BBC News - Science & Environment

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• '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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• Sharks swarm off Australian coast
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:07:49 GMT)

Hundreds of sharks have been spotted off the Queensland coast. ... 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• 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. ... Read

• Let it snow
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:34:00 GMT)

Rare weather events caused last winter's freak snow storms ... Read

• Once bitten
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:42:04 GMT)

Why bed-bugs are on the march again ... Read

• Darwin's secret
(Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:39:19 GMT)

Darwin's artificial rainforest in the South Atlantic ... Read