Gizmodo

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's regular round up of the latest and greatest in nerdy toys and merchandise. This week: Hawkeye sets its sights on some action figure goodness. Lego heads to the Clone Wars and to the Multiverse (of Madness) in two new sets, and NECA dives into two slick takes on RoboCop. Check it out!

Diplomats from around the world met in Geneva this week to hammer out agreements on how to manage autonomous weapons systems with many calling for an outright ban of the technology. One country is notably opposed to those agreements: The United States.Read more...

This post could go a few ways. I could start by saying, wow, the ocean is incredible. Or perhaps I could start by saying I hope you didn’t plan to sleep tonight. That’s because the giant phantom jelly captured by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is a bit of a Rorschach test, one that can inspire awe and terror…Read more...

Over the summer, Google introduced the ability for Pixel users to effectively “lock away” photos in a vault to keep them hidden from prying eyes. The featured is called—what else?—Locked Folder, and anything stored there is protected by the device’s lock screen passcode. Locked photos won’t show up in the Photos grid,…Read more...

New research shows that someone has been running hundreds of malicious servers on the Tor network, potentially in an attempt to de-anonymize users and unmask their web activity. As first reported by The Record, the activity would appear to be emanating from one particular user who is persistent, sophisticated, and…Read more...

New research seems to confirm the idea that many of our cutest purebred pups are also burdened by their genetics. The study determined that most dog breeds have high levels of inbreeding. What’s more, this inbreeding can contribute to various health problems and expensive vet bills over time, particularly for larger…Read more...

You may have noticed that along with being perpetually out of stock, PC graphics cards are more expensive than ever. This is no coincidence, and it isn’t solely caused by the ongoing chip shortage.

Twitter’s new rule against posting “private media,” such as photographs and videos, depicting other people without their consent is already being exploited by fascists and white supremacists who are taking the opportunity to target anti-extremism researchers and activists.Read more...

Chucky will be back for more butchery and wisecracks—a second season of the hit SYFY and USA Network horror series starring the killer doll from the Child’s Play movies was announced this week. The finale of season one just aired, so there won’t be new episodes for awhile, but that didn’t stop us from hopping on the…Read more...

If you’re in the Lower 48 looking for snow, may I suggest a trip to Hawaii? While a good chunk of the U.S. suffers under a snow-killing heat dome, Hawaii is in for a real-deal blizzard.

The time has arrived for skywatchers to look up and catch a glimpse of comet Leonard. Here’s how you can find this gigantic ball of ice and dust.

As the world turns, another Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel arrives, doing its best to recapture the grim, grimy magic wrought by the 1974 horror classic. But the next entry in the series, which arrives on Netflix in February, borrows a page from the current Halloween films by billing itself as a direct sequel to Tobe…Read more...

It’s that time of year to take a look at the natural world through the eyes of some of the most talented wildlife photographers on the planet—and you can vote for your favorite. This week, the Natural History Museum in London released 25 images that it has shortlisted for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s…Read more...

Later this month, Boba Fett will make his play as a major new face in the Star Wars underworld in his very own Disney+ show, The Book of Boba Fett. But while this will be our “official” look at what Boba got up to after escaping digestion, it’s not the first time Star Wars has pondered what the infamous Bounty Hunter…Read more...

Apple recently revealed a new policy that would notify users if their devices were the targets of a state-sponsored attack conducted using spyware from Israeli surveillance-for-hire firm NSO Group. Now, just weeks later, a new report from Reuters claims at least nine U.S. State Department officials found themselves on…Read more...

Neither of the two monthly subscription services available to PlayStation gamers can compete with the library of games available through Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service, but Sony plans to change that as early as next year, according to a new report from Bloomberg.Read more...

The odds of a child in the United States being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder have risen once again, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests. According to their report out this week, about one in 44 children were expected to be diagnosed with autism by age 8 in 2018, a rate…Read more...

After early reports confirmed that Windows 11 would include an even more labyrinthine process for switching your default browser than the one required in previous versions, the company has seemingly reversed course, now allowing users to switch browsers with the click of a single button.Read more...

Another day, another piece of internet history being turned into a wildly expensive NFT. This time, that historical remnant comes from Wikipedia; on Friday, Christie’s Auction House announced it would be auctioning off the first edit made to the platform more than 20 years ago.

Two men have been accused of a $20 million, years-long music royalties heist from a certain company identified as “Y.T.” Federal prosecutors do not explicitly name “YouTube.” We can glean from court documents, however, that “Y.T.” is a website that hosts uploads and uses the exact same monetization and content ID…Read more...

The recent Spider-Man movies have all had a bit of an ongoing joke to them, except it’s nothing really to do with the films themselves. No, it’s that, outside of a few choice options (we see you, Homecoming chillaxing Spidey poster), most of Sony’s posters for Homecoming, Far From Home, and now No Way Home have, uh,…Read more...

Winter is officially here, and it’s hot as hell. This week, large parts of the U.S. and Canada found themselves subject to yet another brutal heatwave, this time bringing record December temperatures that could easily be confused for a cool summer evening.Read more...

This week, YouTuber MrBeast posted a video with an elaborate, death-free reconstruction of the challenges from the popular South Korean drama Squid Game to his, as of the time of this writing, 82.9 million followers. The video garnered criticism from many who saw it as a tone-deaf stunt that completely misses the…Read more...

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring turns 20 this month, and as our thoughts linger there and back again, we’re reminded of just how many of its moments remain so brilliantly memorable decades later. But one of its most haunting and tragic scenes still lingers as a clear standout in Peter Jackson’s trilogy:…Read more...

NASA has awarded lucrative contracts to three U.S. companies—Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman—to develop space station concepts that will serve both public and private interests in space.

Verizon customers who value their privacy should immediately opt-out of the phone carrier’s disturbing new data tracking service.

Well, this is somewhat unexpected. While John Cena stole The Suicide Squad movie’s spotlight by portraying the biggest, stupidest, most lethal moron in the semi-elite Task Force X, it looks like HBO Max’s upcoming Peacemaker show will show us the melancholy behind all the idiocy and gunfire.

Scream 2022 director Tyler Gillett is already planning out who could survive and return for a sequel. Get a new look at what’s next on Amazon’s Wheel of Time. Plus, Doctor Who prepares for the finale of Flux, and Servant will return for season four. Spoilers away!

With each successive version of watchOS, Apple has added more watch face options for your Apple Watch, but in terms of user customization there’s still not a whole lot you can play around with. One way that you can make your Apple Watch more personal is by using your own photos as watch faces, and watchOS 8 made this…Read more...

China-based ridesharing technology platform DiDi will delist from the New York Stock Exchange and pursue a listing on the Hong Kong exchange, according to multiple reports and a press release from the company.Read more...

If you’ve decided that you absolutely cannot live without seeing the number of dislikes that videos get on YouTube, there’s now a way to get them back, at least for now.Read more...

Some hacker out there is really taking that whole “Great Resignation” thing pretty seriously. According to a new report from Motherboard, “dozens” of companies’ receipt printers are getting spammed with “anti-work” screeds—the likes of which are encouraging employees to tell their bosses to take a hike.Read more...

Star Wars fans are known for having passionate opinions and Shang-Chi star Simu Liu is no different. On the latest episode of Hot Ones, the new Marvel hero was asked about a photo from his Instagram where he was wearing a red Sith Trooper helmet, which lead to the question of who his favorite Jedi is. The answer is…Read more...

The rumor mill has been teasing Android users for years with the possibility of a Google-made Android smartwatch, and a new report indicates it might actually finally be happening.Read more...

As the next chapter of Star Wars: The High Republic draws near, The Jedi Order and Republic Chancellor Lina Soh are going to learn that reaping can be much, much less fun than sowing.

Despite the fact that most of the world’s civilization has died off from a super-flu, the survivors who star in HBO Max’s adaptation of Station Eleven seem to be in pretty good spirits about the whole thing. In a new trailer, one man (played by David Wilmot) even says to the group of survivors he’s with, “We have…Read more...

United Airlines made aviation history this week, completing a flight between Chicago and Washington DC, using a slightly less environmentally disastrous fuel source—or, as they would prefer you call it, “sustainable aviation fuel” or SAF in aviationspeak.

The building blocks for Apple’s rumored M3 chip are reportedly underway.

Food delivery startup Instacart has built its brand on lightning-fast grocery drop-offs, but the convenience economy never sleeps: This week, The Information reported that the company plans to launch a pilot version of an even speedier, 15-minute delivery plan as soon as early next year—a significant step up from its…Read more...

As the United States begins to identify the emergence of the newly discovered Omicron variant of covid-19, a new breakthrough case of the strain in Minnesota could be a point of concern for the return of large scale conventions.

A man’s years of trouble breathing through his nose turned out to have a much stranger explanation than anyone could have imagined. His doctors, in a paper out this week, describe finding a tooth poking through his nasal cavity. Thankfully, the wayward chomper was removed with no complications, and the man’s stuffy…Read more...

Apple posted record iPhone sales last holiday season, but the end of this year is looking less cheerful. The company reportedly told component suppliers that demand for the iPhone 13 lineup has softened, according to Bloomberg, which cited “people familiar with the matter.”

A newly developed, bio-inspired aerial robot can land on a variety of branches and carry objects like a bird.

Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons becomes a different sort of video game the more time you spend playing it. After completing an initial handful of tasks meant to turn your newly settled island into a place where other people want to live, and inviting a selection of neighbors to move in, the game backs off…Read more...

Sure, things may look pretty grim when it comes to the climate. But new data and forecasts from the International Energy Agency suggest we’re at least not going backward—and renewable energy growth is set to accelerate.Read more...

An Italian fishing village near the Slovenian border has yielded a bevy of Cretaceous Period creatures, including dinosaurs, crustaceans, and crocodile ancestors. The paleontological team says the fossil trove tells a different story of the ancient Mediterranean than what’s previously been believed.Read more...

The healthcare system in the U.S. is incredibly flawed, to say the very least. It’s no surprise that Google is attempting to insert itself as a helper when it comes to navigating the big mess.

io9 is proud to present fiction from LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE. Once a month, we feature a story from LIGHTSPEED’s current issue. This month’s selection is “When Sri Left the Ruined City” by Donyae Coles. You can read the story below or listen to the podcast on our website. Enjoy!Read more...

The original population of wolves living in Norway and Sweden were wiped out 50 years ago, a report commissioned by the Norwegian parliament has concluded.

Can the continued popularity of motorsports be partly traced back to all the race car-shaped beds that kids of the ‘80s begged their parents for? The Drone Racing League sure hopes so as it’s created the modern equivalent—a bed shaped like a racing drone—in hopes of creating a new generation of fans that will grow up…Read more...