My so-called viral life: is discovery new life form?
Dubbed "Pandora viruses", jumbo-sized viruses have been discovered that are so unusual they might need their own, new domain of life
Gut bacteria vital in evolution of new animal species
Wasps of different species can mate successfully if we tinker with their gut bugs, backing the "hologenome" idea that bacteria shape their hosts' evolution
Designing for microscopic life in the great indoors
It's time we start thinking about the microbes that live on – and in – our buildings and gadgets, says ecologist and engineer Jessica Green
MERS is worrying – but not an emergency for now
The World Health Organization says the Middle Eastern coronavirus is "serious and requires close monitoring" but is not a public health emergency
CIA spooks investigate geoengineering to fix climate
Concerned about the impact of climate change on global security, the CIA is part-funding a US National Academy of Sciences geoengineering study
Feedback: The mark of the barcode
Barcode conspiracies, Revelations for the record, uncertainty beer and more
Lines on the face help pick out the twin who dunnit
Telling which identical twin committed a crime is tough, but knowing how the face ages may help forensic experts identify them
Thirsty clean energy may add to water stressed world
While cutting emissions is necessary to curb global warming, some renewable and clean energy sources are thirstier than fossil fuels
Axing health statistics is penny wise, pound foolish
We cannot afford to let figures vital for assessing our wellbeing fall victim to austerity cuts, warns a policy researcher
Pitch drop caught on camera after 69-year wait
A blob of bitumen that fell from a funnel at Trinity College Dublin is the first ever witnessed in one of the world's longest-running experiments
Vendettas, not war? Unpicking why our ancestors killed
Rather than wars between groups, violence in early societies was most often due to personal clashes within the same society, a controversial study suggests
Magnetic fluid mimics biological pattern formation
Video shows how a water-repelling surface and a magnet can split a drop of a liquid infused with magnetic nanoparticles into symmetrical arrangements
Chimps have experimented with sex more than humans
A look at sperm plugs used by chimps may help establish how the last common ancestor of chimps and humans mated
Rave universe shows galactic imprint of quasar light
No, this isn't a city from orbit or raving microbes – it's a simulation of how galaxies and vast gas clouds affect the light from distant super-bright objects
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