond Planet” are absolutely nothing like what we experience here on Earth. 55 Cancri e is a super-Earth located about 40 light-years away. It has a radius about twice the size of Earth and a mass that’s nearly eight times larger. … Continued
-
io9
The Deadliest Ways To Try To Put Out A Fire
When you have a fire, you add water. Problem solved. Sometimes, though, adding water isn’t an option, which is why some fire systems involve adding materials that can decompose into poisons or smother everything in the building. The Deadly Choice Not all buildings use water to put out a fire. If you drench a museum, … Continued
-
io9
The Second Stand-Alone Star Wars Movie May Be A Boba Fett Origin Film
The Wrap is reporting that the second Star Wars anthology film — i.e., the second film not part of the sequel trilogy, and the one that was going to be directed by Josh Trank until he exited last week — will reveal the origin of the fan-favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett. My question is this: … Continued
By Rob Bricken -
io9
What’s The Most Interesting Debate In Your Field?
Shoptalk rarely gets heard outside of whatever set of doors you close when you step into your work or classroom, but today we want to hear all about the debates raging on in your field that most people never hear about. Can you not agree on whether a kilobit is 1,000 or 1,024 bits? Is … Continued
By Ria Misra -
io9
Satellite Pic Reveals A Nepali Village Obliterated By A Landslide
On April 25, the Nepal earthquake triggered an avalanche that completely buried the village of Langtang. These before-and-after images taken from space show the extent of the damage. As reported in the Nepali Times, nearly all of the 200 inhabitants of the tiny village, which is situated along a popular hiking route near the base … Continued
-
io9
How Agents Of SHIELD Will Repair An Avengers: Age Of Ultron Plot Hole
Independence Day 2 casts its President. Take a look at Captain America and Iron Man’s outfits for Captain America: Civil War, and Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. Plus, Candice Patton talks Iris discovering Barry’s secrets on The Flash, and teasers for Person of Interest’s season finale. So many spoilers! Top image: Agents of SHIELD. It … Continued
-
io9
There Are Stars Being Born At the Center of This Photo
This Hubble Telescope image has several galaxies floating through it, but at the center is UGC 5797, which is currently making stars to populate itself. The blue glow indicates prolific star formation, and, in this image, you can even pick out large blue stars that result. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Contact the author at … Continued
-
io9
Bill Nye Explains How Holograms Work
Any time Bill Nye explains anything like this, I’m immediately back in elementary school science class. He does use Princess Leia’s “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope” hologram as an example of things we can’t do yet, but not Star Trek’s holodeck. And the latter is much more important, I think. Contact the … Continued
-
io9
Everything in Outlander Is Out to Get Jamie
Every week brings more information that one of our main characters is a cosmic chewtoy. Nothing has gone right for Jamie, ever. Even his love for Claire is marred by the, you know, time travel parts. This week, we add dead brother to Jamie’s dead parents, crippled best friend, price on his head, whipping, and … Continued
-
io9Television
HBO Doesn’t Trust TV Reviewers Anymore
You can’t stop internet piracy—it’s like a force of nature—but that isn’t stopping HBO from trying. The company’s latest a anti-piracy measure? It’s not giving TV reviewers DVDs anymore. It’s a subtle change to how the company does business with the media, but it’s a shift in trust: Apparently the four episodes of Game of … Continued
By Sean Buckley -
io9
Bruce Timm Reacts To Suicide Squad’s Live-Action Harley Quinn
Just yesterday, you saw the new look for the Suicide Squad movie’s Harley Quinn. And today, we’ve asked Harley Quinn co-creator Bruce Timm for his thoughts on the lady who loves Mr. J and got some additional information on his new web series Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles on Machinima. Paul Dini and Bruce … Continued
-
io9
SMBC’s Starpocalypse Is Just Plain Wrong, And I Can’t Stop Watching
At last it’s online — Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Theater’s Starpocalypse is here, and your universe will never be the same again! In keeping withthe SMBC webcomic, which we’ve featured many times over the years, this online comedy video is silly, goofy and all kinds of demented. There’s a distinct pantomime sensibility to Starpocalypse, in … Continued