BBC News

Beautiful places threatened by mass tourism

Britain's first astronaut says the UK risks becoming a "backward nation" if the government does not pay to send more people into space.

UK universities could find it harder to recruit international students if the UK leaves the EU, suggests a survey.

In a major genetic study, scientists trace the historic global spread of a cancer transmitted between mating dogs.

Officials at Yellowstone National Park reveal that they had to put down a newborn bison after some tourists put it in the boot of their car.

Nissan Qashqai cars built at the firm's Sunderland plant in the UK were fitted with so-called emissions defeat devices, South Korean officials allege.

April was the seventh month in a row to have broken global temperature records, Nasa figures show.

The effects from riding four 'gyroscopes'

India is to divert water from major rivers like the Brahmaputra and the Ganges to deal with severe drought, a senior minister tells the BBC.

Thousands of Australian aircraft enthusiasts have watched the world's largest plane, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, arrive in Perth.

By 2060 more than a billion people worldwide will live in cities at risk of catastrophic flooding as a result of climate change, a UK charity warns.

Andre Brahic, one of the people who discovered the rings of Neptune, has died aged 73, his publisher says.

The new chief executive of the RSPCA, Jeremy Cooper, says the charity has made mistakes in the past and in future will be "less political".

Bones and stone tools from deep beneath a river in Florida betray the presence of humans 14,500 years ago.

Dung beetles record a mental image of the positions of celestial bodies and use the snapshot to navigate, say researchers.

UK satellite manufacturer SSTL reaches a key milestone in its work on Galileo, shipping its 22nd navigation payload for Europe's version of GPS.

Dramatic video of Costa Rica's Turrialba Volcano erupting has been captured with an infrared camera.

Solar Impulse has landed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ending stage 11 in its round-the-world journey.

A migratory bird has shrunk in stature as temperatures warm in its Arctic breeding ground, according to research.

Is there any point in planting new trees?

European scientists have found a way to super-charge their study of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, enabling them to recover 100 times more detail in areas known to be melting.

An elephant at Whipsnade zoo has a rotten molar extracted after it stops eating and begins losing weight.

A fox cub falls down a drain and the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service come to the rescue.

Europe's Swarm space mission is providing an unprecedented view of Earth's protective magnetic field, scientists say.

The Boaty McBoatface row has "put a smile on everyone's face" and been "good for science", the head of the National Environment Research Council tells MPs.

Archaeologists say a tiny stone flake from north-western Australia, nearly 50,000 years old, is a remnant of the earliest known axe with a handle.

Fish are unable to learn the scent of their predators in dying coral reefs, research reveals.

Chile's southern coast has been hit by the biggest ever "red tide" in history. It's caused by toxic algae which is killing sea life and damaging the local fishing economy.

Nasa announces the discovery of more than 100 Earth-sized planets orbiting alien stars.

Five Pacific islands have disappeared as a result of rising sea levels in a first confirmation of the impact of climate change on coastlines, scientists say.

The EU's Sentinel-3a satellite offers a peek at what will be one of its most fundamental products - a map of sea surface height anomalies.

Cross-continental study reveals how camels' genetic diversity is shaped by ancient trade routes.

Scientists have published their first global assessment of the state of the world's plants.

A new report looking at the state of the world's plants estimates that 390,900 species are known to science.

Nasa images capture Mercury transit the Sun, one of the few times it will do so this century.

The Solar System's smallest planet has made one of its irregular passes between the Earth and Sun.

A man who sexually assaulted and stabbed a girl 32 years ago has been given a life sentence for her murder.

Europe's rover mission to Mars is "drinking in the last chance saloon", warns the European Space Agency's director general, who says the project cannot have an open-ended schedule or budget.

Scientists say they have developed an invisible elastic film that can be applied to the skin to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and eye bags.

The woman accused of leading one of Africa's biggest smuggling rings

A study to find out how a form of leprosy is affecting the UK's threatened red squirrels is to be carried out on Dorset's Brownsea Island.

The cave divers who went back for their dead friends

Thousands of people have take advantage of a move by the authorities in Paris to close the famous Champs Elysees thoroughfare to traffic.

Tributes are paid to renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough as he turns 90.

Conservationists have launched a global campaign asking the public to use a smartphone app to help tackle the illegal trade in wildlife.

Scientists say new fossils found in China are of a crocodile-like creature that was the first known plant-eating marine reptile.

The UK's new state-of-the-art polar research ship will be named after Sir David Attenborough, despite the title "Boaty McBoatface" previously topping a public vote.

A quick look at some of the best moments of the beloved broadcaster and naturalist.