If there's anything the Deadpool franchise is known for, it's R-rated cheeky irreverence. The forthcoming Deadpool and Wolverine clearly has that in spades, but the final trailer strikes an uncharacteristically somber note, reminding us just what Wade Wilson/Deadpool stands to lose if Wolverine can't rise to the challenge. Bonus: There's a surprise cameo from Hugh Jackman's co-star in Logan.

As previously reported, Ryan Reynolds found the perfect fit with 2016's Deadpool, starring as Wade Wilson, a former Canadian special forces operative (dishonorably discharged) who develops regenerative healing powers that heal his cancer but leave him permanently disfigured with scars all over his body. Wade decides to become a masked vigilante, turning down an invitation to join the X-Men and abandon his bad-boy ways. The first Deadpool was a big hit, racking up $782 million at the global box office, critical praise, and a couple of Golden Globe nominations for good measure. Deadpool 2 was released in 2018 and was just as successful.

Deadpool and Wolverine reunites Reynolds with many familiar faces from the first two films. Morena Baccarin is back as Wade's girlfriend Vanessa, along with Leslie Uggams as Blind Al; Karan Soni as Wade's personal chauffeur, taxi driver Dopinder; Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead; Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus; Shioli Kutsuna as Negasonic's mutant girlfriend, Yukio; Randal Reeder as Buck; and Lewis Tan as X-Force member Shatterstar.

Fans of director Denis Villeneuve's epic two-part film adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune have no doubt been curious about the upcoming HBO Max series, Dune: Prophecy. It's a prequel series inspired by the novel Sisterhood of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, exploring the origins of the Bene Gesserit. The studio just dropped a tantalizing teaser rife with political intrigue, ominous warnings, and a bit of hand-to-hand combat.

The series was first announced in 2019, with Villeneuve serving as an executive producer and Alison Schapker (Alias, Fringe, Altered Carbon) serving as showrunner. The first season will consist of six episodes, and it's unclear how closely the series will adhere to the source material. Per the official premise:

Set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.

Emily Watson co-stars as Valya Harkonnen, leader of the Sisterhood, with Olivia Williams playing her sister, Tula Harkonnen. Mark Strong plays Emperor Javicco Corrino, described as "a man from a great line of war-time Emperors, who is called upon to govern the Imperium and manage a fragile peace," while Jodhi May plays Empress Natalya, and Sarah-Sofie Boussnina plays Princess Ynez.

The face huggers and chest bursters return with a vengeance in a few weeks when Alien: Romulus finally hits theaters. It's the latest installment in the Alien franchise from horror director Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe, Evil Dead), and the final action-packed trailer just dropped.

(Spoilers for Alien and Aliens below.)

As previously reported, Alien: Romulus is set between the events of Alien and Aliens (and is not related to FX/Hulu's Alien prequel series slated to premiere next year). That is, after Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo, destroyed the killer xenomorph and launched herself into space in the ship's lifeboat—along with the ginger cat, Jonesy—and before she woke up after 57 years in hypersleep and battled more xenomorphs while protecting the young orphan, Newt (Carrie Henn). Per the short-and-sweet official premise: "While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe."

Enlarge / Two skeletons found in the ruins of a Pompeii building may have been crushed by wall collapses triggered by earthquakes. (credit: Pompeii Archaeological Park)

Archaeologists have hotly debated the precise cause of death of those who perished in Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. Did they die of asphyxiation, from the extreme heat, or from a combination of factors? A new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science examines the complicating effects of earthquakes that occurred just prior to and concurrently with the eruption. Of most interest was the discovery of two skeletons of people who likely died when their shelter collapsed around them, weakened by the seismic tremors.

As previously reported, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius released thermal energy roughly equivalent to 100,000 times the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, spewing molten rock, pumice, and hot ash over the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in particular. Archaeologists believed that the vast majority of the victims died of asphyxiation, choking to death on the thick clouds of noxious gas and ash.

However, a 2001 study in Nature, co-authored by University of Naples archaeologist Pierpaolo Petrone, estimated a temperature of 500° Celsius (932° Fahrenheit) for the pyroclastic surge that destroyed Pompeii, sufficient to kill inhabitants in fractions of a second. In 2018, we reported on Petrone's conclusion that inhabitants of Herculaneum may have suffered a similar fate. He observed fracturing in the bones of some 100 excavated skeletons, as well as "cracking and explosion" of the skullcaps, consistent with forensic cases where skulls burst from extreme heat.

Enlarge / Researchers have developed soft, stretchable "jelly batteries" that could be used for wearable devices or soft robotics. (credit: University of Cambridge)

Inspired by the electric shock capabilities of electric eels, scientists have developed a soft, stretchable "jelly" battery ideal for wearable devices or soft robotics, according to a new paper published in the journal Science Advances. With further testing in living organisms, the batteries might even be useful as brain implants for targeted drug delivery to treat epilepsy, among other conditions.

As previously reported, the electric eel produces its signature electric discharges—both low and high voltages, depending on the purpose for discharging—via three pairs of abdominal organs composed of modified muscle cells called electrocytes, located symmetrically along both sides of the eel. The brain sends a signal to the electrocytes, opening ion channels and briefly reversing the polarity. The difference in electric potential then generates a current, much like a battery with stacked plates.

Vanderbilt University biologist and neuroscientist Kenneth Catania is one of the most prominent scientists studying electric eels these days. He has found that the creatures can vary the degree of voltage in their electrical discharges, using lower voltages for hunting purposes and higher voltages to stun and kill prey. Those higher voltages are also useful for tracking potential prey, akin to how bats use echolocation. One species, Volta's electric eel (Electrophorus voltai), can produce a discharge of up to 860 volts. In theory, if 10 such eels discharged at the same time, they could produce up to 8,600 volts of electricity—sufficient to power 100 light bulbs.

Enlarge / Dr. Ann Burgess helps the FBI catch serial killers in Hulu's Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer. (credit: YouTube/Hulu)

Fans of the Netflix series Mindhunter might recall the character of Dr. Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), a psychologist who joins forces with FBI criminal profilers to study the unique psychology of serial killers in hopes of more effectively catching them. But they might not know about the inspiration for the character: Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, whose long, distinguished career finally gets the attention it deserves in a new documentary from Hulu, Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer.

Burgess herself thought it was "fun" to see a fictional character based on her but noted that Hollywood did take some liberties. "They got it wrong," she told Ars. "They made me a psychologist. I'm a nurse"—specifically, a forensic and psychiatric nurse who pioneered research on sex crimes, victimology, and criminal psychology.

Mastermind should go a long way toward setting things right. Hulu brought on Abby Fuller to direct, best known for her work on the Chef's Table series for Netflix. Fuller might seem like a surprising choice for making a true crime documentary, but the streamer thought she would bring a fresh take to a well-worn genre. "I love the true crime aspects, but I thought we could do something more elevated and cinematic and really make this a character-driven piece about [Ann], with true crime elements," Fuller told Ars.

Marvel Studios has dropped the first teaser for Captain America: Brave New World, star Anthony Mackie's first cinematic appearance as the new Captain America after the Phase Four 2021 TV miniseries, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This is the fifth film in the MCU's Phase Five, directed by Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox) and building on events not just in F&WS but also the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk. The teaser feels like a half-superhero movie, half-political thriller, and with the tantalizing introduction of Red Hulk, it promises to be an entertaining ride.

(Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier below.)

As previously reported, F&WS picked up in the wake of Avengers: End Game, when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) handed his Captain America shield to Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson (The Falcon) and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier), having chosen to remain in the past and live out his life with Peggy Carter. Sam and Bucky had to grapple with losing Steve and the burden of his legacy. Meanwhile, the US government had named its own new Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), a decorated veteran and ultimate "good soldier" who thought he could better embody "American values" than Rogers.  

Enlarge / The Fremen on Arrakis wear full-body "stillsuits" that recycle absorbed sweat and urine into potable water. (credit: Warner Bros.)

The Fremen who inhabit the harsh desert world of Arrakis in Frank Herbert's Dune must rely on full-body "stillsuits" for their survival, which recycle absorbed sweat and urine into potable water. Now science fiction is on the verge of becoming science fact: Researchers from Cornell University have designed a prototype stillsuit for astronauts that will recycle their urine into potable water during spacewalks, according to a new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Space Technologies.

Herbert provided specific details about the stillsuit's design when planetologist Liet Kynes explained the technology to Duke Leto Atreides I:

It's basically a micro-sandwich—a high-efficiency filter and heat-exchange system. The skin-contact layer's porous. Perspiration passes through it, having cooled the body ... near-normal evaporation process. The next two layers ... include heat exchange filaments and salt precipitators. Salt's reclaimed. Motions of the body, especially breathing and some osmotic action provide the pumping force. Reclaimed water circulates to catchpockets from which you draw it through this tube in the clip at your neck... Urine and feces are processed in the thigh pads. In the open desert, you wear this filter across your face, this tube in the nostrils with these plugs to ensure a tight fit. Breathe in through the mouth filter, out through the nose tube. With a Fremen suit in good working order, you won't lose more than a thimbleful of moisture a day...

The Illustrated Dune Encyclopedia interpreted the stillsuit as something akin to a hazmat suit, without the full face covering. In David Lynch's 1984 film, Dune, the stillsuits were organic and very form-fitting compared to the book description, almost like a second skin. The stillsuits in Denis Villeneuve's most recent film adaptations (Dune Part 1 and Part 2) tried to hew more closely to the source material, with "micro-sandwiches" of acrylic fibers and porous cottons and embedded tubes for better flexibility.

Enlarge / The intrepid three-legged lion Jacob and his brother Tibu prepare for a hunt. (credit: Alexander Braczkowski)

On February 4, scientists monitoring lion populations in Uganda captured nighttime thermal drone footage of two lions—brothers dubbed Jacob and Tibu by the Uganda Wildlife Authority—swimming across the predator-infested Kazinga Channel connecting two lakes, most likely to find mates. While there have been prior reports of lions swimming short distances, Jacob and Tibu covered about 1.5 kilometers (nearly one mile)—the longest swim yet recorded, according to a new paper published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

"The fact that [Jacob] and his brother Tibu have managed to survive as long as they have in a national park that has experienced significant human pressures and high poaching rates is a feat in itself—our science has shown this population has nearly halved in just five years," said co-author Alexander Braczkowski of Griffith University, who has been working with the government of Uganda since 2017 to monitor the lion population in the area. "His swim, across a channel filled with high densities of hippos and crocodiles, is a record-breaker and is a truly amazing show of resilience in the face of such risk.”

Jacob and Tibu's impressive feat is likely the result of increased pressure from human encroachment, according to Braczkowski. He co-authored a 2020 paper proposing a novel census technique that could be used more broadly as an early warning of lion declines. Their method revealed a worrying movement parameter for both male and female lions in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park, where the home range increased to 3.27 km (a 400 percent increase) for males and 2.22 km (a 100 percent increase) for females—likely a response to systematic prey depletion due to poaching, for example. And the sex ratio was dangerously skewed: one male to 0.75 females, a highly unusual occurrence.

Enlarge / Fragment of the Antikythera mechanism, circa 205 BC, housed in the collection of the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. (credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Image)

The inspiration for the titular device in last year's blockbuster, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was an actual archaeological artifact: the Antikythera mechanism, a 2,200-year-old bronze mechanical computer. It doesn't have any mystical time-traveling powers, but the device has been the subject of fierce scientific scrutiny for many decades and is believed to have been used to predict eclipses and calculate the positions of the planets.

A new paper published in The Horological Journal found evidence, based on statistical techniques drawn from physics, particularly the study of gravitational waves, that the mechanism's calendar ring was designed to track the lunar calendar. This contradicts a century-long assumption among scholars of the mechanism that the calendar ring had 365 holes, thus tracking with a solar calendar, but is in keeping with the conclusions of a 2020 analysis.

“It’s a neat symmetry that we’ve adapted techniques we use to study the universe today to understand more about a mechanism that helped people keep track of the heavens nearly two millennia ago," said co-author Graham Woan, an astrophysicist at the University of Glasgow. “We hope that our findings about the Antikythera mechanism, although less supernaturally spectacular than those made by Indiana Jones, will help deepen our understanding of how this remarkable device was made and used by the Greeks.”

Ridley Scott's epic 2000 historical drama Gladiator was a blockbuster hit that has become a classic over the ensuing two decades, thanks to powerful performances and spectacular special effects—especially in the gladiator arena. The director has long wanted to make a sequel, and we're finally getting Gladiator II later this year. Paramount Pictures just dropped the first trailer, and it promises to be just as much of a visual feast, as a new crop of power players (plus a couple of familiar faces) clash over the future of Rome.

(Spoilers for 2000's Gladiator below.)

For those who inexplicably haven't seen the original: Russell Crowe starred as Maximus, a Roman general who leads his army to victory against Germanic tribes on behalf of his emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). The aging emperor wishes Maximus to succeed him and restore the Roman Republic, passing over his own son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Commodus secretly murders his father instead and proclaims himself emperor, executing Maximus' wife and son because Maximus would not acknowledge his rule. Commodus also harbors squicky incestuous longings for his sister, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), mother to Lucius (Spencer Treat Clark) and former lover of Maximus.

The true identity of nosy next-door neighbor Agatha—played to perfection by Kathryn Hahn—was the big reveal of 2021's WandaVision, even inspiring a meta-jingle that went viral. Now Hahn is bringing the character back for her own standalone adventure with Agatha All Along. Based on the first trailer, it looks like a lot of dark, spooky fun, just in time for the Halloween season. The nine-episode series is one of the TV series in the MCU's Phase Five, coming on the heels of Secret Invasion, Loki S2, What If...? S2, and Echo.

(Spoilers for WandaVision below.)

WandaVision was set immediately after the events of Avengers: Endgame (but before Spider-Man: Far From Home), with newlyweds Wanda and Vision starting their married life in the town of Westview, New Jersey. Wacky hijinks ensued as the couple tried to lead a normal life while hiding their superpowers from their neighbors—especially Hahn's nosy Agnes. Each episode was shot in the style of a particular era of sitcom television, from the 1950s through the 2000s. The couple noticed more and more jarring elements—a full-color drone, a voice calling out to Wanda over the radio, neighbors briefly breaking character—hinting that this seemingly idyllic suburban existence might not be what it seemed.

Can a washed-up Formula One driver come out of retirement to mentor a young rookie into a champion? That's the basic premise for F1, a forthcoming film starring Brad Pitt and directed by Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy, Top Gun: Maverick). Warner Bros. dropped the first teaser for the film yesterday, right before the 2024 British Grand Prix.

Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a fictional Formula One driver who crashed horribly in the 1990s and retired from the sport. Then his longtime friend Ruben (Javier Bardem), owner of the fictional team APXGP, approaches him about coming out of retirement to mentor his team's rookie prodigy, Joshua "Noah" Pearce (Damson Idris). "They're a last place team, they're 21-22 on the grid, they've never scored a point," Pitt told Sky Sports last year. "But they have a young phenom (Idris) and they bring me in as kind of a Hail Mary and hijinks ensue."

In addition to Pitt, Bardem, and Idris, the cast includes Kerry Condon as Kate; Tobias Menzies as Banning; Kim Bodnia as Kaspar; Shea Wigham as Chip Hart; Joseph Balderrama as Rica Fazio; Sarah Niles as Noah's mother, Bernadette; Samson Kayo as Cashman; Callie Cooke as Jodie; and Layne Harper as Press.

Enlarge / Ncuti Gatwa wrapped his first full season as the Fifteenth Doctor and proved more than up to the challenge. (credit: YouTube/BBC)

Doctor Who is now in its 61st year, featuring a host of gifted British actors, each taking on the iconic role in turn. So Ncuti Gatwa had some very big shoes to fill when he took on playing the Fifteenth Doctor. Now the season has concluded and the verdict is in: Gatwa is more than up to the challenge, bringing sparkling energy, charisma, and a superb sense of style to the role. He sings and dances, too, as does winsome new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). They have terrific onscreen chemistry, and Davies is in top storytelling form. In short, the new season mostly feels as fresh and energetic as ever, and I'm already looking forward to more.

(Spoilers below.)

Here's a brief summation for the benefit of those who may not have kept up with the more recent seasons. This is Russell T. Davies' second stint as showrunner, having revived the series in 2005. He lost no time introducing a few new twists after signing back on as show runner. When it came time for Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor to regenerate, fans had expected Gatwa to be introduced. Instead, the new Fourteenth Doctor was played by former Tenth Doctor David Tennant, reuniting with former companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) for three specials.

Enlarge / Ariel and Caliban learned as kittens that scratching posts were fair game for their natural claw-sharpening instincts. (credit: Sean Carroll)

Ah, cats. We love our furry feline overlords despite the occasional hairball and their propensity to scratch the furniture to sharpen their claws. The latter is perfectly natural kitty behavior, but overly aggressive scratching is usually perceived as a behavioral problem. Veterinarians frown on taking extreme measures like declawing or even euthanizing such "problematic" cats. But there are alternative science-backed strategies for reducing or redirecting the scratching behavior, according to the authors of a new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

This latest study builds on the group's prior research investigating the effects of synthetic feline facial pheromones on undesirable scratching in cats, according to co-author Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas, a veterinary researcher at Ankara University in Turkey. "From the beginning, our research team agreed that it was essential to explore broader factors that might exacerbate this issue, such as those influencing stress and, consequently, scratching behavior in cats," she told Ars. "What’s new in this study is our focus on the individual, environmental, and social dynamics affecting the level of scratching behavior. This perspective aims to enhance our understanding of how human and animal welfare are interconnected in different scenarios."

The study investigated the behavior of 1,211 cats, with data collected via an online questionnaire completed by the cats' caregivers. The first section collected information about the caregivers, while the second asked about the cats' daily routines, social interactions, environments, behaviors, and temperaments. The third and final section gathered information about the frequency and intensity of undesirable scratching behavior in the cats based on a helpful "scratching index."

Enlarge / Scientists have observed wound care and selective amputation in Florida carpenter ants. (credit: Danny Buffat/CC BY-SA)

Florida carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus) selectively treat the wounded limbs of their fellow ants, according to a new paper published in the journal Current Biology. Depending on the location of the injury, the ants either lick the wounds to clean them or chew off the affected limb to keep infection from spreading. The treatment is surprisingly effective, with survival rates of around 90–95 percent for amputee ants.

“When we're talking about amputation behavior, this is literally the only case in which a sophisticated and systematic amputation of an individual by another member of its species occurs in the animal kingdom,” said co-author Erik Frank, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Würzburg in Germany. “The fact that the ants are able to diagnose a wound, see if it's infected or sterile, and treat it accordingly over long periods of time by other individuals—the only medical system that can rival that would be the human one."

Frank has been studying various species of ants for many years. Late last year, he co-authored a paper detailing how Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) south of the Sahara can tell if an injured comrade's wound is infected or not, thanks to chemical changes in the hydrocarbon profile of the ant cuticle when a wound gets infected. These ants only eat termites, but termites have powerful jaws and use them to defend against predators, so there is a high risk of injury to hunting ants.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson/Getty Images)

Since antiquity, humans have envisioned various means of time travel into the future or the past. The concept has since become a staple of modern science fiction. In particular, the number of films that make use of time travel has increased significantly over the decades, while the real-world science has evolved right alongside them, moving from simple Newtonian mechanics and general relativity to quantum mechanics and the notion of a multiverse or more exotic alternatives like string theory.

But not all time-travel movies are created equal. Some make for fantastic entertainment, but the time travel makes no scientific or logical sense, while others might err in the opposite direction, sacrificing good storytelling in the interests of technical accuracy. That's why last fall, we gave you the Ars Guide to Time Travel in the Movies, co-written by yours truly and my spouse, physicist Sean Carroll of Johns Hopkins University. The aim was to help us all make better, more informed decisions when it comes to choosing our time travel movie fare—and have a bit of fun while doing so.

The guide was never meant to be an exhaustive/comprehensive list; rather, we selected films that represented many diverse approaches to time travel across multiple subgenres and decades. We then evaluated each one—grading on a curve—with regard to its overall entertainment value and scientific logic, with the final combined score determining a film's spot on the overall ranking. Does the time travel make logical sense? Second, is the physical mechanism of time travel somewhat realistic? And third, does the film use time travel in narratively interesting ways? So a movie like Looper, which makes absolutely no sense if you think about it too hard, gets points for weaving time paradoxes thoroughly into the fabric of the story.

It has only been a few years since David Harbour starred in the 2019 reboot of the Hellboy film franchise—a critical and box office failure, although Harbour's performance earned praise. But via Entertainment Weekly, we learned that there's a new reboot coming our way: Hellboy: The Crooked Man. The project wrapped filming in May and now has a teaser—inexplicably released in 480p [UPDATE: ONE Media posted a higher resolution version, now embedded above]—giving us our first glimpse of star Jack Kesy's (Claws, Deadpool 2) take on Mike Mignola's iconic character.

It's definitely a very different look and vibe from the previous big studio releases. Director Brian Taylor (Crank) is clearly leaning into the low-budget folk horror genre for this, but will fans embrace a bargain-basement Hellboy reboot—even one co-written by Mignola himself?

Mignola based his script on a 2008 Hellboy limited series he created, with artwork by Richard Corben. That story features a younger Hellboy wandering in the Appalachian Mountains in 1958 after "finishing up some stuff down South." He meets regional native Tom Ferrell, coming home after decades away. When he was young, Tom was initiated as a witch and has returned to atone for that, even though he has never actually practiced magic—apart from a magical "witch-bone" he carries with him.