BBC News

A pair of astronauts have entered China's Tiangong 2 space station as they begin the country's longest manned space mission.

Europe’s Schiaparelli robot will soon attempt the risky descent to the surface of Mars, after a 500 million km journey from Earth.

BBC science reporter Victoria Gill explains what the European mission to Mars is hoping to find out.

A photo of an orangutan climbing high into a tree to reach some figs takes the top honour in the 2016 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

Milk from Tasmanian devils could offer up a useful weapon against antibiotic-resistant superbugs, according to Australian researchers.

The global farming sector has a big role to play in the effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to future climate change, the UN says.

Peru's environmental agency is investigating the deaths of some 10,000 frogs whose bodies have been found in a tributary of the Titicaca lake.

Horse chestnut trees are being attacked by a combination of pests and diseases which could cause the conker to vanish

The UK’s favourite new yellow submarine, Boaty McBoatface, will likely take on the grand challenge of trying to cross the entire Arctic Ocean under the ice.

A family of rare white squirrels are living in a suburb of Edinburgh.

A Humpback whale calf got stuck in shark nets off the Gold Coast in Australia.

The construction of the UK's £200m polar research ship, the RRS Sir David Attenborough has formally begun at the Cammell Laird Shipyard in Birkenhead.

Construction of the UK's new £200m polar research ship, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, formally begins at the Cammell Laird yard on Merseyside.

China launches a rocket carrying two astronauts to its orbiting space station in a mission designed to develop the country's ability to explore space.

Europe’s Schiaparelli spacecraft is ejected by its “mothership” and is now on a direct course to try to land on Mars on Wednesday.

Polish mathematicians who laid the groundwork for cracking the WW2 Nazi Enigma code, are being honoured at the country's embassy in London.

Countries meeting in Rwanda have agreed a "monumental" deal to phase out gases used in fridges that are worsening global warming.

Professor John Goodenough, whose work led to the lithium-ion battery, on the Samsung problems.

Subsidies to reduce the risk of blackouts must focus on innovative schemes for energy storage and cutting demand rather than "dirty diesel", MPs urge.

Video of twin giant panda cubs celebrating their first birthday is released by a zoo.

US Secretary of State John Kerry tells delegates meeting in Rwanda that hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases were "disastrous for our climate" and should be rapidly phased out.

Unusual cave art as much as 14,500 years old is found in northern Spain - and pronounced the "most spectacular" in the Iberian peninsula.

A UK-wide citizen science project that has attracted almost one million participants is awarded a further £1.2m of lottery funding.

"Extremely rare" fossils from a swordfish-like predator which lived 100 million years ago have been discovered on Australia's "Dinosaur Trail".

A comet impact 55 million years ago may have helped mammals dominate the Earth.

Tom Feilden explains why maths and computing may now hold the key to a career in medicine and biology

A group of Vienna-based scientists is working on plans to create a pacifist nation state, called Asgardia, in space.

Monitoring wild birds on their long migrations may provide early warning of bird flu outbreaks, say scientists.

Banning the cooling gases currently used in refrigeration and air conditioning could save half a degree of global warming if a deal can be agreed in Rwanda.

Land Speed Record holder Andy Green reflects on the partnership the Bloodhound supersonic car project has forged with Chinese auto group Geely.

Four scientists are awarded the 2016 World Food Prize for crop work that delivers health benefits in developing nations.

The UK's official advisers have issued a sombre assessment of government plans to hold climate change at a safe level.

Scientists have reconstructed the "voicebox" of an extinct bird that lived at the time of the dinosaurs - and they say it honked or quacked like a duck.

In a very unusual case of genetic theft, a virus has been caught with a gene that codes for the poison of black widow spiders.

Scientists begin examining rocks drilled from the crater dug out of Earth's crust by the asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs.

President Barack Obama says the US will work with private companies on its plan to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.

A bottlenose dolphin is pictured flipping a porpoise into the air in a deadly attack.

Hundreds of thousands of householders in flood risk areas have failed to install basic protection against rising waters, insurers say.

Russian social media site launches platform for pets.

The European Schiaparelli probe will make its landing attempt on Mars prepared even to handle dust storms if that is what the planet throws up, the mission team says.

A huge drop in the number of butterflies in the UK is causing confusion among wildlife experts.

New, independent research seen by the BBC suggests Heathrow airport could build a new runway without breaking European pollution laws.

More than 100 scientists from 28 countries have called for global action to protect seagrass meadows, which provide food and shelter for fish, marine mammals and birds.

Aspinall Foundation's Port Lympne wildlife park in Kent has praised the arrival of two critically endangered black rhino calves in Tanzania.

Ten years ago an earthquake detected in North Korea turned out to be the country's first ever nuclear test. Seismologist Mika McKinnon explains how scientists tell the difference.

Conservative US blogger Matt Drudge suggests warnings over Hurricane Matthew are a government conspiracy, but critics say his comments are wrong and dangerous.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield discusses with Sarah Montague the importance of fear.

A humpback whale which was stranded on a sandbank off Australia frees itself after its calf was filmed apparently pushing her into deeper water.

A landmark deal has been struck by the aviation industry to limit greenhouse gases, but environmentalists are unimpressed.

Nobel laureates are getting older in every field but one. Could it all be down to quantum mechanics?