BBC News

New research sheds light on why yawns are so contagious.

Scientists are closer to solving one of the big puzzles of the plant world - why leaf size matters.

Researchers observe smooth-coated otters watching and learning from each other.

The reasons why the fourth-largest city in the US has become its flood capital.

More tests next month might mean the pods for the science-fictional transport system hit 500 km/h

Conservation charity WWF warns that the species were found in areas at risk from human activity.

This is the largest radio telescope on Earth, 5,000m up in the Atacama Desert. It can see stars and planets being born millions of light-years away.

Why has the government returned to an industrial strategy abandoned in the 1980s?

Vet Amir Khalil goes into conflict areas to save the zoo animals left behind.

US authorities approve a treatment which re-designs a patient's own immune system to attack cancer.

The order prevents the government from exploiting a protected area bigger than Denmark.

New data gathered by the Cassini probe suggests Saturn's icy bands formed relatively recently.

Birds rely on smell to find their bearings when land is out of sight, according to a study.

A 200-million-year-old fossil 're-discovered' in a museum is something special, say scientists.

The arguments nearly a century ago over the use of leaded petrol.

The sight, off the coast of Florida's Anna Maria Island, was filmed on Thursday afternoon.

A new citizen science survey aims to shed light on that fixture of summertime in the outdoors: the wasp.

A huge rockfall in Val Bondasca raises questions about how climate change is affecting the Alps.

Hundreds of years after the dodo died out, new facts are emerging about the life history of the bird.

Rising Arctic temperatures are boosting commercial shipping in the region, worrying environmentalists.

Scientists are divided on whether snow leopards are still endangered species, a BBC investigation finds.

The previously-protected area is bigger than Denmark and is thought to be rich in gold.

Campaigners in Poland are worried about the future of one of Europe's last primeval forests, as the Polish government defies an EU order to stop logging there.

Up to 60 million Pakistanis are at risk from the deadly chemical, according to a new water analysis.

New study shows invasive rhododendrons damage woodland environment but are not poisoning the soil

The UK contributes to a sophisticated new radar to map the Sun's impacts on Earth's high atmosphere.

Former Marshall Islands minister Tony De Brum, who played a key role in securing the Paris pact passes away aged 72.

Australia Zoo has asked the public to name a white koala joey.

Scientists create bacteria covered in tiny solar panels that generate a potential new fuel from the Sun.

Find out when you can next witness a solar eclipse in your country with our eclipse calculator.

BBC correspondent James Cook views the total eclipse from 40,000ft above the Pacific Ocean.

Ministers said plans to extract iron near a penguin reserve lacked sufficient environmental guarantees.

A Nasa telescope captures the total solar eclipse as it passes over the western US state of Oregon.

Skywatchers in the US are treated to a spectacular coast-to-coast eclipse.

The US witnesses the spectacular effects of its first coast-to-coast solar eclipse in 100 years.

A section of the UK's new polar research ship will get an early taste of the sea this week.

In 'windy' La Ventosa, a village 700km from Mexico City, residents are renting out their land for wind farms.

Ahead of Monday's eclipse in the US, here are four tips from the Faroe Islands, which experienced one in 2015.

Now Sharon and Billy Hahs are preparing for one in their own backyard.

A planetary takeover by ocean algae 650 million years ago was the kick that transformed life on Earth.

Scientists trace nuclear waste from Sellafield over 15,000km to Bermuda to see how the ocean transports carbon.

Trump is once again allowing hunters in Alaska to shoot bear cubs and hibernating bears, but is this as bad as it sounds?

Indian scientists say they can monitor the physiological health of elephants by analysing their dung.

UK shale deposits were formed 55 million years too late to trap large amounts of gas, a professor warns.

Japanese researchers have taught chimps the rules of rock-paper-scissors.

Elgin Energy is granted planning permission for a 20MW project near Urquhart in Moray

A dinosaur that seemed to be an evolutionary mishmash turns out to have a key place in history.

The Shetland Monkeyflower has a bigger flower with a wider throat than its ancestors.

Can 10 men and a dog, led by British explorer Pen Hadow, become the first to sail to the North Pole?

How can a brass band and a steam train help you understand the universe?