BBC News

Geneticists have detected a fourth ancestral "tribe" which contributed to the modern European gene pool.

The sequence for firing up a supersonic car

A humpback whale is freed by fishermen from a buoy and rope that were attached to lobster pots.

Actor Peter Sarsgaard talks about his challenging new movie Experimenter about the 1961 electric shock experiment that stunned the world.

Human societies will soon start to experience adverse effects from manmade climate change, a prominent economist has warned.

The villagers living next to a burning dump 15m tall

The world's largest crystal structure model - a 3D replica of the repeating ionic lattice found in table salt (NaCl) - is assembled in Vienna's city hall.

The European Commission says it will provide seven million euros (£5m) for research into a disease that poses a "very serious threat" to the continent's olive production.

Scientists are using a neutron beam to study what happens when human bones burn - tackling a problem that plagues both archaeology and forensics.

DNA analysis of a child mummy sheds light on the genetic history of the Inca civilisation.

Star City in Moscow continues to function as a space training centre, oblivious to events in the outside world.

Global investment portfolios could be hit hard amid changes in short-term market sentiments, triggered by climate impact concerns.

The UK is "ignoring known risks of flood and erosion at the coast" and immediate action is needed to manage the threats, the National Trust warns.

The people whose land is turning to dust

A ceremony is held to mark the start of construction of one of the key astronomical facilities of the next decade - the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Astronomers hunting distant worlds say they have made one of their most significant discoveries to date - what could be a kind of hot twin to our Venus.

Humans have been exploiting honeybees for almost 9,000 years, according to archaeological evidence.

British astronaut Tim Peake is going through a gruelling round of final training before liftoff to the International Space Station next month.

Astronomers have identified the most distant object yet in the Solar System - a likely icy body three times further away than even far-flung Pluto.

Scientists are hoping to digitally preserve the world's most important heritage sites.

An atomic-scale fingerprint could boost the security of connected devices, according to the British scientists who have developed it.

Energy Secretary says the government remains committed to meeting renewable energy targets set by the EU following controversy over a leaked letter suggesting a shortfall.

The SeaWorld theme park in the US state of California is to phase out public displays by killer whales, its chief executive says, following public outcry.

A world-famous animal theme park is planning to phase out its killer whale displays, following years of pressure from campaigners.

Energy Secretary Amber Rudd is accused by Labour of misleading MPs about meeting mandatory EU energy targets on renewable power.

An international team of architects and scientists have observed "thermal anomalies" at the pyramids of Giza, Egyptian officials say.

An increasingly warped sense of humour could be an early warning sign of impending dementia, say experts.

A new model of the Moon's formation suggests it developed in two stages, leading to inner and outer layers with different compositions.

Russia should be suspended from athletics competition, a World Anti-Doping Agency commission report recommends.

The government's energy policy changes since the general election are likely to increase CO2 emissions, according to analysis by BBC News.

Two possible cryo-volcanoes are identified on the surface of Pluto - huge mountains with a hole in the top that may spew a slurry of ices.

The test model for what will become the "back end" of the Orion spaceship is sent from Europe to the US for evaluation.

The winners of science and maths prizes worth $22m have been announced at a glittering ceremony in Silicon Valley.

What happened to travelling by hovercraft?

Global temperatures are set to rise more than 1C above pre-industrial levels in 2015, according to the UK's Met Office.

The IAAF will on Monday learn the findings of an independent report into claims of doping cover-ups in Russian athletics.

An ancient pear tree due to be chopped down to make way for the HS2 high-speed rail line is voted the best in England.

US President Barack Obama rejects an application to build the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada because it will not help the economy, he says.

How a plane crash is investigated

The environmental pressure group Greenpeace says its charitable registration to operate in India has been revoked.

Does the smiling face of Layla Richards mark a new era in genetic medicine that could change all our lives?

British astronaut Tim Peake says he hopes his mission to the space station will generate excitement similar to that seen during the Apollo Moon missions.

Timelapse footage has emerged showing a huge shelf rolling onto mainland Australia from the sea. Courtesy Sarah Estela.

In December history will be made when Tim Peake becomes the first official, government backed, British astronaut to go to the International Space Station.

The BBC's Nick Higham meets Steve Silverman, the winner of this year's Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction.

Nasa's Maven satellite records how the upper atmosphere at Mars is being removed through its interactions with the Sun.

The first person in the world to receive a pioneering genetic therapy has shown a remarkable reversal of her cancer.

Scientists unearth a haul of reptile and amphibian fossils in Brazil, dating from 278 million years ago when the continents were joined.

Photographers trying to capture stags clashing antlers during rutting season could be threatening the herd's future in a London park, wardens warn.

Remarkable high-definition images of the sun taken by Nasa's space-based telescope, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have been released.