BBC News

This week's flying visit to Pluto is a beginning, not an end.

Engineers say the New Horizons spacecraft is in great shape for its historic flyby of Pluto on Tuesday.

Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft is due to flyby Pluto on Tuesday and scientists are expecting it to send back the clearest ever images of the distant dwarf planet.

A network of ash detectors is to be installed across the United Kingdom to help prevent volcanic ash cloud shutting down European airspace.

Nasa's New Horizons probe returns a last look at Pluto's fascinating dark spots before they rotate out of view ahead of next week's historic flyby.

As Nasa's New Horizons probe gets ready to flyby Pluto on Tuesday, the Royal Observatory's Public Astronomer Dr Marek Kukula looks at one of the most divisive issues in modern science - Pluto's reclassification to a "dwarf planet".

The record-breaking Solar Impulse plane will be grounded in Hawaii for at least two weeks because of battery damage, making a complete round-the-world journey this year increasingly difficult.

For the first time an electric plane has successfully flown across the English Channel.

As the New Horizons probe heads towards its historic 14 July flyby of Pluto, its images are starting to reveal tantalising indications of the dwarf world's geology.

An Indian PSLV rocket launches from Sriharikota to put five UK satellites in orbit.

Scientists say that the giant panda's ability to survive on bamboo is down to its energy-saving lifestyle.

Experts are warning that sowing wildflower seeds in rural areas could be bad for native plant species.

Researchers warn bumblebees are under threat from climate change.

The natural habitats of bumblebees are shrinking because of higher temperatures in Europe and North America, threatening their survival, researchers say

The Large Hadron Collider and jazz pianist Al Blatter make an unlikely musical duet at the Montreux Jazz Festival

MPs could vote on changes to existing laws on fox hunting in England and Wales as early as next week.

A weakness has been discovered in a French nuclear reactor of the type set to be built at Hinkley in Somerset.

IBM says it has overcome technical hurdles threatening to delay the manufacture of silicon chips with the smallest components so far.

The development is approved of a completely novel type of telecommunications satellite, which will be built in the UK.

The key questions about Nasa's Pluto flyby

Nasa's spacecraft New Horizons acquires another stunning view of Pluto as it bears down on the dwarf planet, ahead of its 14 July flyby.

An ambitious project was launched Wednesday to collect the genomes of the planet's major plant groups and put them into deep freeze.

Scientists release their latest map of the surface of Pluto, using images from the inbound New Horizons probe.

Astronomers have discovered a very rare system of five connected stars.

Measuring loads on a car that is travelling at supersonic speeds

The BBC's forthcoming mini-computer gains features absent in an earlier prototype, but is also to be more bulky when used as a standalone device.

The New Horizons spacecraft lost very little science data when it went into "safe mode" at the weekend, the mission team says.

Scorching summers such as the one in 2003 look set to become more common in England and Wales, a study suggests.

The pollen count is an important part of the weather forecast for the estimated 31 million people who suffer from hayfever.

Where do your memories live?

The best images from Friday night's thunder storms

Scientists say a compound in cat urine changes mouse behaviour, making them less afraid of cats.

Solar Impulse, the aeroplane that is powered only by the sun, lands in Hawaii after making a historic 7,200km flight across the Pacific from Japan.

A major report warns that life in the seas will be irreversibly changed unless CO2 emissions from industrial society are drastically cut.

Northern Ireland is to start a limited cull of badgers as part of a research project to combat a disease in cattle that costs the taxpayer £30m a year.

Zoo animals across Europe are being fed frozen treats to keep them cool and hydrated during the current heatwave.

Super slow-motion video reveals the engineering secrets researchers can learn from the creatures' spring-loaded legs.

A major report warns that life in the seas will be irreversibly changed unless CO2 emissions are drastically cut.

Researchers are using super slow-motion footage to reveal the secrets of the most acrobatic insects

Juan Pablo Culasso has been blind since birth but he has become one of the best "birdwatchers" in South America.

BP has reached an $18.7bn (£12bn) settlement with the US Department of Justice following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The New Horizons mission to Pluto releases new colour views of the dwarf planet, revealing some intriguing dark spots.

Robots move into homes and the workplace

The founding chairman of a leading rural development and anti-poverty organisation wins the 2015 World Food Prize.

Swiss adventurer Andre Borschberg breaks the record for the longest ever non-stop solo-flight without refuelling, as his solar-powered plane continues to reach across the Pacific.

A dolphin jumps into a boat off the coast of southern California, hitting a woman and breaking both of her ankles.

A 68-year-old man is badly injured by a shark in North Carolina in the seventh attack off the state's coast in less than three weeks.

The comet being studied by Europe’s Rosetta probe is riddled with pits that formed much like sinkholes here on Earth, say scientists.

The American New Horizons spacecraft makes its last planned targeting manoeuvre as it bears down on Pluto.