Helicopters drop 200 tons of poison pellets in world’s biggest extermination project

Artist Alfredo Jaar makes the point that while 28 countries own national pavilions inside the Giardini, the remaining 60 are kept outside. Chile, his own country, has to rent its pavilion.

A synthetic kidney made from a patient’s own skin cells might soon be ready for the first human transplant following the creation of a similar artificial organ in laboratory animals, scientists said today.

Direct, brain-to-brain communication? Digitally enhanced nervous systems? “Organic” computing? If Professor Miguel Nicolelis has his way, such hi-tech enhancements are not as far off as you might think.

The author of His Dark Materials is excited to see his new story, I Was a Rat!, performed on stage in Birmingham

Research into 'man-machine interface' could one day allow people to communicate directly with electronic devices by thought alone

This is a brave and ambitious choice for an RSC family Christmas show.

"The mice at this station have been attacking customers," reads a sign at the entrance to Farringdon Tube station in London. "Please place the bottom of your trousers into your socks to avoid being a victim of the Farringdon mice."

There is something of a swagger about Vilas Ubhare when he sets about killing a rat. His stick comes down fast, the rat is dispatched and then in a fluid, unbroken motion Mr Ubhare hooks his toe under the rodent's tail, flips the corpse into the air and catches it neatly in a sack. It is like watching a footballer perform tricks in the park.

Views from abroad

Animal welfare charities reacted angrily to news today that the number of animal experiments rose to a record high in Britain last year.

Another day, another 50 Shades of Grey story. So what is the latest development being attributed to the popularity of E L James' sadomasochistic tale, now the fastest-selling paperback of all time?

Nigel is encouraged to tidy in a frock. It doesn't solve much, but we get to have a gawp

The rabbit who just runs and runs and runs