The Orionid meteor shower will peak this weekend: Where and when can you see it?
It may be possible to see around 20 shooting stars passing through the sky every hour at peak viewing time.
World's first cannabis cream developed to treat acne and other skin conditions
The skin solution is made with cannabidiols – natural compounds found in cannabis that have anti-inflammatory properties.
A crisis in masculinity among young boys is driving them to carry out school shootings, study finds
Researchers looked at the shared characteristics of 31 school boys involved in 29 mass shootings in American schools between 1995 and 2015. These boys often struggled to live up to perceived masculine ideals.
'Once-in-a-decade' discovery: Scientists create materials that have never been seen before in nature
Researchers have created two-dimensional materials, just one atom thick, which could revolutionize how we do chemistry and may lead to enhanced electronics, among other things.
Will 10-million year-old teeth crown Europe as the 'cradle of humanity'?
If mysterious set of ape teeth discovered in Germany are confirmed as belonging to an early human ancestor, they would be the oldest hominin fossils ever discovered.
Scientists are developing autonomous snake-like robots to aid natural disaster rescue efforts
The robot's design will enable it to move easily through rubble, confined spaces and rough terrain, sending crucial information and images back to emergency responders.
Drinking alcohol may improve your ability to speak a foreign language
A new study found that low doses were beneficial to the speaking abilities of native German speakers who had recently learnt to speak Dutch.
400 mysterious stone 'gates', up to 7,000 years old, discovered in Saudi Arabia
At present, archaeologists are unclear on the purpose and exact age of these formations - which resemble gates when looked at from above.
Scientists uncover source of the world's largest and most destructive mud eruption
In 2006, large quantities of boiling mud began pouring out of vents in the ground at various sites across the Indonesian island of Java, causing thousands to flee.
How dinosaur dung fertilised the world
Over millions of years, large herbivores such as certain dinosaurs may have played a crucial role in dispersing vital nutrients across continents.
How male fruit flies sing powerful love ballads when competing for female partners
Over 110 generations, males who had to compete with other males for female attention were able to produce more seductive melodies.
In California, it is now legal to liquefy your corpse
'Aquamation' is an eco-friendly method of corpse disposal that dissolves the whole body, resulting in a relatively harmless water solution which can be returned to the Earth.
Alligator devours shark in extraordinary photo captured by scientists
The unusual behaviour is the first documented evidence of widespread interaction between the freshwater and saltwater animals.
Earth could be hit by a huge solar flare in the next 100 years, wiping out technology
In 1859 a powerful solar flare caused telephone wires to burst into flames. But in today's technology-reliant society, a comparable event would be far more damaging.
Prehistoric hazing: Ancient Andeans willingly engaged in violent rituals that severely injured them
Archaeologists found skeletons from the 13th to 6th centuries BC that bear the marks of severe trauma - but it appears these injuries weren't intended to kill.
Secrets of bacterial antibiotic resistance unravelled, paving way for new life-saving drugs
76 new genes have been identified which could help scientists develop new drugs that are effective against multi-drug resistant bacteria.
Climate change clams: Baltic sea molluscs release as much greenhouse gas as 20,000 dairy cows
Oceans that contain clams and worms release 8 times more methane than those without, according to new research.
Kronos: The planet-devouring star that has eaten the equivalent of 15 Earths
The star, nicknamed Kronos after the child-eating Titan of Greek mythology, is the clearest and most dramatic case observed to date of a sun-like star consuming its own planets.
Nasa wants 12 volunteers to lie in bed for a whole month
The participants must remain in the same position for entire duration of the Nasa study, which causes their bodies to adapt as if they were in space.
Ant queens rip apart and bury dead companions to prevent disease
The gruesome "undertaking behaviours" were found to increase the chances of a new colony succeeding.
Most people think the ozone layer is healing - but this study suggests it's facing a new threat
Rising emissions of harmful chemicals could threaten the recovery of the Earth's protective ozone layer, 30 years after a successful international treaty was agreed to protect it.
Brightest 'new star' ever discovered - and it's in a neighbouring galaxy
Novae occur when dying stars dramatically erupt back into life, suddenly becoming incredibly bright. When they were first observed, they were mistaken for new stars.
An asteroid has flown within a whisker of Earth - allowing scientists to test our planetary defences
An object known as TC4 came within 26,000 miles of the planet's surface - which is inside the moon's orbit and just above the altitude of satellites which orbit the Earth
This ultra low-cost battery could be the answer to renewable energy's greatest challenge - storage
One of the main drawbacks of renewable energy is its variability, but storing the electricity generated in batteries is prohibitively expensive with current technology.
Scientists develop 'ring' which detects explosives or chemical agents - in breakthrough against terrorism
The wearable device shows considerable promise for meeting the demands of a wide range of defence and security scenarios.
'Fake fin' discovery reveals new 200-million-year-old ichthyosaur species
Fossils dismissed in the 1970s as a common species have now been identified as a new kind of ichthyosaur. Researchers made the discovery after exposing evidence of fakery.
There's a pet obesity crisis because we're killing animals with kindness
Recent research suggests that around half of all dogs and cats in the UK are obese - and the problem is only expected to grow over the coming years.
The formation of coal 300 million years ago nearly caused the entire Earth to ice over
'Snowball Earth' is a hypothesis scientists use to describe a time when the entire surface of the planet was frozen.
If you want to understand how others are feeling, don't look - close your eyes and listen instead
New psychological research has found that listening to someone without looking at them is the most effective way to understand how they're feeling.
Amazonian farmers unlocked the secrets of wild rice domestication 4,000 years ago
Much of this ancient knowledge was lost due to the impact of European colonisers, who introduced Old World rice species to the Americas.