BBC Science/Nature News
Why zebras evolved their stripes - A zebra's unmistakeable stripes may have evolved to make the animals unattractive to blood-sucking flies, say scientists.
Threshold broken for tiny lasers - Researchers build efficient lasers just 100 billionths of a metre across that may be used to make faster computer chips in the future.
America and Asia 'will join up' - Researchers say most of the world's continents will merge somewhere over the Pacific "ring of fire" in 50-200 million years.
Russians claim Antarctic success - Russian scientists are reporting success in their quest to drill into Lake Vostok, a huge body of liquid water buried under the Antarctic ice.
Corals inflate to escape the sand - Time-lapse footage reveals how mushroom corals inflate and deflate to free themselves from smothering sand.
'Invader' drives ladybird decline - Fast declines in some UK and European ladybirds are being caused by the spread of the invasive harlequin species, scientists show.
Whales 'stressed by ocean noise' - A study of hormones in whale faeces shows that right whales are stressed by propeller noise from shipping.
Skydiver planning 36km record bid - Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian planning to sky dive from a record-breaking altitude, has announced he will make the attempt later this year.
Parkinson's cells 'made in lab' - Scientists in the US have successfully made human brain cells in the lab that are an exact replica of genetically caused Parkinson's disease.
Wolfram Alpha unveils Pro service - The data-crunching site unveils a premium service that allows users to upload data, photos and sounds for analysis.
Mars co-operation near collapse - US space agency officials let their European counterparts know that it is now highly unlikely that America will participate in joint missions to the Red Planet in 2016 and 2018.
Jurassic cricket's song recreated - The "love song" of a 165-million-year-old insect is recreated from a tiny and remarkably intact fossil, say scientists.
Black hole 'vaporising asteroids' - For years scientists have been trying to explain the reason why a giant black hole at the centre of the Milky Way has bright flares coming out from its centre.
Rare Mars meteorite for science - A Martian meteorite, an incredibly rare object, is given to the Natural History Museum, London, to help unravel the secrets of the Red Planet.
Transplant jaw made by 3D printer - An 83-year-old woman is fitted with a jaw made by a 3D printer in what doctors say is the first operation of its kind.
Contador given two-year drug ban - Alberto Contador is handed a two-year ban for a doping offence - and is stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title.
Largest optical telescope created - Astronomers at the Paranal observatory combine four telescope to create the world's largest virtual device with a 130m-mirror.
Malaria toll 'is twice as high' - The number of deaths worldwide from malaria has been underestimated, according to data published in the medical journal the Lancet.
VIDEO: Art by animals goes on show - A work of abstract expressionism by a chimp and a still life of a flower by an elephant are part of a new exhibition in London of artworks created by animals.
Brains may be wired for addiction - Abnormalities in the brain may make some people more likely to become drug addicts, according to scientists.
China in EU carbon scheme 'ban' - China tells its airlines not to pay charges to the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, aimed at cutting carbon emissions.
PM urged to cut wind farm subsidy - More than 100 Conservatives are among MPs who have written to the prime minister calling on him to slash subsidies for onshore wind turbines.
Prince optimistic for fisheries - Prince Charles says there are reasons to be optimistic about the state of the world's oceans, but it is "critically urgent" to tackle overfishing.
Clan chief joins conservation row - A clan chief is accusing the Scottish government and SNH of not listening to islanders' concerns about a conservation area.
Striking galaxy image from Hubble - The Hubble space telescope captures an image of a "barred spiral" galaxy that could help us better understand our own Milky Way.
Giving an invasive water pest the bullet - Wrestling one of the UK's most invasive pests
Seagrass age surprises scientists - Meadows of seagrass, a keystone species in marine ecosystems, found in the Mediterranean Sea are likely to be tens of thousands of years old, a study shows.
VIDEO: How plants warn each other of danger - Professor Iain Smith shows how researchers have captured the process by which plants alert each other to potential threat.
Five killer whales 'sue' SeaWorld - Five killer whales are named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit which argues that they deserve the same constitutional protection from slavery as humans.
VIDEO: Birds' paradise lost in Kashmir? - Nearly a million migratory birds visit Kashmir's wetlands every year, but this time the severe winter has made it nearly impossible for them to find food.
VIDEO: Russia finds vast sub-glacial lake - Russian scientists have been drilling for two decades in the Antarctic and say they have found a vast sub-glacial lake.
VIDEO: 'I carried Mars rock in hand luggage' - The Natural History Museum in London has acquired its largest Martian meteorite, which could hold new clues to life on Mars.
VIDEO: Nepal national park breeds crocs - A breeding centre in Nepal's Chitwan National Park is preparing endangered Gharial crocodiles for release back into the wild.
VIDEO: Converting solar energy into new fuels - Researchers in Glasgow are working on a way to remove greenhouse gas from the atmosphere and put oil back under the North Sea.
VIDEO: Skydiver: My mum's still scared - An Austrian adventurer planning the highest skydive in history has announced he will make the attempt later this year.
VIDEO: MPs urge PM to cut wind farm subsidy - More than 100 Conservative MPs have written to David Cameron calling on him to slash subsidies for onshore wind turbines.
VIDEO: Tribes untouched by civilisation - Saving the mysterious Amazon tribes untouched by modern world
Ape versus machine - The primate who solves a memory test faster than you can blink
7 questions on skydiving and parachuting - Test yourself on the history of aerial adventure
Star nursery in sharpest picture - The most detailed infrared image ever of the Carina Nebula
’s farms - How drones and satellites are catching farming cheats
Gabon: Surfing hippos, lacking tourists - Why has Gabon failed to become tourist hot-spot?
Climate consensus cracking open - or not... - What's the evidence for a decline of "climate change consensus"?