The hamster may be ubiquitous now, but it was a pioneering scientist who brought the rodent into labs and homes across the world

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional”: here are 5 our favourite stories from the wild life of Hunter S. Thomson

Giant DNA viruses are visible under a light microscope and their genomes encode more proteins than some bacteria or intracellular parasitic eukaryotes. There are two very distinct types and infect unicellular protists such as Acanthamoeba . On one hand, Megaviridae…

Learn what a headache is, and find out about the different types of headaches: cluster, tension, and migraine.

former official position within the Catholic Church

F.A.Q. Fundamental Beliefs Why do Satanists worship The Devil? We don’t. Satanists are atheists. We see the universe as being indifferent to us, and so all morals and values are subjective human constructions. Our position is to be self-centered, with ourselves…

Learn about Chrysippus, know as the Second Founder of Stoicism, who, using the work of Zeno, compiled what would come to be known as the basis of Stoicism.

Dozens of other big companies followed, including Taco Bell, Costco and Nestle (but only for its American products, like Toll House cookie dough). Animal-welfare activists say the announcements are a huge step in the right direction, because it means these…

Smart card

The 340th anniversary of Ole Roemer's experiment to demonstrate the speed of light has been celebrated in a Google doodle. But who is the astronomer and how did he make this significant discovery? 

aspect of history

Multiple officers arrive at home to find Perth man with ‘serious fear’ of arachnids ‘trying to kill a spider’

US rock band Metallica have achieved a new Guinness World Records noscript after becoming the first musical act to play a concert on all seven of Earth's continents.

comic strip by Bill Watterson

Sorry Marvel and DC: History won Comic-Con this year.

German resistance member

An American explorer finds plastic waste on the seafloor while breaking the record for the deepest ever dive.

Is a child who spends the day watching videos or playing in the backyard actually learning? Yes, say advocates of the "unschooling" movement.

Russian mathematician