The most popular news stories on our website this year included viruses so large that they rival a bacterium, one of the longest-running experiments in history and how our Universe could have been created in the collapse of a four-dimensional star.
1. Simulations back up theory that Universe is a hologram
        A ten-dimensional theory of gravity makes the same predictions as standard quantum physics in fewer dimensions.
2. Quantum gas goes below absolute zero
        Ultracold atoms pave way for negative-Kelvin materials.
3. World's slowest-moving drop caught on camera at last
        Once-forgotten 'tar pitch' experiment yields results after seven decades.
 4. Underwater volcano is Earth's biggest
        Tamu Massif rivals the size of Olympus Mons on Mars.
 5. Did a hyper-black hole spawn the Universe?
        Big Bang was mirage from collapsing higher-dimensional star, theorists propose.
 6. Giant viruses open Pandora's box
        Genome of largest viruses yet discovered hints at 'fourth domain' of life.
 7. Mystery humans spiced up ancients' sex lives
        Genome analysis suggests there was interbreeding between modern humans, Neanderthals, Denisovans and an unknown archaic population.
  8. Animal-rights activists wreak havoc in Milan laboratory
        University says loss of animals and lab records may ruin years of work on psychiatric diseases.
  9. Large magma reservoir gets bigger
        But earthquakes, not eruptions, are Yellowstone's most serious geological risk.
 10. Long-lost continent found under the Indian Ocean
        Sand from Mauritian beaches reveals rock from ancient landmass.