BBC News - Science & Environment

• Experts to analyse 'unusual' weather
(Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:41:42 GMT)

Meteorologists and scientists will meet at the Met Office to try to understand the UK's strange weather patterns. ... Read

• Europe's Mars missions 'on track'
(Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:19:45 GMT)

Europe's plans to explore Mars with a satellite in 2016 and a rover in 2018 take a big step forward with the signing of new industrial contracts. ... Read

• Gagarin air crash details emerge
(Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:24:10 GMT)

New details have emerged about the air crash that killed Yuri Gagarin - the first man in space. ... Read

• Herschel telescope switched off
(Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:58:21 GMT)

Controllers sever all communications with Europe's billion-euro Herschel space telescope, formally bringing to a close the observation phase of the mission. ... Read

• Overseas climate change threatens UK
(Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:02:07 GMT)

A new report suggests that climate change in other countries will impact the UK more quickly than rising temperatures at home. ... Read

• Ash genome reveals fungus resistance
(Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:20:04 GMT)

Scientists sequence the genome of a type of ash tree which is resistant to the deadly fungal disease sweeping the country. ... Read

• Big freighter docks with station
(Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:27:10 GMT)

Europe's 20-tonne freighter, the Albert Einstein ATV, docks with the International Space Station high over the Pacific Ocean. ... Read

• Paracyclist 'has no fat under skin'
(Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:50:51 GMT)

Budding Paralympic cyclist Tom Staniford has no fat on his face or his limbs as a result of a rare genetic mutation that has finally been diagnosed by sequencing his genome. ... Read

• Trans-US solar plane reaches Dulles
(Sun, 16 Jun 2013 08:57:11 GMT)

A solar powered plane aiming to cross the US lands at Washington Dulles airport, completing the fourth leg of the coast-to-coast endeavour. ... Read

• Perfect pitch may not be 'perfect'
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:59:50 GMT)

People classified with perfect pitch may not actually be as in tune with the sounds they hear as they think, a study finds. ... Read

• Science plan lands 'star' researcher
(Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:07:03 GMT)

A £50m project to attract world-class scientists to Wales makes its first appointment - a leading stem cell researcher looking at diseases of the nervous system. ... Read

• Men 'to blame for the menopause'
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:47:21 GMT)

Men choosing young women as partners meant fertility in older women was pointless, leading to the menopause, researchers suggest. ... Read

• A350 marks new phase in aero-engines
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:23:04 GMT)

Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB engine, fitted to the new Airbus A350, is claimed to be the most efficient aero power unit yet designed. ... Read

• China retakes supercomputer crown
(Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:39:12 GMT)

A China-based supercomputer has been ranked the world's fastest, offering nearly double the processing speeds of the US's most powerful system. ... Read

• Portrait honours physicist Higgs
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:46:02 GMT)

The Royal Society of Edinburgh unveils a new portrait of scientist Prof Peter Higgs who gave his name to the so-called "God particle". ... Read

• Opera restored after 200 years
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:46:28 GMT)

The original ending has been restored to a 216-year-old opera after the manuscript was put through one of the world's most advanced X-ray machines. ... Read

• PM launches new £1m 'Longitude Prize'
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:31:48 GMT)

David Cameron pledges a £1m payment to anyone who can "identify and solve the biggest problem of our time". ... Read

• Government scientists' 'voices lost'
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:13:46 GMT)

One of the UK's most influential science communicators says some of the country's best researchers are not being heard by the public, especially in times of crisis. ... Read

• Medieval leprosy skeletons sequenced
(Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:10:26 GMT)

The genetic code of leprosy-causing bacteria from 1,000-year-old skeletons has been laid bare, showing the bug has hardly changed over the past millennium. ... Read

• Airbus A350 completes maiden flight
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:33:27 GMT)

The newest aircraft from European planemaker Airbus, the A350, successfully completes its maiden flight from Toulouse. ... Read

• Black hole caught napping after meal
(Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:30:06 GMT)

Astronomers point X-ray telescopes at a galaxy's central black hole, last seen snacking on a cloud of gas - but it seems to have fallen dormant. ... Read

• Deep-diving mammals' secret revealed
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:24:49 GMT)

Study solves the mystery of one of the most extreme adaptations in the animal kingdom: how marine mammals store enough oxygen to hold their breath for up to an hour. ... Read

• Cheetah acceleration key to success
(Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:06:08 GMT)

A study of the movements of cheetahs suggests that their hunting prowess comes not from sheer speed, but from rapid acceleration and deceleration. ... Read

• Bee ban pesticides have wider impact
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:32:00 GMT)

A class of pesticides linked to the death of bees may be harming other species and the wider environment. ... Read

• Record rise in US oil production
(Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:07:35 GMT)

A report by oil giant BP highlights that the US saw the largest single year increase in oil production ever recorded in 2012. ... Read

• British wheat crop 'down by third'
(Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:43:33 GMT)

Britain's wheat harvest could be a third smaller than it was last year because of extreme weather conditions, the National Farmers' Union warns. ... Read

• China outsources carbon emissions
(Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:31:41 GMT)

New research shows China is outsourcing carbon dioxide emissions within its own borders, just as the West outsources emissions to China. ... Read

• Shark 'nursery' found on coral reef
(Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:10:45 GMT)

Edinburgh marine biologists discover a deep-sea shark spawning ground on Scotland's only inshore coral reef. ... Read

• Cuckoos clocked using satellite tags
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:24:33 GMT)

Four cuckoos caught at sites in Lochalsh and Skye are fitted with satellite tags in an effort to track their migrations to Africa. ... Read

• Police inquiry over eagle nest claim
(Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:01:18 GMT)

Police are investigating allegations that a white-tailed eagle nest was destroyed on an estate in Angus, the BBC learns. ... Read

• VIDEO: Seven-spot ladybirds in decline
(Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:26:55 GMT)

The most common species of the ladybird in Britain is in decline, according to research from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. ... Read

• VIDEO: Freediver reveals breath-holding secrets
(Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:41:11 GMT)

Freediver Adam Drzazga reveals the training and relaxation exercises required to hold his breath for more than six minutes. ... Read

• AUDIO: Professor's 'brain soup' experiment
(Sat, 15 Jun 2013 08:16:03 GMT)

Brazilian professor's "brain soup" shows the power of the human brain ... Read

• VIDEO: Cat-cams capture secret lives of felines
(Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:15:50 GMT)

An ambitious project set up by leading scientists and the BBC's Horizon science documentary set out to discover what cats get up to when they are outdoors. ... Read

• VIDEO: 'Extinct' horses released in China
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:48:40 GMT)

Rare Przewalski horses have been returned to their native habitat in northwest China ... Read

• VIDEO: Deep-diving mammals' secret revealed
(Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:36:15 GMT)

Scientists say they have solved the mystery of how marine mammals store enough oxygen to hold their breath for up to an hour. ... Read

• VIDEO: Grass-free lawn opens in London park
(Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:15:47 GMT)

A floral, scented lawn, planted in a west London park is friendlier to pollinating insects than traditional grass, according to researchers. ... Read

• VIDEO: Ash dieback signs emerge in UK woods
(Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:36:08 GMT)

A year since it was first discovered in the wider environment and ancient woodland, the impact of the disease is starting to become evident. ... Read

• Colours of space - Visions of the Universe
(Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:01:58 GMT)

The vivid hues astronomers use to bring the cosmos to life ... Read

• Man v seal: How we compare with our marine cousins
(Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:15:47 GMT)

Can a human hold their breath for as long as a marine mammal? ... Read

• How Napoleon's semaphore telegraph changed the world
(Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:50:37 GMT)

How did these strange signals change the way we communicate? ... Read

• The quest to build a brain in the lab
(Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:22:59 GMT)

The quest to build a brain in the lab ... Read

• The living dead: new way to embalm
(Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:08:11 GMT)

How new embalming method will aid surgeons ... Read

• The plane Airbus did not want built
(Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:15:26 GMT)

The plane that Airbus did not want to build ... Read

• Inside Facebook's new arctic data centre
(Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:44:17 GMT)

Inside the social network's huge arctic data centre ... Read

• Secret life of the cat: The science of tracking our pets
(Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:26:43 GMT)

The technology and science of monitoring cat behaviour ... Read

• How do people survive solitary confinement?
(Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:14:19 GMT)

Can anyone stay sane after years in solitary confinement? ... Read