- ScienceHealth
Report: Doctors Who Recommend Drugs for Approval Often Get Big Pharma Money After
The Food and Drug Administration is doing a poor job of making sure the doctors who review drugs for possible approval are free of bias, alleges a new investigative report published this week in Science. Many of these reviewers, while having no clear financial conflicts of interest prior to their work for the FDA, went … Continued
By Ed Cara - Tech NewsAmazon
Amazon Called Out for Failing to Keep White Supremacist Garbage Off Its Platforms
Amazon has policies against hateful products, but a new report finds that it could be doing far more to enforce its own rules and tamp down hate-based merchandise on its platform. The report, published on Friday by the Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE) and Partnership for Working Families, lists dozens of specific … Continued
- io9Television
Batman: The Animated Series Comes to HD for the First Time Thanks to DC Universe [Updated]
DC Universe, the upcoming streaming service/comic book depository/fan hub platform dedicated to DC Comics’ best and brightest, already has a lot of very interesting reasons to tempt us to sign up. Now it’s adding another in the form of Batman: The Animated Series. But not just any version of this beloved classic: This time it’s … Continued
- Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Scientists Discover Hottest, Most Improbable Way to Steal Your Passwords
A group of scientists Thursday unveiled research into a new method for stealing people’s passwords. The extreme conditions required for success, however, mean the odds this attack will ever be used fall somewhere between astronomical and zero-fucking-chance. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, this week disclosed the attack, a method used for capturing user … Continued
By Dell Cameron - ScienceAnimals
I Do Not Like This New Wasp Species Whose Giant Stinger Lays Eggs Inside Spiders
Hi, do you see that long red thing? It belongs to that wasp. Its function is to both sting and lay eggs inside of another creature, which is eventually killed from the inside by the wasp’s horrifying offspring. I do not like this wasp and hope that I never meet this wasp. Scientists at the … Continued
- io9Movies
Star Wars: Episode IX Apparently Has Its First New Cast Member: Keri Russell
Every Star Wars movie adds new characters, and the final film of the sequel trilogy now has its first, to be played by Keri Russell. Variety reports that Americans star Keri Russell is in early talks to join the cast Star Wars: Episode IX. The role “calls for action-heavy fight scenes” but it’s unknown at … Continued
- How To
How to Make Your iPhone Play Nice With Your Windows PC
If you’ve spent any time around Apple products, you know that “compatibility with hardware made by rival manufacturers” isn’t high up on the company’s priority list. But using your iPhone with a Windows PC can be a smoother experience than you might think. The good news is that iPhones are much more independent than they … Continued
By David Nield - io9Movies
Ant-Man and the Wasp’s Generational Superhero Story Adds a New Layer to the MCU
Goofy humor, a smaller scope, father-daughter relationships—there are lots of things that set Ant-Man apart from the other franchises in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, though, director Peyton Reed wanted to add at least one more thing to the list. “One of the things that’s different to me about the Ant-Man … Continued
- EartherConservation
Science Takes a Baby Step Toward Baby Northern White Rhinos
A team of scientists received a flurry of press attention this week when they announced they’d created rhino embryos in the lab—a step along the path to bringing the northern white rhino back from functional extinction. This is an important achievement, but no one breakthrough will save the northern white rhino despite what some headlines have … Continued
By Maddie Stone - Tech NewsNews
Netflix is Killing Desktop Reviews, Which Were Pretty Worthless Anyways
You know your critical analysis of Stranger Things you wrote at work during your lunch breaks while everyone else was on vacation? The one you submitted on Netflix’s desktop site? Yeah, well it’s getting deleted pretty soon. Netflix says declining usage has led it to retire the written review feature. You’ve got until July 30 … Continued
- EartherEarth Science
There’s a Lot More to Clouds Than Meets the Eye
I want to talk about clouds. Intellectually, I know they’re just masses of foggy moisture suspended in the ocean of air above us. But I’m here to say they’re more than that. I’ve lived under clouds for 21 years, and yet I only really started to look up a few years back, when I stumbled … Continued
- io9Books
This Book About the Anatomy of DC Heroes and Villains Looks Absolutely Gorgeous
Ever wanted to know what the inside of Superman’s eyeball looks like? Well, now you do, in stunningly beautiful detail. Coming this September, Anatomy of a Metahuman is a DC Comics reference book filled with comic-book science about just how the superpowers of DC’s greatest heroes and villains actually work. Written by S.D. Perry and … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
Mitsubishi Wants Your Driving Data, and It’s Willing to Throw in a Free Cup of Coffee to Get It
Automakers want in on the highly lucrative big data game and Mitsubishi is willing to pay for the privilege. In exchange for running the risk of jacking up its customers’ insurance premiums, the car manufacturer is offering drivers $10 off of an oil change and other rewards. Consumers will have to decide if a gift … Continued
By Rhett Jones - io9Movies
Steven Spielberg’s Own Nostalgia Inspired the Coolest Scene in Ready Player One
Ready Player One was either a fantastic tribute to nerd culture or an annoying slog filled with nostalgic pandering, it really depends on who you ask. But what usually isn’t up for debate—with a few exceptions—is how cool that whole The Shining sequence was. For many fans, it was an exciting tribute to a classic … Continued
- Tech NewsApple
Apple Music Reportedly Just Beat Spotify in the U.S. With the Users That Matter Most
As Tidal continues to struggle, Apple Music has found major success, and if a report leaked to Digital Music News is true, Apple Music may have just become the most popular on-demand streaming music service in the U.S.—at least as far as paying users go. While Sirius XM satellite radio boasts 33 million subscribers, tallies … Continued
- EartherNatural Disasters
This Tiny, Sad Sack of Clouds Is the Atlantic’s First Hurricane of the Season
The first hurricane of Atlantic hurricane season is here. You just have to squint to see it. Hurricane Beryl formed early Friday as an impossibly small storm. Hurricane-force winds extend less than 10 miles from its core, and tropical storm force winds die after 35 miles. The indignities don’t stop there. The storm is packing … Continued
By Brian Kahn - Tech News
The Earth Is Farthest From the Sun Today, So Why Is It So Hot?
All-time heat records have been set around the world this week, in North American cities including Denver, Colorado; Burlington, Vermont; and Montreal, Quebec; as well as in cities in Europe and Russia. But here’s something that might confuse you: Today is also aphelion day—the day in Earth’s orbit that where it’s farthest from the Sun. … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
The Doomsday Cult Leader Behind the Tokyo Sarin Gas Attack Has Been Executed
Shoko Asahara—the leader of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult behind the 1995 sarin gas attack in Tokyo’s subway that killed 13 and poisoned thousands—has been executed. Asahara, birth name Chizuo Matsumoto, was killed along with six other members of the cult on Friday morning. They were all hanged, which is the only method of death … Continued
- EartherEnvironmental Justice
Japan’s Deadly Typhoon Rains Have Left 2 Million Ready to Evacuate
Throughout western and central Japan, rains are terrorizing entire villages and triggering deadly landslides. At least four people have already died, and authorities ordered another roughly 210,000 people to evacuate their homes as of Friday. Another two million people are being advised to follow suit. Pacific typhoon season has begun, and it’s bringing “historic” rainfall … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
Former Navy Diver Dies in Thai Cave While Working to Rescue Trapped Boys
A former Thailand navy SEAL has died while working to save 12 boys and their coach from the submerged Tham Luang cave complex, the New York Times reports. The death comes as a heavy blow to the rescue mission, as monsoon rains threaten further flooding and as oxygen levels inside the chamber have started to … Continued