BBC News - Science & Environment
The latest stories from the Science & Environment section of the BBC News web site.
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.
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.
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.
Ants protect trees from elephants
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:34:46 GMT
A species of acacia tree found in Eastern Africa seems to be protected from elephant damage - by the ants that live on it.
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.
Plans for solar 'close encounter'
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:44:59 GMT
Nasa is aiming to get closer to the Sun than ever before, with plans to plunge a car-sized unmanned spacecraft into the star's outer atmosphere.
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.
Wolves fail to halt aspen decline
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:20:39 GMT
The re-introduction of wolves to a US National Park has not helped re-establish quaking aspens, as many researchers had hoped.
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.
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.
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.
Sharks swarm off Australian coast
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:07:49 GMT
Hundreds of sharks have been spotted off the Queensland coast.
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.
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.
Openness urged on UK's emissions
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:49:34 GMT
The government's chief environment scientist calls for more openness in admitting the UK's cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are an illusion.
Technique to trace persistent CFCs
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:49:58 GMT
Ultrafine measurements of atmospheric gases could help scientists track down the last sources of CFCs thought to be slowing the recovery of the ozone layer.
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.
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.
Creation was Godless says Hawking
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:25:32 GMT
There is no place for God in theories on the creation of the Universe, Professor Stephen Hawking concludes in a new book.
'Lights out' help migratory birds
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:52:21 GMT
A growing number of New York sky-scrapers switch off their lights at night to help reduce the number of migratory birds hitting the buildings.
Reading Arabic 'hard for brain'
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:56:38 GMT
Israeli scientists believe they have identified why Arabic is particularly hard to learn to read.
Did the Universe need a creator?
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:27:04 GMT
There is no place for God in theories on the creation of the Universe, the physicist and mathematician Professor Stephen Hawking has said.
Let it snow
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:34:00 GMT
Rare weather events caused last winter's freak snow storms
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.
Once bitten
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:42:04 GMT
Why bed-bugs are on the march again
Mighty mouse study on St Kilda
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:08:23 GMT
Researchers begin a three-year study to uncover the secrets of St Kilda's super-sized field mice.
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.
BP says oil spill cost up to $8bn
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:28:42 GMT
BP says the cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill has risen to $8bn - a rise of more than $2bn in the last month alone.
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.
Rare tree flowers after 23 years
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:29:30 GMT
A rare Chinese tree has flowered for the first time in 23 years at Kew's country estate in West Sussex.
Memristor revolution backed by HP
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:33:44 GMT
A potentially revolutionary circuit component, once a laboratory curiosity, is to be mass-produced for the first time.
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.
Panda twins delight Japanese zoo
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:47:29 GMT
New-born twin giant pandas made their first public appearance at a zoo in Japan on Friday in Shirahama.
Amazon river level at 40-year low
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:49:24 GMT
The River Amazon has dropped to its lowest level in 40 years in north-eastern Peru, leaving boats stranded.
Darwin's secret
Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:39:19 GMT
Darwin's artificial rainforest in the South Atlantic
