The North Pole may be briefly ice-free by September as global warming melts away Arctic sea ice, according to scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.The ice retreated to a record level in September when the Northwest
Shoppers were stunned when a massive swarm of thousands of honey bees touched down in a busy city centre.Around 15,000 insects gathered in Queen Street, Exeter, at around lunchtime on Tuesday.While some people darted for cover, others stood and watched th
Extreme floods and droughts brought on by climate change can turn normally harmless infections into significant threats, international researchers said on Tuesday.They said weather extremes can create conditions in which several fairly harmless diseases c
The rising Mississippi River interrupted travel on two bridges between Iowa and Illinois and forced the helicopter rescue of more than a dozen people sandbagging a levee before it broke, threatening to deluge thousands of acres.Authorities saved several p
Fire retardants in deep sea squids?Marine scientists now have evidence that a whole range of chemical contaminants have found their way to the deepest and most remote parts of the ocean.Cephalopods include octopods, squids, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. Th
Experts are trying to figure out what caused loads of dolphins to swim up a river in Cornwall where they became stranded and died.Rescuers helped seven animals back out to sea but 26 died with two so poorly they had to be put to sleep.Marine experts are c
A SWEDISH diver who spent two nights marooned on an Indonesian island with four other Europeans told today how she had to fight off an aggressive komodo dragon with her weight belt.Helena Nevalainen said the dragon, a member of the largest lizard species
COCKROACHES, mice and even rats are rated good tucker at Darwin's Berrimah Jail these days.As part of a novel rehabilitation program.Inmates at the correctional centre are harvesting vermin to feed orphaned wildlife, such as wallabies, possums, whistling
Researchers have produced aerial photos of jungle dwellers who they say are among the few remaining peoples on Earth who have had no contact with the outside world.More than 100 uncontacted tribes remain worldwide, and about half live in the remote reache
POLLUTION levels in Beijing hit the top of the scale today, just 73 days before the Olympics, prompting a government warning for residents with respiratory problems to stay indoors.The main pollutant was suspended particulate matter, which is usually attr
