BBC News

Japan decides to resume hunting whales in the Antarctic after a break of more than a year despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice.

Should powers station cooling towers be protected?

Is there an economic case for tackling climate change?

Psychologist Dr Uta Frith challenges unconscious bias

A study finds that tarantulas evolved almost exactly the same shade of vibrant blue at least eight separate times.

A large chunk of what is believed to have been an unmanned American space rocket is found in the sea off the Isles of Scilly.

The decision to allow shale gas drilling - or fracking - in Lancashire will be made directly by the government, it has emerged.

Lakes that have been forming near Mount Everest could threaten settlements downstream if they overflow.

A public opinion survey suggests that support for strong action on climate change has declined since 2009.

An experimental drone fitted with sensors is being deployed to monitor gases rising from rubbish dumps.

Scientists use ultrasound to scan the blood vessels of an entire rat brain in microscopic 3D detail, pioneering a technique they say will improve cancer and stroke diagnosis.

A South Africa court lifts a ban on the domestic trade in rhino horns which was imposed by the government in 2009 to stem poaching.

John Maguire visited Bristol, which has been serving as Europe's official Green Capital, to see what the city has achieved in 2015.

Spiders - and their prey - can be identified from the DNA they leave behind stuck on webs, say US scientists.

About 100,000 wetland birds are killed every year from poisoning by discarded lead ammunition, say scientists.

The strange world of enviro-jargon

Striking drone footage shows the extent of the retreat of Switzerland's Rhone Glacier, as scientists warn such magisterial ice-masses will have almost vanished by the end of the century.

Why one Danish hunter campaigns against the use of lead ammunition.

Ten years after being formally approved, Europe's ExoMars project is at last ready to send some hardware - a satellite - to the Red Planet.

Private investors are being invited to help fund the restoration of about one half of the UK's peatlands.

The UK government announces it is axing a £1bn grant for developing new carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

The UK chancellor has said that the science budget will be protected in real terms - equating to an increase.

Faced with a trade-off between shortest route and foraging power, army ants find the most cost-efficient route.

A study finds that army ants make a smart compromise when building a bridge from their own bodies.

An experiment in Italy seeks to find Albert Einstein's last great prediction - gravitational waves.

Everything you need to know about Einstein's 100-year-old Theory of General Relativity.

Temperatures across the globe are likely to break records in 2015 with readings running "well above" any previous year, scientists say.

The World Robot Conference in Beijing has drawn big crowds to its showcase of "jiqiren", or "machine people".

The hunt for Albert Einstein's missing waves

The Alaskan fishing village taking on 'Godzilla'

Meet the RSPB's 'gadget man' who builds devices to help conservation scientists gather data.

The Amazon.com entrepreneur Jeff Bezos has claimed success on the second flight of his New Shepard spaceship.

Physicists discover a striking sequence of shifting shapes that is formed as the fluid we sneeze breaks up into droplets.

Australia will carry out trials of a genetically modified fruit fly to break the breeding cycle of this crop pest.

How Malawi is tackling climate change with the help of a wood-fired cookstove that generates electricity.

The Amazon.com entrepreneur Jeff Bezos flies his New Shepard spaceship again, and this time proclaims a complete success.

Prince Charles laments the “economic invisibility of nature” and calls on business leaders to act now to save the world’s natural capital.

Rebecca Morelle reports for BBC Newsnight on the background to the upcoming summit in Paris.

Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency launches a commercial satellite into space for the first time.

Small generators that use heat to make electricity have gone on trial in parts of Malawi where only 10% of the population has access to power.

A northern white rhinoceros dies in a zoo in San Diego, California, leaving only three of the animals still alive in the world.

A study of ancient DNA has shed new light on the genetic history of Europeans, confirming that farming spread across Europe due to an influx of ancient people from what is now eastern Turkey.

The Philippines, which is vulnerable to climate change, has confirmed controversial plans for more coal-fired power stations.

A DNA study confirms London was an ethnically diverse city from its very beginnings, BBC News has learned.

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford speaks to Tim Peake, who will soon be making history as the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station.

The chief executive of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, Richard Vigne, tells the BBC that in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) is the best option to save the northern white rhinoceros.

Nicole Kidman was named best actress for her role as pioneering British scientist Rosalind Franklin in the play Photograph 51.

A giant plant using energy from the sun to power a Moroccan city at night will open next month.