BBC News

A south London road breaches its EU annual air pollution limit for 2017 in just five days.

The quality of forensic science work in England and Wales is putting the integrity of the criminal justice system at risk, the regulator warns.

A notorious egg thief is on the run after stealing bird eggs worth up to £5,000, after authorities in Brazil lost track of him.

One of the 10 largest icebergs ever recorded is ready to break away from Antarctica, scientists say.

Fossils of ancient plants shed light on how the family that includes crops such as potatoes evolved.

The UK's largest Antarctic research station which will be home to the ship nearly named Boaty McBoatface gets a £100m upgrade.

A seal is found in the back garden of a holiday home, 2km (1.2 miles) away from the sea.

The UK Ministry of Defence has officially awarded a £30m contract to produce a prototype laser weapon.

New research backs a controversial study that found there had been no slowdown in global warming.

Astronomers have pinpointed the source of mysterious radio bursts from space.

The government is "absolutely committed" to ensuring that British farmers have access to migrant workers after Brexit.

The UK's most famous dinosaur skeleton is on show for the last time ahead of nationwide tour.

A two-week-old baby orangutan makes its public debut at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.

Brexit poses a huge risk to the UK wildlife and habitats, a group of MPs says.

Rebecca Morelle looks ahead to some of the big events in science expected in 2017.

New Year fireworks contributed to high pollution levels in German cities, official figures suggest.

Illegally traded endangered species that escape to form secondary populations offer opportunities for their long-term survival, a study suggests.

The world's oldest known killer whale, estimated to be 105 years old, is missing and presumed dead, researchers say.

Potentially disruptive volcanic ash clouds cross Northern Europe more frequently than previously thought, according to a new study.

India opens two world-leading clean energy projects - the world's biggest solar farm and a chemicals plant using CO2 to make baking soda.

The adventurer Sir David Hempleman-Adams calls on politicians to "grasp the nettle" on climate change.

A leading US Republican fears for the future of her grandchildren with Donald Trump as president.

From a majestic natural spectacle to a high-octane technological thrill ride, here's our guide to the big science events of 2017.

The work of a number of the UK's leading scientists has been recognised in the New Year Honours.

Despite its alarming pollution levels, Delhi has seen an explosion in the number of private vehicles, while public transport is in decline, environmentalists warn.

China announces a ban on all ivory trade and processing activities by the end of 2017.

Here's a selection of the most inspiring findings in archaeology revealed this year.

Migrating birds are arriving at their breeding grounds earlier as global temperatures rise, an Edinburgh University study finds.

A rare giraffe has been born at Chester Zoo.

Warm winters and bad summers have hit the insect population, but seen other wildlife flourish, says the National Trust

Urgent action is needed to stop the cheetah - the world's fastest land animal - becoming extinct, scientists say.

A selection of the best science and environment reads this year.

Astronomer Vera Rubin, whose pioneering work led to the theory of dark matter, dies at 88.

A new study estimates there are just 7,100 now left in the wild as they face growing conflict with humans.

UK scientists have decoded the genome of the ash in the fight against a devastating plant disease.

A selection of the best science and environment reads this year.

British-born astronaut Piers Sellers has died of pancreatic cancer, aged 61, Nasa says.

Could wave energy ever power the world?

A UK designer launches the "30-year Christmas sweatshirt" to question the ethics of the "fast fashion" industry.

Temperatures at the North Pole could be up to 20 degrees higher than average this Christmas Eve.

A British team is in the final stages of designing its car for next year's World Solar Challenge in the Australian desert.

Some dinosaurs shed their teeth as they grew up, according to fossil evidence.

For the first time scientists have been able to track the high-flying insects that migrate across the skies of Southern England every year.

Two baby orangutans have been rescued from the back of a taxi in Thailand.

Threatened by habitat loss and hunting, Madagascar's lemurs, a critically endangered species, are finding refuge in a private sanctuary.

From the first direct evidence for black holes, to a rocky planet circling a neighbouring star, 2016 was packed with amazing science stories.

Japan scraps a 22-year-old experimental nuclear reactor that has cost $9bn but barely ever worked.

A hand-reared baby gorilla which was born 10 months ago has moved in with a surrogate mother.

Barack Obama has permanently banned offshore drilling in the "vast majority" of northern US waters.

Direct recordings have revealed what happens in our brains as we make sense of speech in a noisy environment, scientists say.