Hong Kong gets its first case of deadly H7N9 bird flu
A 35-year old woman in Hong Kong is currently in critical condition, a sign that the virus is now spreading across China
Hints of cold dark matter pop up in 10-year-old circuit
Some of the most wanted stuff in the universe may have shown its face in a simple tabletop experiment nearly a decade ago – only no one noticed at the time
The night: Things that go bump...
There's no need to be afraid of the dark, says Jessica Hamzelou – just the killer creatures that live in it
Animal-rights group sues to secure freedom for chimps
Animal-rights groups have filed the kind of lawsuit notably used in the antislavery movement to try and get chimps recognised as persons rather than property
The best science books of 2013
From exploring the post-Higgs world to the neuroscience of art, here are CultureLab's top 10 books of the year
Mapped: male and female brain connections
The left and right sides of the brain are wired differently in men and women – in ways that reflect some stereotypical differences between the sexes
Life savers: A photo history of the artificial heart
Tin Man, if you really want a heart, forget the Wizard of Oz. Head instead for the Smithsonian's collection of artificial hearts
The night: When darkness falls, fear rises
Why do we love to scare ourselves stupid? The answers are far older than you might think. Graham Lawton peeks from between his fingers
Snakes outpacing other vertebrates in race to evolve
The king cobra and Burmese python are the first snakes to have their genome sequenced, and the results show their genes are unusually prone to change
Fake brain helps investigate age's intelligence decline
First computer simulation of the brain to compete with humans in intelligence tests reveals that cell death isn't enough to explain ageing's mental decline
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