Delightful Creatures Spitting armadillos have given leprosy to 9 people in Florida Mark Frauenfelder

happy mutants John Varley's "Irontown Blues" – noir doggy science fiction from one of the field's all-time greats Cory Doctorow

Holiday When was "going to the beach" invented? David Pescovitz

Iconic images by documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark, who has died at 75 Xeni Jardin

History Kafka and d'Annunzio, and the mysteries to be revealed in their former homes Jasmina Tesanovic