Choking China: The struggle to clear Beijing's air
As pollution levels return to normal in China's capital after a record-breaking month of smog, what can be done to banish the smog?
New Scientist
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Plight of the bumblebee: Scruffy pollinator in peril
There's lots of buzz about the disappearance of honeybees, but the bumblebee is faring even worse – and some say it is the more crucial pollinator.
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Space fuel crisis: NASA confronts the plutonium pinch
An interplanetary energy crunch looms. Will NASA keep a nuclear tiger in its tank, or put the sun in its sails?
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Malaria vaccines could make malaria worse
Mice vaccinated against malaria can give the parasite an environment to acquire immunity and become more virulent.
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Japan could become second biggest solar power nation
A mega solar park planned just 10 kilometres from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant trumpets new Japanese investment in solar power.
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97% of Greenland surface ice turns to slush
The surface of Greenland has turned to slush. Satellite data shows that a warm spell earlier this month melted nearly the entire surface of the nation's ice cap. The melt is unusual: normally about half
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Searching for species that keep us healthy
Intestinal worms and bacteria, please – we're good at fighting off organisms that bring disease, but should we find species that benefit us too?
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Climate change: The great civilisation destroyer?
War and unrest, and the collapse of many mighty empires, often followed changes in local climes. Is this more than a coincidence?
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No charges to be brought over climategate hack
It created a media feeding frenzy and dragged climate scientists' reputations through the mud, but nobody will be prosecuted for the "climategate" email hack. Thousands of emails were stolen from the servers
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Fungus-powered superplants may beat the heat
As US crops wither in drought, researchers are turning to symbiotic fungi to help crops survive extreme conditions without resorting to genetic engineering
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Hardy polar bears have survived past global warming
Polar bears have been around for millions of years longer than previously thought – and might be resilient to current climate change and habitat loss.