Direct observations of sunspot numbers are available for the past four centuries, but longer time series are required, for example, for the identification of a possible solar influence on climate and for testing models of the solar dynamo. Here we report a reconstruction of the sunspot number covering the past 11,400 years, based on dendrochronologically dated radiocarbon concentrations. We combine physics-based models for each of the processes connecting the radiocarbon concentration with sunspot number.

The Sun s formation

air stinkers: Harmful smog can form inside homes through reactions between air-fresheners and the ozone pollutant, indicates findings of researchers from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The

only mother's son: Japanese and Korean scientists have created a mouse without using a sperm. The feat is akin to the birth of Dolly, the world's first cloned mammal. Bees, ants, aphids, some fish

Moon helped spur life on Earth

Large object of ice and rock found beyond Pluto

Earth like planets may exist