2015

Vast quantities of 'missing' xenon may be trapped kilometres below Earth's surface.

Research on a Museum fossil helps explain why Neanderthal faces looked different to our own.

Opening later this month, the Museum's new Human Evolution gallery will enable visitors to trace the evolution of our species and explore what makes us human.

Visitors will be able to take a virtual reality tour through the world's largest coral reef from 11 December 2015, as David Attenborough's Great Barrier Reef Dive opens at the Natural History Museum.

A Museum researcher's 'midge thermometer' innovation has helped explain why the Earth was plunged into a mini ice age almost 13,000 years ago.

Museum scientists use cutting-edge imaging techniques to unravel the secrets of 517-million-year-old animals, uncovering new evidence for brain fossilisation.

Braving ice-cold water pays off for research team who discover diverse microbial life flourishing at the bottom of an Antarctic lake.

Museum donates cast of Ilford mammoth skull to the London community where the fossil was found.

Mammoth teeth study led by Museum palaeontologist Prof Adrian Lister reveals the origins of the Columbian mammoth and interbreeding with woolly mammoths.

Institutions in South Kensington will host a day of events celebrating the launch of British astronaut Tim Peake.

Museum scientist Dr Martha Richter helps discover two new species of extinct amphibians and the oldest reptile fossil skeleton ever found in South America.

Researchers reveal a link between tapeworm parasites and cancer-like infections in people with compromised immune systems.

A bat preserved in alcohol for 30 years in the Museum's collection has been recognised as a new species of horseshoe bat. 

Modern human teeth that are at least 80,000 years old have been found in China. Museum human origins expert Professor Chris Stringer says the discovery is a 'game-changer'.

Museum scientist Professor Sara Russell says the discovery could mean that organic material, including water, is widespread in the outer reaches of our solar system.

Detailed 3D X-ray images of the saw-like nose of Schizorhiza stromeri challenge the classical theory that vertebrate teeth evolved from external scales.

The Museum is planning an ambitious transformation of its outdoor spaces, to create the best possible experience for the many people who visit each year.

Museum researcher Dr Joe Michalski says NASA discovery points to Martian environments that could be habitable by certain kinds of bacteria.

The satsuma-sized Ivuna meteorite contains a record of primordial material from 4.6 billion years ago - around the same time as the formation of the sun and planets.

Scientists found that smaller bee species with shorter flight seasons are especially at risk in human-dominated areas.

Researchers announce a new species of ancient human discovered deep in a cave in South Africa. Fossil casts will be unveiled to the public at the Museum later this month.

The Museum's famous Diplodocus goes on tour around the UK from early 2018, with venues bidding to host this British icon encouraged to get creative with their proposals.

A team led by a Museum scientist has discovered a new species of Australian death adder in the Kimberley region of the country.

The Museum is planning an ambitious transformation of its outdoor spaces, to create the best possible experience for the many people who visit each year.

Data from a Pluto flyby to be turned into art.

A special kind of opal that can trap microbes on Earth has been found in a Martian meteorite, suggesting a new target in the search for signs of life on Mars.

Scientific artwork by Alfred Russel Wallace and Henry Walter Bates - two of the most important nineteenth-century biologists and natural history collectors - is available online for the first time.

The common British seaweed Irish moss displays a blue shine using unique structures that bend light, according to a new study.

Spiders strike elaborate poses to catch the breeze and sail across salty and turbulent waters, reaching new lands quickly.

Found up to 1,100 metres below the surface, the record-breaking centipede has been given the name Geophilus hadesi, after Hades, the Greek god of the underworld.

The Museum’s first yeti crabs – so-called for their white bodies and hairy limbs – will soon be entered into the collection.

Convincing male clothes moths to chase other males is reducing the Museum's pest population.

Journey back in time with David Attenborough to Earth’s ancient oceans.

Paul Barret comments on controversy over whether all dinosaurs were feathered or not.

Fish experts Oliver Crimmen and Ralf Britz have had species named for them to honour their work and dedication.

Museum dinosaur expert Paul Barrett comments on a new species of dinosaur that has unusual mix of meat-eating and plant-eating features.

Look out for orchids and help scientists see how climate change is affecting flowering times.

Museum announces a partnership with BBC Radio 4 to begin 2 June 2015.

Research on human remains from Gough's Cave points to ritual cannibalism.

Micro-CT scans of wood have revealed clues about the lives of a strange deep-sea wood-eating creature, nicknamed a shipworm.

A new study gives a global view of biodiversity damage since the 1500s. There has been an average drop of 14 per cent in local ecosystems.

A live coral reef and a panoramic virtual dive are just some of the amazing sights in store for visitors to the new Museum exhibition, Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Sea.

Museum scientists have revealed the closest relations to ancient South American ungulates.

The Museum's new display tells the story of Neanderthals and modern humans in the UK and opens on 14 March.

Studies on two jawbones, one 2.8 million years old and the other 1.8, give more clues to human origins.

The Museum's 150-million-year-old Stegosaurus stenops would have weighed around 1,600kg in life, similar to the size of a small rhino.

Enter the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s #BackClimateAction image competition for a chance to win prizes.

Researchers have identified the key environmental impacts on marine animals during natural global warming 183 million years ago.

Britain’s crop wild relatives will feature in the first scientific garden to show at the Royal Horticultural Society event.

Natural History Museum scientists have created a tool made from Lego to hold and manipulate delicate specimens such as tiny insects.

A vast blue whale skeleton is set to welcome visitors through the Museum's main entrance from summer 2017. The whale will take the place of the Diplodocus cast that has stood in Hintze Hall for 35 years.

An exceptional example of the saw-like nose of an extinct fish has made its way into the Museum’s collection.

Rubbish found in the deep sea more than 1,000km (600 miles) from the coast reveals the truly global impact of human activities.

Schools across the UK can now collaborate with the Museum on cutting-edge genetic research into the diversity of microscopic species living on buildings.