BBC News

What exactly is Autumn equinox?

UK researchers sign the contract that will lead to the development of one of the first instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope.

Does burning tusks actually destroy them?

Former US Vice-President Al Gore urges the UK government to "resume" its former leadership on climate change.

Scotland has more than 400 words and expressions for snow, according to a project to compile a Scots thesaurus.

When the Bloodhound Super-Sonic Car is unveiled this week, the public will be able to see the many innovative technologies used in its construction.

Researchers at a Swiss university have programmed drones to build a rope bridge that is capable of bearing the weight of a human.

The government’s wholesale cuts to renewable energy subsidies are sending a worrying sign to investors, says business group the CBI.

Scientists say they are a step closer to growing fully functioning replacement kidneys, after promising results in animals.

The first Moonwalker's preparation for becoming an astronaut.

UK small satellite manufacturer SSTL releases details of a new spacecraft it launched in July that takes 1m resolution video of the Earth's surface.

The Thai authorities round up scores of long-tailed macaque monkeys near Bangkok to relocate them after complaints from villagers.

China is to invest in the Hinkley Point nuclear plant as Chancellor George Osborne announces the UK will guarantee the £2bn deal.

Engineering students in Belfast are hoping to make it into the record books for building the largest ever structure made of Meccano.

The Advanced Ligo experiment in North America formally begins the observations that will seek finally to detect the ripples in the fabric of space-time predicted by Einstein.

As Britain struggles to solve its housing crisis, experts have been looking at the best solutions to building the homes of the future.

Four captive-bred chicks are sent from Chester to Jerez in Spain, where they will be released as part of an effort to reintroduce the Northern bald ibis.

Tanzania obtains a court order preventing Malawi from burning 2.6 tonnes of ivory, saying it needs to use the tusks as evidence for the prosecution of suspected poachers.

UK researchers want to use a controversial new genetic technique on human embryos.

A study showing that nearly all mammals take the same amount of time to urinate wins one of the 2015 Ig Nobel prizes.

Shimmering phenomena in the night sky - and starry sights billions of light years away - see the finalists in the 2015 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

How I survived two days on ice with three polar bears

Fresh images of Pluto from Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft have captured a low-lying haze near the surface.

A Muslim boy arrested in Texas for bringing a homemade clock to school continues to receive an outpouring of support from scientists and politicians.

An Australian photographer captures a rare moment of animal communion with a shot of a seal surfing a humpback whale off the New South Wales coast.

The first woman in space has revealed that the Soviet authorities thought it was "too dangerous" to send more female cosmonauts into orbit.

The US space agency says the Orion astronaut capsule, designed to go far beyond Earth, may not actually carry people now until 2023.

A couple who survived a close encounter with a humpback whale while kayaking say they "thought [they] were going to die".

How failures at Copenhagen climate summit still haunt the process

Intelligent automation now means that a dairy herd can be fed, cared for and milked by just one or two people.

In a tiny laboratory worm, scientists directly control brain cells using sound waves for the first time.

Scientists have been illuminating the vital role played by the Arabian Peninsula in humankind's exodus from Africa.

Scientists determine that the sub-surface body of water on the Saturnian moon Enceladus must be far more extensive than first thought.

The first images acquired by a new UK-built, high-resolution, Earth-observation constellation are released.

Populations of marine mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have nearly halved since 1970 due to human activity and climate change, a report says.

Can video games make a positive difference?

Researchers develop a game for pensioners that is designed to help them sharpen their mental faculties.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announces plans to build and launch rockets from Florida’s “space coast”.

A new reconstruction captures the moment Europe's Philae probe first approached Comet 67P in November last year.

A smoothed reconstruction captures the moment the Philae probe first approached Comet 67P in November last year.

Electricity pylons are to be removed in four areas of England and Wales to reduce their visual impact on the landscape.

Critics hail Nicole Kidman as "luminous" and "compelling" in Photograph 51, her first London stage appearance since 1998.

British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's space company says it is boosting the capability of its forthcoming satellite launcher.

How safe is artificial intelligence?

A robot ethicist launches a campaign against sex robots, saying such products demean women and reinforce stereotypes.

The US Navy agrees to limit its use of sonar that inadvertently harms whales and dolphins in waters near Hawaii and California.

Bats provide a service worth an estimated US$1bn globally by controlling pests on corn crops, a study suggests.

Research by Oxford University and accountancy firm Deloitte says many of today's jobs are at high risk of being automated in the next two decades.

Scientists in the US who lost a weather balloon carrying a camera sent to the edge of space have found it - and two years on are able to view its spectacular footage.

Ensuring the fastest car runs on the flattest track