Australia has a long history of ecological disaster from alien species - so why is ecologist David Bowman proposing adding yet another?

The origins of our best drug against malaria have long been a mystery. Meet Tu Youyou, who scoured ancient Chinese medical texts for the cure.

Elizabeth Hausler aims to bring quake-resistant construction to the developing world : Interview.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028138.300-quake-engineer-earthq...

The Deepwater Horizon blowout is the largest oil spill in US history, but its ecological impact need not be the worst. It all hinges on the amount and composition of the oil that reaches the Gulf of Mexico's most sensitive habitat: its coastal marshes. If they can be protected, the region could bounce back in just a few years.

As little as 2 per cent of the oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico may be accounted for by surface slicks, a study of a controlled spill suggests.

The warnings were there a decade ago. Yet little has been done to address the risk of systems failure in deep-sea drilling operations,

There are times when letting go is the best way to move forward. When the US abandoned plans for a nuclear waste repository at Yucca mountain, Nevada, there was no alternative in sight. Now, less than two months after that decision to walk away from a decades-long, multibillion-dollar boondoggle, a promising solution is coming into view.

If you care about the environment, you may want to show that in the way you spend your money. These decisions could help steer us towards a truly green economy - but only if consumers and investors have a good idea of which companies have genuinely minimised their impact on the environment.

The UK government is sitting on a report that shows its emissions rose by 13.5 per cent between 1992 and 2004

Super-streamlining, pothole power and heat recycling: a spate of innovation is about to transform diesel-guzzling trucks into green giants.