Science & Environment

Thames Water has been given a one star rating for its poor environmental performance by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2024, as part of a scathing assessment of England’s water companies. All but one of the nine English water and sewerage companies were rated as “requiring improvement” – or worse – by the EA, in a year where serious pollution …

David Wheeler, former Wycombe Wanderers midfielder and one of football’s most vocal environmental advocates, sees climate change increasingly affecting the game, saying it is “becoming a lot more obvious to players and more of a topic of conversation”. Wheeler, who is the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Sustainability Champion, believes the sport has a responsibility to do more. “Unfortunately I don’t …

Mosquitoes have been found in Iceland for the first time after the country experienced record-breaking heat this spring. Insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason encountered the mosquitoes over several nights last week while using wine-soaked ropes to observe moths, local media reported. Mr Hjaltason found two female mosquitoes and one male which were later confirmed to be Culiseta annulata, one of few …

Rebecca MorelleScience Editor and Alison FrancisSenior Science Journalist Tony Jolliffe/ BBC News From a very young age, Eileen Collins wanted to be an astronaut She’s the astronaut who smashed through the glass ceiling. And kept on going. Eileen Collins made history as the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft – but despite her remarkable achievements, not everyone will …

Brazil’s state oil firm has received a licence to conduct exploratory oil drilling in the sea off the Amazon, despite environmental concerns about the project. The approval will allow Petrobras to drill in a block located in Amapá, 500km (311 miles) from the mouth of the Amazon River on the Brazilian Equatorial Margin. The company said it had demonstrated to …

Justin RowlattBBC Panorama and Anna LamcheBBC News Getty Images Housing Secretary Steve Reed says his job should be “on the line” over a pledge to build 1.5 million new homes in England – but two leading experts have told BBC Panorama the government looks set to miss its target. Prof Paul Cheshire, who has advised previous governments on planning policy, …

Rebecca MorelleScience Editor and Alison FrancisSenior Science Journalist Tony Jolliffe/BBC News Cate Blanchett has teamed up with Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank She’s a Hollywood A-lister, with a mantelpiece groaning under the weight of awards. But Cate Blanchett has taken an unexpected diversion from her day job – to immerse herself in the world of the humble seed. Her eyes light …

Scientists say seven skeletons found in a mass grave in Croatia were most likely Roman soldiers who lived 1,700 years ago. The male skeletons, all with various injuries, were found “completely preserved” during excavations in 2011 at the site of the Roman city of Mursa – modern-day Osijek – in Croatia’s far east, a new research paper says. Mursa was …

Chen Ning Yang, Nobel laureate and one of the world’s most influential physicists, has died at the age of 103, according to Chinese state media. An obituary released by CCTV cited illness as the cause of death. Yang and fellow theoretical physicist, Lee Tsung-Dao, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for their work in parity laws, …

Mark Poynting and Matt McGrathBBC News Climate and Science Kevin Carter/Getty Images People head to the coast in San Diego on a hot summer’s day The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists. Sea surface temperatures between July and September were …