Science & Environment

How unusual is this UK heat and is climate change to blame?

How unusual is this UK heat and is climate change to blame?

Mark Poynting Climate reporter, BBC News Getty Images A second spell of temperatures well over 30C before we’ve even got to the end of June – how unusual is this and how much is climate change to blame? Temperatures of 34C are possible on Monday or Tuesday in south-east England. They’ve been triggered by an area of high pressure getting …

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Tuvalu: One in three citizens apply for climate change visa

Tuvalu: One in three citizens apply for climate change visa

Getty Images Tuvalu is the world’s second lowest-lying country More than a third of Tuvalu citizens have entered the ballot for a world-first climate visa which would allow them to permanently migrate to Australia. Opening for the first intake on 16 June, the influx of registrations could indicate that programme will be hugely oversubscribed, with only 280 visas awarded to …

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Shoots of hope for Britain’s cherished ash trees

Shoots of hope for Britain’s cherished ash trees

Helen Briggs Environment correspondent, BBC News•@hbriggs Getty Images Ash dieback is a disease of ash trees, caused by a fungus Ash trees are fighting back against a disease that has ravaged the British countryside, new scientific evidence shows. When ash dieback arrived in 2012, predictions suggested up to 85% of ash trees could be lost. But now scientists have discovered …

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Synthetic Human Genome Project gets go ahead

Synthetic Human Genome Project gets go ahead

Gwyndaf Hughes Science Videographer How the researchers hope to create human DNA Work has begun on a controversial project to create the building blocks of human life from scratch, in what is believed to be a world first. The research has been taboo until now because of concerns it could lead to designer babies or unforeseen changes for future generations. …

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Synthetic Human Genome Project gets go ahead

Synthetic Human Genome Project gets go ahead

Gwyndaf Hughes Science Videographer How the researchers hope to create human DNA Work has begun on a controversial project to create the building blocks of human life from scratch, in what is believed to be a world first. The research has been taboo until now because of concerns it could lead to designer babies or unforeseen changes for future generations. …

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World’s oldest boomerang older than thought, but not Australian

World’s oldest boomerang older than thought, but not Australian

Helen Briggs BBC environment correspondent•@hbriggs Maciej Biernacki The boomerang was found near stones, animal and human bones The world’s oldest boomerang is older than previously thought, casting new light on the ingenuity of humans living at the time. The tool, which was found in a cave in Poland in 1985, is now thought to be 40,000 years old. Archaeologists say …

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Pollution in Welsh rivers is ‘suffocating the sea’, campaigners say

Pollution in Welsh rivers is ‘suffocating the sea’, campaigners say

Steffan Messenger Environment correspondent, BBC Wales News BBC Campaigner Ric Cooper says he hopes new assessments of the condition of protected areas of the coast and sea would be a catalyst for action Pollution from rivers in Wales is affecting the marine environment and “suffocating our sea”, campaigners have warned. WWF Cymru said excess nutrients from farming and sewage were …

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Shubhanshu Shukla: India celebrates sending its first astronaut into space after 41 years

Shubhanshu Shukla: India celebrates sending its first astronaut into space after 41 years

Axiom Space Axiom-4 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Jubilant Indians have been celebrating the successful launch of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission which has taken off with a multi-country crew, including an Indian astronaut. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who’s piloting the mission, has become only the second Indian to travel to space. In just over 26 hours …

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Shubhanshu Shukla: India celebrates sending its first astronaut into space after 41 years

Shubhanshu Shukla: India celebrates sending its first astronaut into space after 41 years

Axiom Space Axiom-4 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Jubilant Indians have been celebrating the successful launch of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission which has taken off with a multi-country crew, including an Indian astronaut. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who’s piloting the mission, has become only the second Indian to travel to space. In just over 26 hours …

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