Science and nature facts, news and stories

Nettles tend to have a bad reputation but they’re very important!

Are we alone or could there be life in space?

Prepare for launch by taking a sneak peek at our favourite stories and specimens from the Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth? exhibition.

Life has found very clever ways to survive in the most extreme places.

Mineral with a chemical composition very similar to that of the fictional Kryptonite could help Europe transition to a greener future. 

Scientists have tracked over 100 species of marine animals and found that plans to protect almost a third of our seas may be insufficient.

Studying an ancient extinction could help at-risk mussels, scallops and clams today.

The impact of melting glaciers will be felt for centuries – even if global warming is reversed.

The discoveries that changed our understanding of dinosaurs over the past two centuries.

Millions of years before modern birds evolved, their dinosaur ancestors were soaring through the air.

By the end of the Jurassic Period, dinosaurs ruled our planet. But how they became such a diverse group remains a mystery.

The earliest ancestors of birds looked noticeably different from the creatures familiar to us today, reflecting their dinosaur origins.

Explore the biggest challenges facing our planet and the nature-based solutions that can help us to create a more sustainable world.

In order to better target interventions we need to know which causes have the biggest impacts.

The passenger pigeon was once the most numerous bird in the world, but in just half a century, it had gone extinct.

In 1982, the company managing the Santo Niño copper mine packed up and left. The local community is dealing with its toxic legacy.

Name that tune! Learn how to recognise the songs and calls of the UK's most common park and garden birds.

In spring and summer, you might notice something looking like spit on a plant. 

They look like bees and pollinate flowers, but these fluffy flies have a gruesome teenage stage that makes them one of the most fascinating species in your local park or garden.

Get the facts on when and why ants grow wings and swarm.

Explore impressive adaptations animals have evolved for coping with sub-zero temperatures.

The woolly mammoth is an ice age icon. But it was only the very last chapter in a six-million-year-long story. 

Get the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about these fascinating, slithering reptiles.

With wingspans that stretched a whopping 71 centimetres, these epic insects would have blocked out the Sun as they flew past.  

Samples from the asteroid Bennu contain some of the ingredients needed for life to develop.

Discover what causes the colourful lights of the aurora borealis.

Millions of pieces of human-caused debris are orbiting Earth. But are they an issue, and what can we do about them?

Anyone can capture the majesty of the galaxy with a simple camera. All you need is a dark, clear night and the willingness to have a go.

The ancient human species Homo luzonensis is one of the most recent branches to be added to the human evolutionary tree.

Find out how Homo sapiens left Africa and migrated to other regions of the world, including Europe, Asia and America.

Learn about the longest-surviving human species, which was also the first known to leave Africa.

What features make us human? And where, when and why did they evolve?

Not all sharks look like great whites.

Some whales don’t have teeth – so how do they catch their dinner?

Worms and snails are living in cavities under the bottom of the sea.

Discover the fascinating, gelatinous world of jellyfish, from painful stings to brilliant bioluminescence. 

Discover the extraordinary world of these winged reptiles – from mysterious origins to breathtaking diversity. 

It's very difficult to know what the Antarctic was like before humans arrived – but whale bones could hold the answer.

Our butterfly expert talks about her life, passions and the power of perspectives.

A mystery beginning in the South Atlantic, and ending in South Kensington, has finally been solved.

Photographer Greg Basco talks us through capturing this otherworldly vista, high up in the Colombian Andes.

Manatees return to Florida’s Crystal River as locals restore seagrass lost to pollution. 

Photographer Jaime Rojo brings to life the perilous journey of these iconic butterflies and the efforts to save them.

Ian Wood’s photo No Access fought off competition from 24 other images to emerge victorious.

Get the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about these fascinating, slithering reptiles.

What are those milky white splatters – are they pee or poo?

Take a virtual tour of the Natural History Museum and explore the astonishing diversity of the natural world.

If you know what you’re looking at, little bits of bone can add up to something big. 

Mineral with a chemical composition very similar to that of the fictional Kryptonite could help Europe transition to a greener future. 

Dive into the modern megalodon myth and the weigh up the evidence.

Scientists have tracked over 100 species of marine animals and found that plans to protect almost a third of our seas may be insufficient.

Nettles tend to have a bad reputation but they’re very important!

Studying an ancient extinction could help at-risk mussels, scallops and clams today.

Are we alone or could there be life in space?

The impact of melting glaciers will be felt for centuries – even if global warming is reversed.

Prepare for launch by taking a sneak peek at our favourite stories and specimens from the Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth? exhibition.

Fossil footprints could push back the origins of the amniotes by as much as 40 million years.

At more than half a billion years old, Mosura fentoni sheds new light on how arthropods evolved.

Koala numbers have fallen drastically over the last 100 years due to hunting and habitat loss.

The ‘king’ of the dinosaurs might not be the all-American predator it appears to be.

A new initiative aims to change the fate of seaweeds for the better.

A rare fossil has been identified as an ancient species of internal parasite.

The new species, named Pararhincodon torquis, is a distant relative of the collared carpet sharks.

Life has found very clever ways to survive in the most extreme places.

Photographer Greg Basco talks us through capturing this otherworldly vista, high up in the Colombian Andes.

The insect not only marks a major milestone, but also highlights the power of digitising our collection.

The documents will join other important archives such as the illuminated manuscripts of Charlemagne’s court.

Not all sharks look like great whites.

Marmoretta oxoniensis was a climber, not a swimmer.

Butchered remains of great bustards have been found in the graves of people buried 15,000 years ago. 

The fossil expands the Denisovan's known range by thousands of kilometres and provides new insights into how this species looked.

The first samples returned from the far side of the Moon suggest it's 10-100 times drier than the side nearer Earth.