The X Prize foundation, best known for launching the private spaceflight industry, launches a $1.4 million oil clean-up challenge.

A Unesco panel votes to remove the Galapagos Islands from a "red list" of endangered heritage sites, drawing protests from a leading conservation group.

Russian sub searches Lake Baikal for energy reserves

Rescue teams in north-east China are working to retrieve 3,000 barrels of chemicals washed into a major river, state media say.

The European Union and six member states have reached a deal on the experimental nuclear fusion reactor they are backing.

The cheetah, eradicated in India by hunting nearly a century ago, will run again in the country, as three sites are earmarked for its reintroduction.

A team of divers - known as Neptune's Army of Rubbish Cleaners - are stepping up efforts to keep Britain's coastline clean and litter free.

Environmental group WWF apologises to Saudi Arabia after one of its workers vandalised the country's nameplate at a climate conference.

Canadian archaeologists locate the wreck of HMS Investigator, a British ship abandoned in the Arctic in the 19th Century.

The amount of plankton in the oceans has declined markedly over the last century, with warming identified as a cause.

Pigs feel optimistic or pessimistic about life depending on how pleasant their environment is, researchers at Newcastle University have discovered.

Oil from BP's damaged Gulf of Mexico well has cleared from the sea surface faster than expected, scientists say, 100 days after the disaster began.

Midges have been blighting summers in the Scottish Highlands for generations, but new research suggests that the insects aren't as indiscriminate in their choice of victims as previously thought.

Pigs feel optimistic or pessimistic about life depending on how pleasant their environment is, researchers at Newcastle University find.

The world's deepest and oldest lake, Lake Baikal, is at risk of being removed from the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Bathers along Britain's coastline are being warned to be on the look-out for the country's most poisonous fish.

Aberdeen University zoologist Dr Jenny Mordue describes the behaviour of Scotland's famous insects.

Music has helped elite tri-athletes in Australia increase their endurance by 15%, researchers say.

Do dogs really imitate body movements of owners?

Having good friends and neighbours appears to boost survival chances by 50%, say researchers.