BBC News

A study of modern hunter gatherer societies suggests our ancestors may have only slept 6.5 hours a night.

Leaders of ten of the world's biggest oil companies have offered their qualified support for a new global climate treaty.

It may be possible to prevent schizophrenia by calming down the brain's immune system, say scientists.

When polar bears come to town

The first scientific paper to come out of the New Horizons probe's historic flyby of Pluto is published and raises questions about its formation.

The Dutch team who have grown the world's first burger in a lab say they hope to have a product on sale in five years.

Agreement on the subsidy for the £1bn Swansea tidal lagoon project is "desperately needed", Welsh Economy Minister Edwina Hart says.

An experiment with artificial nectar shows that bees are attracted to and even 'drugged' by caffeinated plants.

The Australian government gives its approval for one of the world's biggest coal mines to be built by Indian company Adani in Queensland.

A 125-million-year old mammal fossil is unearthed with its skin, fur and internal organs intact.

The Ecomobility World Festival is taking place in Johannesburg in South Africa, with people being encouraged to walk, cycle, and use public transport.

Why hasn't the US eradicated the plague?

An image of warring foxes has won the 2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

Celebrities have condemned plans by the Australian government to cull two million feral cats.

Fossil teeth from a cave in China are shaking up the traditional narrative of humankind's dispersal from Africa.

A giant panda has given birth to twins at Toronto Zoo - the first panda cubs to be born in Canada since the zoo was loaned two of the bears by China in 2014.

Visual effects artist Richard Stammers reveals the secret of how to make Matt Damon walk on Mars

New ultra-high definition imagery, rendered in 4K, has revealed details of Jupiter's famous Great Red Spot.

A picture of a red fox standing over the bloodied body of an Arctic fox wins the prestigious 2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

Wolves have been hunted to extinction across much of Europe but it seems where they have been thriving, their growing numbers may be causing problems.

Society must offer the world's poorest farmers a helping hand in order to break the cycle of poverty, a key United Nations report concludes.

A team of wolf-hunters is operating in a region of the French Alps to kill wolves that are seen as a threat to livestock.

Claire Marshall attempts to track wolves in the French Alps with expert tracker Troy Bennett.

Neuroscientists say they can distinguish between individuals using a map of how different brain regions "pair up" in brain activity scans.

Europe's climate change chief says he is astonished at the positive progress by governments towards a global deal on CO2.

Cardiff University researchers study whether the predictive nature of the brain could explain why people suffer hallucinations.

A gene-editing method could one day make pig organs suitable for use in people, scientists say.

Conflict is "development in reverse" and a key factor that is leaving almost 800 million without enough food, the 2015 Global Hunger Index observes.

Opium, maths and Victorian computing in Ada Lovelace exhibition

A £200m polar research vessel is to be built by a shipyard on Merseyside, which is named as the preferred bidder against international competition.

The Governor of Alaska tells the BBC that expanding the state's search for oil is necessary to pay for the damage caused by climate change.

Alaska is seeking to boost on-shore drilling in the wake of Shell's decision to abandon the Arctic, but there is significant political opposition.

The UN climate negotiations need a major overhaul if they are to succeed, scientists say.

Are promises on carbon emission reductions enough?

The pilots who risk their lives to fly tiny planes over the Atlantic

A sustainable energy project in Northern Ireland is proving controversial, as Andy Martin reports.

A jaguar on a breeding loan to Delhi zoo is being sent back as he is too fat to mate, keepers say.

Ancient bones from a North Yorkshire cave, including the remains of rhinos, bears and hyenas, are to be transformed into a digital museum.

Ancient bones from a North Yorkshire cave, including the remains of rhinos, bears and hyenas, are to be transformed into a digital museum.

The reward for 'whale watching' on Mars

Astronaut Chris Hadfield talks about his new album of songs recorded while onboard the International Space Station

Coal was once considered king, but it is now seen as a dirty fuel and the government wants to eliminate coal-fired power stations within the next 15 years.

Footage of spectacular waterspouts filmed off the coast of Dalian, has been broadcast on Chinese TV.

Researchers puff air through a box of sand to examine how lizards, crabs and robots cope with 'fluid' ground.

From Giant's Causeway to Lulworth Cove - the Geological Society of London announces the winners of its photo competition celebrating the 100 Great Geosites of the UK and Ireland.

A bamboozling question about a crocodile stalking its prey was one reason the pass mark for Higher maths had to be lowered, a report finds.

Does this creature hold the key to immortality?

A 4,500-year-old African genome reveals how our ancient ancestors moved back and forth between continents.

A number of medals awarded to Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton raise £585,000 at a London auction.