An asteroid some 400m across is set to pass by the Earth, on a path closer to us than the Moon - though it poses no danger.

A female loggerhead turtle will not reach maturity and start to lay eggs until she is 45 years old, according to scientists.

A controversial tax on polluters passes its final major legal hurdle in Australia as senators back the plan, in a victory for the Labor government.

Nine out of 10 bathing waters in England and Wales have met tougher new EU standards that are due to be introduced in 2015.

'Hope' for the future of a Loch Lomond gold mine

The US state department's handling of the Keystone XL permit request will be reviewed for wrongdoing, after anti-oil protests.

The US government has formally declared it has no knowledge of the existence of extraterrestrial life, in response to petitions submitted to the White House.

There are several strains of the frog-killing chytrid fungus, scientists find, of varying lethality - and they were probably spread by trade.