BBC News - Science & Environment

The latest stories from the Science & Environment section of the BBC News web site.

Weather clash causes snowy winter

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:34:00 GMT

The collision of two major weather events can explain unusually large snowfall in the US and Northern Europe, researchers say.

Facial cancer hits Tasmanian devil Cedric

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:41:39 GMT

A Tasmanian Devil who experts hoped was immune to a facial cancer that threatens the marsupial species is euthanised after developing tumours.

Killer space blast 'off the hook'

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:08:28 GMT

The theory that the great beasts living in North America 13,000 years ago were killed off by a space impact can now be discounted, a new study claims.

Go with the flow

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:21:50 GMT

Swarms of turbines could tap energy from Gulf Stream

Clue to ancient Antarctic seaway

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:13:42 GMT

Scientists have found evidence for an ancient sea passage linking currently isolated areas of Antarctica.

Stone Age funeral feast unearthed

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:17:29 GMT

The remains of a huge 12,000 year old feast have been found in a cave in Northern Israel.

Harrabin's Notes

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:38:44 GMT

Where now for the UN's climate science body?

Big rocket booster in second test

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:09:11 GMT

A further test ignition takes place on the giant booster intended to power Nasa's next big rocket.

GM potatoes beating killer blight

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:27:52 GMT

Researchers working on trials of genetically modified crops in Norfolk have grown potatoes which resist disease.

Glass of milk stops garlic breath

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:58:34 GMT

Drinking a glass of milk can stop garlic breath, scientists discover.

Nasa booster rocket passes test

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:52:58 GMT

One of the giant booster rockets intended to power the first stage of flight on Nasa's next rocket has been tested in the US.

Space crystals

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:15:43 GMT

Space station could be used to grow a new kind of crystal

Brazil green light for Amazon dam

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:49:59 GMT

Brazil's government approves the controversial construction on a tributary of the Amazon of the world's third biggest hydroelectric dam.

Stricter checks for climate body

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:00:12 GMT

The UN's climate science body needs stricter checks to prevent damage to its credibility, an independent review concludes.

Ancient reef uncovered in Pacific

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:58:41 GMT

An ancient reef may provide scientists with clues about what will happen to coral when sea temperatures rise.

Tiger cub 'found in stuffed toys'

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:41:58 GMT

A two-month-old tiger cub is found sedated and hidden among stuffed toys in a woman's luggage at Bangkok's international airport.

Thousands flee Indonesia volcano

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:38:59 GMT

Thousands of Indonesians have been forced to leave their homes after a volcano erupted on the island of Sumatra.

Gorillas 'play tag like humans'

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:00:38 GMT

Great apes play tag in similar way to humans, an international team of scientists finds.

Copycat octopus impersonates fish

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:29:42 GMT

DNA study of the Indonesian mimic octopus reveals how its ability to impersonate other sea life evolved.

Free kick study boost for footballers

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:25:05 GMT

Dr Andy Harland of Loughborough University analyses what new free-kick trajectory findings mean for footballers.

Darwin's secret

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:39:19 GMT

Why Darwin's little-known "project" in the South Atlantic is still causing debate today

Making money from Peruvian bird poo

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:24:26 GMT

An island off Peru is making money from selling bird poo to use as organic fertiliser.

Double space impact 'killed dinosaurs'

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:36:42 GMT

The dinosaurs were wiped out by at least two space impacts rather than a single strike, say scientists.

Geneticists crack apple genome

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:02:04 GMT

A team of 86 global scientists sequence the genome of the Golden Delicious apple for the first time.

Plants send SOS signal to insects

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:31:37 GMT

Plants are able to summon insects to their aid to avoid being eaten by caterpillars, scientists discover.

Wheat genome boost to food supply

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:25:18 GMT

The draft sequences of the wheat genome released by UK scientists may prove to be a vital contribution to the efforts of securing global food supply.

Floods swamp south Sudan region

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:53:14 GMT

Some 57,000 people have been forced from their homes because of dramatic floods in south-western Sudan over the past month, officials say.

Beefy dino sported fearsome claws

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:24:28 GMT

Fossils of a new type of dinosaur, which looks like a beefy version of the predatory Velociraptor, have been unearthed in Romania.

Fishermen welcome new sole quota

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:48:30 GMT

Fishermen from Suffolk and Essex have welcomed a new quota agreement which allows smaller boats to start catching sole again.

Earthquake recorded in North Sea

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:31:19 GMT

An earthquake is recorded in the North Sea about 155 miles east of Aberdeen.

US East Coast on hurricane alert

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:08:18 GMT

Areas along the US East Coast declare states of emergency as Hurricane Earl churns towards the region, forecast to brush land on Thursday night.

Video reveals Titanic's condition

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:58:06 GMT

New pictures have emerged of the shipwreck of the Titanic, almost 25 years since it was first discovered.

UK biofuels 'fail on green goals'

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:04:23 GMT

The vast majority of biofuels sold on UK forecourts are imported and do not conform to environmental standards, figures show.

Old star wallows in 'steam bath'

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:46:11 GMT

Europe's Herschel space telescope spies an aging star that has surrounded itself in hot water vapour.

Greatest free-kick 'was no fluke'

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:15:06 GMT

Physicists explain one of football's most spectacular free-kicks, showing that Roberto Carlos's 1997 "impossible goal" was not a fluke.

Cairo zoo puts lions on the pill

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:52:13 GMT

Vets at Cairo's Giza Zoo are experimenting with the human birth control pill in an attempt to slow their rapidly expanding population of lions.

How flat is flat?

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:38:45 GMT

Surveying the world's first 1,000mph race track

Rare Roman lantern found in field

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:20:11 GMT

A metal detecting enthusiast finds what is believed to be the only intact Roman lantern made out of bronze ever discovered in Britain.

Creation was Godless says Hawking

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:18:26 GMT

There is no place for God in theories on the creation of the Universe, Professor Stephen Hawking concludes in a new book.