BBC News

Engineers finish assembling the telescope that will succeed Hubble. James Webb, as it is known, is now on track to be launched two years from now.

Thousands of school children have been helping to carry out experiments to see whether seeds that have been in space grow as well as those that have stayed on Earth.

The swiftness with which the first Aboriginal settlers spread across Australia is underlined by the discovery of an ancient rock shelter north of Adelaide.

New research suggests chipmunks and a type of mouse evolved stripes early in their evolution, which may have given them an advantage in outwitting predators.

The results of a mass schools experiment led by Tim Peake have been released.

Campaigners have won the latest battle in legal action against the UK Government over levels of air pollution.

A newborn rhino, born at Blank Park Zoo in the US city of Des Moines, has been taking her first bath.

Radical plans to overhaul the system of managing flood risk are called for by the Commons environment and rural affairs committee.

A team of scientists at Royal Botanical Gardens Kew embarks on the mammoth task of creating a single database of the world's medicinal plant species.

One of the world's biggest telescope projects might be forced to move its location.

There remains the potential for future quakes in Italy’s Apennines region, say scientists who have reviewed the latest satellite maps of the region.

Thousands of baby Taricaya turtles have been released into the Peruvian Amazon as part of an effort to save them from extinction.

The BBC is preparing to broadcast live from Churchill in Canada, which has become known as the polar bear capital of the world.

Archaeological remains at wetland sites across the world could be at risk of being degraded and lost to environmental change, say scientists.

Scientists have transformed the humble spinach plant into a bomb detector.

The last weekend of October sees ladybirds swarm public spaces, people's homes and ex-footballers.

The 'Prof of Goth' Nick Groom on the origin of the vampire

Planting trees is a cost-effective way to tackle urban air pollution, which is a growing problem for many cities, a study suggests.

After years of international negotiations, Ross Sea in Antarctica will become the world's largest marine protected area.

The site where Europe's Mars lander crashed this month is revealed in new images.

Scientists have designed a new prototype battery that mimics the structure of the human intestines.

The furry rodents are thriving in the city's forests, researchers say.

A $100m initiative to listen for radio signals from aliens is targeting a star with an unusual dimming pattern.

Two strong earthquakes hit central Italy, damaging buildings and sending people into the streets.

A scheme that aims to re-establish one of King Henry III's favourite fish in the River Severn is given nearly £20m in funding.

Campaigners believe a long-standing proposal to establish a vast marine protected area (MPA) in the waters around Antarctica will be accepted this week.

Global wildlife populations have fallen by 58% since 1970, according to a biodiversity report.

Misleading "live" video from the International Space Station stuns the internet.

The family of a scientist who died in Antarctica in a snowmobile accident pay tribute to him.

Millions of pounds are being spent unblocking drains all because of wet wipes being flushed down the toilet.

A parrot fossil has been discovered in Siberia - the furthest north these birds have ever been found.

The Prince of Wales is joining an Anglo-French initiative to improve the condition of the world's soils.

Scientists have carried out their first test flight of a project to measure UK air pollution from the air.

The International Energy Agency says that the world's capacity to generate electricity from renewable sources has now overtaken coal.

Science Minister Jo Johnson and Prof Martyn Poliakoff mix politics and science to look at carbon dioxide and the acidification of oceans.

The mysterious hexagon at Saturn's northern pole has changed colour from blue to gold, scientists have said.

2016 is likely to be the first year in recorded history in which levels of CO2 in the atmosphere remain above the symbolically important threshold of 400 parts per million.

Canadian scientists use drones to capture rare whale footage in the Arctic.

The gouge in the ground probably made by Europe's Schiaparelli probe as it hit the surface of Mars on Wednesday has been imaged by an American satellite.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon tells the world's mayors they face making 'tough decisions' to ensure future generations live in a safe and sustainable urban world.

Hundreds of snow leopards are being poached in retaliation for livestock losses every year across the high mountain ranges of Asia, says a new report.

Some of the giants of the dinosaur family may have arisen in South America and crossed over Antarctica to Australia about 100 million years ago, new fossil evidence suggests.

Scores of spectacular and rare undersea species have been found on expeditions to some of the deepest trenches in the Pacific Ocean.

Europe's Schiaparelli lander did not behave as expected as it headed down to the surface of Mars on Wednesday, data shows.

Scientists in Italy have discovered how our brains can be tricked into feeling disembodied from our own limbs.

The eggs of a mosquito capable of transmitting tropical diseases, including the Zika virus, are found for the first time in the UK.

There are increasing fears a European probe that attempted to land on Mars on Wednesday has been lost.

Voles appear to have been roasted for food by Neolithic people living on Orkney 5,000 years ago, archaeological evidence shows.

Cave art from the Ice Age has helped solve the origins of Europe's largest land mammal - the modern European bison.

Two Chinese astronauts have docked with the Tiangong 2 space lab, where they will live for the next 30 days conducting experiments.