Science/Nature

[ad_1] BBC / Jon Parker LeeGeorge and Mandy are among the residents who refused to sign an NDA agreement and can speak about the Runcorn incinerator“We have been inundated with flies, rats, smell, noise. It's just been horrendous,” says Mandy Royle, who lives in the closest home to the UK’s biggest waste incinerator at Runcorn in Cheshire.The facility generates electricity from burning nearly a million tonnes of household rubbish every

[ad_1] Day trips to the Moon, living on Mars, space elevators… when it comes to the future of space exploration, some possibilities might be closer than we think!Made by BBC Ideas in partnership with the Royal Society, externalListen to Sideways: A New Frontier on BBC Radio 4Watch Solar System on iPlayer (UK)Read the Royal Society’s Space: 2075 report , externalAnimated by Jess Mountfield, narrated by Dr Becky Smethurst at the

[ad_1] SpaceX's Starship is set to take off later on its fifth test flight as Elon Musk pushes ahead in his quest to build the most powerful operational rocket system in history.For the first time SpaceX will attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster, which sits at the bottom of the two-stage vehicle, as it returns to the launchpad in Texas.Being able to land the booster safely increases its chances

[ad_1] NASA/ISSHurricanes Helene and Milton – which have devastated parts of the south-east United States – have bookended an exceptionally busy period of tropical storms.In less than two weeks, five hurricanes formed, which is not far off what the Atlantic would typically get in an entire year.The storms were powerful, gaining strength with rapid speed.Yet in early September, when hurricane activity is normally at its peak, there were peculiarly few

[ad_1] The new 3D scan lifts the veil of darkness and water from the wreck lying 3km beneath the surfaceAfter more than 100 years hidden in the icy waters of Antarctica, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance has been revealed in extraordinary 3D detail.For the first time we can see the vessel, which sank in 1915 and lies 3,000m down at the bottom of the Weddell Sea, as if the murky

[ad_1] Getty ImagesWildlife populations have plummeted, mainly due to habitat loss, WWF figures revealHuman activity is continuing to drive what conservation charity the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) calls a "catastrophic" loss of species.From elephants in tropical forests to hawksbill turtles off the Great Barrier Reef, populations are plummeting, according to a stocktake of the world's wildlife.The Living Planet Report, a comprehensive overview of the state of the natural

[ad_1] BBC David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper have won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their work on proteins.Demis Hassabis co-founded the artificial intelligence research company that became Google DeepMind.The announcement was made by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences at a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden.The winners share a prize fund worth 11m Swedish kronor (£810,000).This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be

[ad_1] Shane GrossShane Gross wins the grand prize - and the 'Wetlands: The Bigger Picture' category A snapshot of wriggling toad tadpoles has earned Shane Gross the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.Beneath a floating canopy of lily pads in Cedar Lake, Canada, a swarm of western toad tadpoles glided gracefully through the water.“To me, the most fun that I can have, the thing that lights me up inside,

[ad_1] The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to two scientists, John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, for their work on machine learning.The announcement was made by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences at a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden.Machine learning is key to artificial intelligence as it develops how a computer can train itself to generate information.It drives a vast range of technology that we use today from how