The US is enduring the widest drought since 1956, according to new data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Rodents that steal seeds from each other are filling the seed-dispersing role of extinct giant mammals, research suggests.

The Solomon Islands is exporting thousands of wild birds each year claiming they are captive-bred, concludes an investigation by wildlife trade experts.

The most senior Syrian politician to defect tells the BBC that the regime could use chemical weapons, as fighting spreads around Damascus.

Navigable photographs of polar explorers Sir Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic huts are put online by Google.

US health regulators for the first time approve a drug to prevent HIV infection, despite warnings it could engender a false sense of security.

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) is looking at novel ways to put out fires, including using sound.

Nearly half a tonne of ivory worth more than $700,000 is seized at the airport in Thailand's capital, Bangkok, customs officials say.