BBC News - Science & Environment

Laser radar spots quake changes

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:05:39 GMT

An earthquake fault zone in Mexico is imaged with unprecedented precision, thanks to improvements in Light Detection and Ranging - laser radar.

Why zebras evolved their stripes

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:59:14 GMT

A zebra's unmistakeable stripes may have evolved to make the animals unattractive to blood-sucking flies, say scientists.

Threshold broken for tiny lasers

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:09:20 GMT

Researchers build efficient lasers just 100 billionths of a metre across that may be used to make faster computer chips in the future.

America and Asia 'will join up'

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:06:28 GMT

Researchers say most of the world's continents will merge somewhere over the Pacific "ring of fire" in 50-200 million years.

Russians claim Antarctic success

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:29:52 GMT

Russian scientists are reporting success in their quest to drill into Lake Vostok, a huge body of liquid water buried under the Antarctic ice.

Corals inflate to escape the sand

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:38:33 GMT

Time-lapse footage reveals how mushroom corals inflate and deflate to free themselves from smothering sand.

'Invader' drives ladybird decline

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:23:47 GMT

Fast declines in some UK and European ladybirds are being caused by the spread of the invasive harlequin species, scientists show.

Whales 'stressed by ocean noise'

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:28:20 GMT

A study of hormones in whale faeces shows that right whales are stressed by propeller noise from shipping.

Skydiver planning 36km record bid

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:03:31 GMT

Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian planning to sky dive from a record-breaking altitude, has announced he will make the attempt later this year.

Parkinson's cells 'made in lab'

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:57:01 GMT

Scientists in the US have successfully made human brain cells in the lab that are an exact replica of genetically caused Parkinson's disease.

Jurassic cricket's song recreated

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:33:59 GMT

The "love song" of a 165-million-year-old insect is recreated from a tiny and remarkably intact fossil, say scientists.

Black hole 'vaporising asteroids'

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:37:29 GMT

For years scientists have been trying to explain the reason why a giant black hole at the centre of the Milky Way has bright flares coming out from its centre.

Rare Mars meteorite for science

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:20:34 GMT

A Martian meteorite, an incredibly rare object, is given to the Natural History Museum, London, to help unravel the secrets of the Red Planet.

Mars co-operation near collapse

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:56:22 GMT

US space agency officials let their European counterparts know that it is now highly unlikely that America will participate in joint missions to the Red Planet in 2016 and 2018.

Wolfram Alpha unveils Pro service

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:51:38 GMT

The data-crunching site unveils a premium service that allows users to upload data, photos and sounds for analysis.

Transplant jaw made by 3D printer

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:07:11 GMT

An 83-year-old woman is fitted with a jaw made by a 3D printer in what doctors say is the first operation of its kind.

Contador given two-year drug ban

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:20:56 GMT

Alberto Contador is handed a two-year ban for a doping offence - and is stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title.

Largest optical telescope created

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:15:02 GMT

Astronomers at the Paranal observatory combine four telescope to create the world's largest virtual device with a 130m-mirror.

Malaria toll 'is twice as high'

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:07:13 GMT

The number of deaths worldwide from malaria has been underestimated, according to data published in the medical journal the Lancet.

China in EU carbon scheme 'ban'

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:24:23 GMT

China tells its airlines not to pay charges to the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, aimed at cutting carbon emissions.

PM urged to cut wind farm subsidy

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:15:53 GMT

More than 100 Conservatives are among MPs who have written to the prime minister calling on him to slash subsidies for onshore wind turbines.

Prince optimistic for fisheries

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:44:01 GMT

Prince Charles says there are reasons to be optimistic about the state of the world's oceans, but it is "critically urgent" to tackle overfishing.

Clan chief joins conservation row

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:40:37 GMT

A clan chief is accusing the Scottish government and SNH of not listening to islanders' concerns about a conservation area.

Striking galaxy image from Hubble

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:35:10 GMT

The Hubble space telescope captures an image of a "barred spiral" galaxy that could help us better understand our own Milky Way.

Giving an invasive water pest the bullet

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:05:48 GMT

Wrestling one of the UK's most invasive pests

Seagrass age surprises scientists

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:31:11 GMT

Meadows of seagrass, a keystone species in marine ecosystems, found in the Mediterranean Sea are likely to be tens of thousands of years old, a study shows.

VIDEO: How plants warn each other of danger

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:15:56 GMT

Professor Iain Smith shows how researchers have captured the process by which plants alert each other to potential threat.

Five killer whales 'sue' SeaWorld

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:34:05 GMT

Five killer whales are named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit which argues that they deserve the same constitutional protection from slavery as humans.

VIDEO: Birds' paradise lost in Kashmir?

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:31:17 GMT

Nearly a million migratory birds visit Kashmir's wetlands every year, but this time the severe winter has made it nearly impossible for them to find food.

VIDEO: Northern Lights captured from space

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:34:27 GMT

The first 'moving' images of the Northern lights, or Aurora Borealis, as seen from Space have been released by NASA, after they harnessed a new time-lapse photographic technique.

VIDEO: Flute or coupe? Scientists decide

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:10:45 GMT

French researchers from the University of Rein have discovered that the shape of the glass may affect our experience of drinking champagne.

VIDEO: Russia finds vast sub-glacial lake

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:57:25 GMT

Russian scientists have been drilling for two decades in the Antarctic and say they have found a vast sub-glacial lake.

VIDEO: 'I carried Mars rock in hand luggage'

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:39:32 GMT

The Natural History Museum in London has acquired its largest Martian meteorite, which could hold new clues to life on Mars.

VIDEO: Nepal national park breeds crocs

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:30:05 GMT

A breeding centre in Nepal's Chitwan National Park is preparing endangered Gharial crocodiles for release back into the wild.

VIDEO: Converting solar energy into new fuels

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:25:41 GMT

Researchers in Glasgow are working on a way to remove greenhouse gas from the atmosphere and put oil back under the North Sea.

VIDEO: Skydiver: My mum's still scared

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:42:42 GMT

An Austrian adventurer planning the highest skydive in history has announced he will make the attempt later this year.

Brown bear cubs released in wild

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:32:46 GMT

Orphaned bear cubs released in Greece

Does outdoor play help keep the doctor away?

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:55:01 GMT

Does outdoor play help keep the doctor away?

VIDEO: Tribes untouched by civilisation

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:04:24 GMT

Saving the mysterious Amazon tribes untouched by modern world

Ape versus machine

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:46:39 GMT

The primate who solves a memory test faster than you can blink

7 questions on skydiving and parachuting

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:18:10 GMT

Test yourself on the history of aerial adventure

Star nursery in sharpest picture

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:40:29 GMT

Most detailed image to date of the Carina Nebula

Satellites spy on Europe’s farms

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:43:53 GMT

How drones and satellites are catching farming cheats

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