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ScienceHealthHow Anabolic Steroids Make You Stronger – And How They Destroy You
The quick and dirty route to gaining strength is to take some kind of anabolic steroid. These drugs actually trick the body into building up muscle mass and endurance — but they can also age you far beyond your years. Anabolic steroids work because they masquerade as one of the body’s basic hormones: testosterone. Testosterone … Continued
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io98 Great Comedies That Brilliantly Deconstruct The Action Movie Genre
We love action movies, the tropes, the cliches, all of it and roll with it well. But in some cases, we get to see films or the occasional TV show that wonderfully deconstructs the action movie. They’re not straight-out parodies like Naked Gun — but here are eight comedies that play with the motifs in … Continued
By Mweyer -
Tech News
Be Your Own Action Hero
It’s Action Hero Week on Gizmodo and IO9 right now; a fun look at at the the tough guys we all like to watch in movies and on TV. But you don’t have to watch that stuff and look on in envy, you can be one of those heroes. Here’s how. The Will To Act … Continued
By Wes Siler -
io9MoviesAction Heroes We Love: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the greatest special effect of all time. And I know that sentence seems weird. “Darren,” you say, “Arnold is a person, not a special effect.” Is he though? Let me explain. Arnold Schwarzenegger— or Ahnold, Arnie, the Austrian Oak, Governator, or whatever term of endearment you prefer—began as an action hero star … Continued
By Darren Orf -
Tech NewsMy Cyborg Ear: How a Surgeon and Titanium Cured My Lifelong Deafness
I’ve never been able to hear well. As a child, I was in and out of the hospital as doctors struggled to treat chronic ear infections that left me in throbbing pain and, eventually, relative silence. By the time I went to college, I had only one half-functioning ear drum and no hope of regaining … Continued
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io9Here’s How You Would Really Become Like Batman
Neuroscientist and kinesiologist E. Paul Zehr has studied how a person might actually become Batman, looking at the physiology, training, and will that a person would need. And he told us how, even if you’ll never be ready for the Justice League, you can still become more like the Dark Knight. “I’m not trying to … Continued
By Lauren Davis -
io9Movies
Action Heroes We Love: Jack Ryan? But He’s Just An Analyst!
Hands down, my favorite action hero is Jack Ryan — stockbroker, CIA agent, president, and subject of many failed reboots. He’s the action hero who is at his best when he’s not actioning at all. And having Sean Connery in his film doesn’t hurt. Jack Ryan has had a long career in Hollywood, and spent … Continued
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Tech NewsThese Virtual Reality Experiences Make You Feel Like a Superhero
It’s Action Hero Week, which means we’re exploring how technology could give you superpowers. You know: exoskeletons, biohacking, cool stuff like that. Here’s a simpler idea: just strap on a virtual reality headset and feel like a hero without all the blood and sweat! Assuming you have access to a VR headset, that is. Most … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
Cat Eyes and Other Radical Ideas to Re-Engineer Humans for the Future
If we don’t do something about climate change, humanity is screwed. But do what? Carbon emissions keep creeping up, geoengineering is potentially dangerous, and we continue to stew in endless political debates. One bioethicist has a radical idea: Re-engineer humans for a better planet. A few years ago, NYU bioethicist and philosopher Matthew Liao co-authored … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech NewsThis Is What a Realistic Gundam Suit Will Be Like
Gundam is a scifi anime where humans battle each other in “mobile suits,” which are basically combat vehicles that look like people instead of tanks. It’s one of the pop culture fantasy worlds that set the stage for today’s exoskeletons: wearable machines that grant you superhuman powers. You’ve seen their likeness in Iron Man, Aliens, … Continued
By Bryan Lufkin -
io9
Action Heroes We Love: Commander Shepard
Action heroes save the day. Sometimes, they even save a whole city, a whole country, and if they’re especially great, the whole world. Not every hero gets to save the entire galaxy from eons of cyclical destruction: That honor goes to Commander Shepard, one of science fiction’s ultimate action heroes. Commander Jane — or possibly … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Most Extreme Body Hacks That Actually Change Your Physical Abilities
Biohacking is one of those buzzy blanket terms used to describe a whole spectrum of ways that people modify or improve their bodies, from fairly tame experiments like drinking nasty butter coffee to more intense modifications like growing extra ears out of their arms. Implanting magnets and RFID chips underneath the skin to experiment with … Continued
By Kate Knibbs -
Tech News
How the Atomic Age Gave Us Robot Surgeons
Your next surgery may be performed by a robot. It will be controlled by a doctor in the room, or perhaps by one across the country. What’s truly extraordinary, though, is where these surgery robots came from. Their origin stories stretch back to the radioactive labs of the atomic age. Image via Atomic Robo by … Continued
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io9
What Psychological Problems Do You Need To Be An Action Hero?
You’re a cop on the edge, an ex-marine with nothing left to lose, or just an everyday guy who’s too old for this shit. Whatever you are, the one thing you’re not is psychologically healthy. In fact, in order to be an action hero, you basically need to be maladjusted in these very specific ways. … Continued
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io9Movies
10 Most Messed-Up Versions Of The Hero’s Journey
Everybody knows the hero’s journey by heart at this point. The chosen one gets called to adventure, refuses, accepts, goes on trials, loses a mentor, faces darkness, defeats evil. But sometimes the hero’s journey takes a major detour. Here are 10 hero’s journeys go went to a dark, terrible place. 1) Anakin Skywalker When you … Continued
Charlie Jane Anders and Diana Biller -
io9Movies
Which Action Hero Has The Greatest Power To Defy The Laws Of Physics?
Action movies and novels take place in a fantastical kind of heightened reality, where heroes and villains are capable of amazing feats of agility — like sometimes, they can dodge explosions. Even heroes with no superpowers are pretty amazing when it comes down to it. But which action hero defies the laws of physics the … Continued
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Tech NewsYour Sex Life Is an Engineering Project
Everything is hackable — you can jailbreak your phone to get better apps, but you can also mod your own eyeballs to have night vision. Where do we go from there? Your libido, of course. Programmable vibrators are the new frontier in customizable gadgets, and we got a taste of what they’re like. Two very … Continued
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io9Movies
Welcome To Action Hero Week!
The world is a scary, dangerous place — but that’s okay, because we’re ready for action. This week is Action Hero Week at io9 and Gizmodo, and we’re celebrating our favorite heroes, and the gear that makes them extraordinary. What makes someone a great action hero? It’s not just being willing and able to do … Continued