Science/Nature

[ad_1] PA MediaPrince William wants this year's Earthshot event to boost African environmental projectsThe Prince of Wales has spoken of his deep personal connections with Africa - ahead of his environmental Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in Cape Town in South Africa next week.“Africa has always held a special place in my heart - as somewhere I found comfort as a teenager, where I proposed to my wife," said Prince William

[ad_1] Getty ImagesUN biodiversity summits happen every two years - this year in Cali, ColombiaScientists say there has been an alarming lack of progress in saving nature as the UN biodiversity summit, COP 16, draws to a close.The scale of political ambition has not risen to the challenge of reducing the destruction of nature that costs the economy billions, said one leading expert.Representatives of 196 countries have been meeting in

[ad_1] Getty ImagesCyclone Sidr wrecked homes and killed more than 6,000 people when it hit Bangladesh in 2007Human-caused climate change made the ten deadliest extreme weather events of the last 20 years more intense and more likely, according to new analysis.The killer storms, heatwaves and floods affected Europe, Africa and Asia killing more than 570,000 people.The new analysis highlights how scientists can now discern the fingerprint of climate change in

[ad_1] BBCNyakuma and her husband Sunday, who live in a village in South Sudan, struggle to find food due to droughtThe area of land surface affected by drought has trebled since the 1980s, a new report into the effects of climate change has revealed.Forty-eight per cent of the Earth’s land surface had at least one month of extreme drought last year, according to analysis by the Lancet Countdown on Health

[ad_1] Woodland TrustThe Skipinnish oak is on Lochaber's Achnacarry EstateA tree in the Scottish Highlands thought to be at least 1,000 years old and known as the Skipinnish Oak has been named UK Tree of the Year.Native woodland experts had no idea the tree existed until a gathering in 2009.The band Skipinnish, which had played at the event, knew of the tree and led the conservationists to where it was

[ad_1] Salvamontes ColombiaThe yellow flower of one of the rarest magnolias in ColombiaScientists assessing dangers posed to the world’s trees have revealed that more than a third of species are facing extinction in the wild.The number of threatened trees now outweighs all threatened birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians put together, according to the latest update to the official extinction red list.The news was released in Cali, Colombia, where world leaders

[ad_1] ReutersThe UK needs to make huge cuts to its greenhouse gas emissions this decade to help the world avoid the worst impacts of rising temperatures, the government's climate watchdog has said.The Climate Change Committee (CCC) says the UK has the technologies to do this, but meeting the goal would require much greater investment in renewable energy, electric cars and heat pumps.While the UK has already cut its emissions by

[ad_1] AFPThe clean-up on Coogee Beach on Thursday Beaches in the Australian city of Sydney have reopened for swimmers after being closed earlier this week when thousands of mysterious black tar-like balls washed ashore, prompting health concerns. Officials say tests found the balls to be formed from chemicals similar to those in cosmetics and cleaning products but it is still unclear where they came from. Eight beaches including Bondi -

[ad_1] From 21 October until 1 November, delegates are meeting in Cali, Colombia to take stock of national pledges to protect nature, amid concerns countries are back-sliding on their promises.Recent analysis suggests, external most countries are set to miss the deadline to submit new national action plans for preserving nature.Key issues include the scale of ambition in meeting specific targets, finance for biodiversity projects in poorer countries and making sure

[ad_1] Getty ImagesBy understanding how skin develops researchers hope to slow the signs of agingResearchers have made a scientific discovery that in time could be used to slow the signs of ageing.A team has discovered how the human body creates skin from a stem cell, and even reproduced small amounts of skin in a lab.The research is part of a study to understand how every part of the human body