BBC News

Is fibre key to connecting Africa?

A new multimillion dollar project that uses solar power to treat underground saline water is offering a ray of hope in south east Pakistan.

Solar Impulse, the fuel-free aeroplane, lands in Chongqing, China, to complete leg five of its attempt to fly around the world.

The mystery of Mercury's dark surface can be explained by a steady dusting of carbon from passing comets, research suggests.

Researchers in Denmark have discovered that porpoises can adjust the beams of sound they use to hunt.

Porpoises finely adjust the size of the beams of sound they use to hunt - using sound like a searchlight to trap their prey, a study finds.

The Solar Impulse 2 plane has departed from Mandalay in Myanmar as part of its round-the-world flight, Kasia Madera reports

A light bulb made with graphene - said by its UK developers to be the first commercially viable consumer product using the super-strong carbon - is to go on sale later this year.

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft has docked at the International Space Station carrying three astronauts, two of whom are due to spend a record 12 months there.

US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko arrive for a 12-month tour of duty on the International Space Station.

What are the justifications for the £4bn Large Hadron Collider?

What drives people to murder-suicide?

A pledge by the Greens to double science funding contrasts with the statements offered by five other party leaders, answering a call to set out their policies on science.

Millions of eels have been arriving in the south-west of England having travelled thousands of miles from the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda.

A team of experts says a mixture that included organic cat litter forced the closure of the only underground nuclear waste repository in the US.

Eighteen years of satellite data reveal an acceleration in the thinning of many of Antarctica's floating ice shelves.

China's endangered Ili Pika goes viral

A long-running study shows dark matter coasts unscathed through galactic collisions, betraying a ghostly lack of interaction with the known Universe.

Just 17% of England's rivers are judged to be in good health, according to "shocking" Environment Agency figures.

Europe and America are building two satellites to study the Sun that will venture closer to the solar inferno than any previous missions.

Researchers in the US copy bird and bat wings to build a drone that can rebound and recover from mid-air collisions.

Researchers in the US copy bird and bat wings to build a drone that can rebound and recover after mid-air collisions.

Weird and wonderful entries vie for Design of the Year

A million properties across England could in future be heated by water from rivers, canals and the sea, the government says.

The record-breaking endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh discusses the possibility of an Antarctic Ross Sea marine reserve with the Russians.

The Bloodhound Super Sonic Car has a fitting with the Rolls-Royce jet engine it will use to try to break the world land speed record.

House sparrows are the most commonly spotted bird in gardens in Scotland, according to an RSPB survey.

A trial to give Bovine TB vaccines to badgers will expand after it was deemed a success by scientists in Cornwall.

The Curiosity rover makes a detection of nitrogen compounds which provide further evidence that ancient Mars would have been a habitable world.

A breakthrough in the development of temperature-resilient beans could help sustain a vital source of protein for millions of people around the globe.

Pregnant women are often told what to eat and what to avoid but sound advice can get lost in a mix of badly-reported science and old wives' tales.

Michael Mosley on why he snacked on his own blood

Is your personality suited to the place you live? New research maps the personality of 380 locations in Great Britain.

The restart of the Large Hadron Collider hits a delay, after a short circuit is detected in one of its powerful electromagnets.

Italy must step up efforts to contain a bacterial disease blighting olive trees in the southern province of Lecce, EU officials warn.

A study suggests that non-native plant species do not pose a risk to native flora, as widely assumed, because negative impacts are limited to localised areas.

Solar power could provide up to 4% of the UK's electricity by the end of the decade, the government has said.

Solar energy could provide up to 4% of the UK's electricity by the end of the decade, the government forecasts.

Scientists report a new species of giant amphibian after digging up multiple fossils from an ancient, dried-up lake where hundreds of the beasts probably died.

Scientists in central Australia discover what they say is a 400km-wide underground asteroid crater - the largest impact area ever found.

The capability of the latest intelligent robots is forcing us to address how far we want these machines integrated into our lives.

David Shukman looks at work being done at the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, as the government pushes for more investment and co-operation in the field.

Taking money out of Europe's research budget for a special economic stimulus plan will end up boosting science, claims Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas.

US researchers are investigating ways to extract the gold and precious metals from human faeces.

Planting farmland with strips of flowers can boost the number of wild bumblebees, but rarer species need special attention, a study has confirmed.

The National Trust says climate change is the "biggest threat" to the land it protects, as the charity unveils a 10-year plan to help the environment.

Vets are warning that a growing number of dogs and other pets are suffering from separation anxiety as peoples' working habits change.

The fish that can grow as big as a man and live for 30 years