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BBC News - Science & Environment

What's next for Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship rocket?

Sat, 12 Oct 2024 17:40:08 GMT

The world's most powerful rocket is expected to be back in action again soon

Sweden's green industry hopes hit by Northvolt woes

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 00:04:20 GMT

Financial problems at battery maker Northvolt have shaken hopes for Sweden's green industry sector.

Nasa needs saving from itself – but is this billionaire right for that job?

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 00:04:19 GMT

The success of SpaceX and other private-sector space firms is throwing up hard questions about America's "great national treasure".

UN monitors asteroid with a tiny chance of hitting Earth

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 17:02:12 GMT

The asteroid named YR4 has a 1% chance of hitting Earth in 2032

Climate change made LA fires worse, scientists say

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 22:11:56 GMT

Scientists say the fires that engulfed Los Angeles were made 35% more likely due to climate warming.

Scenic loch becomes magnet for Scotland's plastic waste

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 06:23:09 GMT

One of Scotland's biggest plastic problems, the Arrochar litter sink, sits at the head of Loch Long.

Norway on track to be first to go all-electric

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:51:45 GMT

Nine in 10 new cars in the country are now battery-powered, and it aims to hit 100% later this year.

'We sing to them': LA stables turn Noah's Ark for fire rescue animals

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 04:34:47 GMT

Pigs, donkeys and even a mini cow named Cuddles found a temporary home after the LA fires.

National Trust warns UK's most precious heritage at risk from extreme weather

Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:09:22 GMT

A blurring of the distinctions between seasons is also a challenge for insects and their predators.

Giant iceberg on crash course with island, putting penguins and seals in danger

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:01:33 GMT

More than twice the size of greater London, the expanse of ice is unpredictable and dangerous.

Rocket launch challenges Elon Musk's space dominance

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 08:12:27 GMT

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's space company blasts its first rocket into orbit in a challenge to Elon Musk.

To conserve or cull? Life in Australia's crocodile capital

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 01:01:03 GMT

The Northern Territory is home to over 100,000 saltwater crocodiles, but not everyone wants them there.

Europe's Ariane-6 rocket blasts off on maiden flight

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 23:56:16 GMT

After a successful launch, the upper-stage of the rocket goes on to experience an anomaly.

Future of space travel: Could robots really replace human astronauts?

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 01:46:51 GMT

Advances in technology raise questions about the need to send people to space - and the risks and cost

'Humans are all they know' - Fate of whales uncertain as marine zoo shuts

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 14:36:10 GMT

Campaigners, politicians and zoo managers disagree on where Wikie and her son Keijo should be sent.

Penguins and iceberg-watching: Marking Christmas in Antarctica

Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:39:01 GMT

Staff working out in the wilds of Antarctica share their Christmas Day plans.

Saving a species: The slow return of the Iberian lynx

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 01:28:52 GMT

After edging close to extinction, there are now some 2,000 Iberian lynxes in Spain and Portugal.

Joyful welcome by stranded astronauts for SpaceX capsule crew

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 18:00:32 GMT

A capsule sent to bring back two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station has docked.

Could the UK actually get colder with global warming?

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:45:04 GMT

Some scientists fear the risk of a collapse to warm Atlantic currents has not been taken seriously.

Bumblebees winter nest-building 'due to climate'

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 06:19:24 GMT

Active worker bumblebees were spotted in Scotland over the Christmas break.

Farmers in bird flu 'panic' call for UK vaccine plan

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:48:19 GMT

Vaccinating poultry against bird flu is still not allowed in the UK despite a rise in farm outbreaks.

Endangered frog dads travel 7,000 miles to 'give birth'

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:51:00 GMT

Male frogs carrying tadpoles made an incredible journey to the UK by boat, plane, and car.

Lords inquiry finds grey belt idea largely redundant

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 02:37:03 GMT

The Built Environment Committee says the concept has been "eclipsed" by other planning rule changes.

A year of extreme weather that challenged billions

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 02:03:56 GMT

Climate change caused 41 additional days of dangerous heat and extreme weather, say scientists.

New study on moons of Uranus raises chance of life

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 16:00:05 GMT

The planet Uranus and its five biggest moons may not be the sterile worlds scientists have long thought.

Why scientists are counting tiny marine creatures, from Space

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 01:59:32 GMT

Differences in seawater colour could reveal how tiny Antarctic creatures are faring in a warming world.

Astronauts reveal what life is like on ISS – and how they deal with 'space smell'

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 13:44:52 GMT

As Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spend months longer than planned on ISS, three astronauts tell us what life is like in orbit.

Illegal trade booms in South Africa's 'super-strange looking' plants

Thu, 26 Dec 2024 00:47:23 GMT

A biodiversity hotspot has become the stomping ground of poachers.

Could bike lanes reshape car-crazy Los Angeles?

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 02:42:33 GMT

LA is trying to expand its cycling network ahead of the 2028 Olympics, but some are skeptical.

No targets for aviation or farming in UK climate plan

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 20:02:23 GMT

The UK has set an ambitious goal to radically reduce carbon emissions by 2035.

Who owns the Moon? A new space race means it could be up for grabs

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 23:58:01 GMT

A race for the lunar surface's resources is currently under way. What’s to stop a Wild West opening up?

Nasa astronaut stuck in space ventures outside

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 10:13:52 GMT

Nasa astronaut Suni Williams, one of two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station, has completed her first spacewalk since arriving.

Asteroid contains building blocks of life, say scientists

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:07:12 GMT

Bennu contains minerals and thousands of organic molecules, including the chemical components that make up DNA.

Reservoir of liquid water found deep in Martian rocks

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 19:00:06 GMT

Studies of quakes detected from the planet's surface found it in the planet's rocky outer crust.

Major report joins dots between world's nature challenges

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 13:00:18 GMT

A new approach is needed to tackle the interlinked crises afflicting the planet, scientists warn.

Fatbergs turned into perfume - inside Britain's bizarre new industrial revolution

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 02:08:17 GMT

The UK led the way in this field of science until recently - but now other countries have overtaken. So, how can that lead be recovered?

Banksy fan badger wins hearts in wildlife photo competition

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 01:33:14 GMT

Ian Wood put up the Banksy design in the hope of an 'art-imitates-life' photo op

Somebody moved UK's oldest satellite, and no-one knows who or why

Sat, 09 Nov 2024 00:08:27 GMT

Britain's oldest satellite is in the wrong part of the sky, but no-one's really sure who moved it.

SpaceX Starship test fails after Texas launch

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 02:27:56 GMT

Officials at Elon Musk's company said the upper stage was lost, minutes after it launched.

Spending on flood defences set to rise to record levels

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 22:35:04 GMT

The money will be spent on projects ranging from tidal barriers and flood walls to nature-based solutions.