The Latest Breaking News from Earth

Too much salt is poisoning rivers and oceans and it's not just table salt we have to be worried about

Researchers revealed the potent role that dust from pulverized rock ejected into the atmosphere from the impact site may have played in driving extinctions, choking the atmosphere and blocking plants from harnessing sunlight

Dust prevented plants from growing, causing collapse in dinosaur food chain

Three astronauts have returned to Earth after six months aboard China's orbiting space station

Species lists are one of the unseen pillars of science and society. Lists of species underpin our understanding of the natural world, threatened species management, quarantine, disease control and much else besides.

If humanity wants to have a 50-50 chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, we can only emit 250 another gigatonnes (billion metric tonnes) of CO₂. This effectively gives the world just six years to get to net zero, according to calculations in our new paper published in Nature Climate…

Humans are still pumping enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That puts this decade's climate goals further out of reach.

Researchers ran simulations to explore the ‘killing mechanisms’ that wiped out 75% of species

A shrieking skull, a cackling witch, a ghostly hand and other cosmic illusions haunt our skies. Which do you think is the spookiest object in the universe?

Japanese scientists successfully grew mouse embryos in space, demonstrating that mammals may be able to thrive in microgravity. Embryos were sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021, thawed and grown for four days. Analysis of the blastocysts that were sent back to Earth showed no significant changes in…

A pink glow is shining on the faces of enthusiastic students as they tend to plants in purpose-built grow boxes for space stations.