Science: What Geeks are talking about from the BBC

Food waste key in emissions cuts
Reducing food waste and changing the way people consume calories will help deliver a sustainable food system and reduce emissions, a study suggests.

VIDEO: Counting penguins in the classroom
How a newly launched Antarctic citizen science project allows young amateur explorers to adopt and monitor their own penguin colony.

Public asked to aid Antarctic research
British scientists who have set up a network of penguin-monitoring cameras in Antarctica are asking the public to help them carry out their research.

Computer paints ‘new Rembrandt’
A team of technologists working with Microsoft and others produce a 3D-printed painting in the style of Dutch master Rembrandt.

Exploding stars left mark on Earth
Two studies confirm that multiple supernovae have showered the Earth with radiation within the last few million years.

Is world’s greenest office also smart?
The building is high tech but are the workers on board?

First inflatable home heading to space
Nasa’s inflatable space home will be launched on 8 April. Take a peek at what it looks like and why it’s so important.

‘Monster’ alligator is shot in Florida
A hunter in the US tells the BBC how he shot am 800lb (360kg) “monster alligator” that was feasting on his farm’s cattle.

Moon used to spin ‘on different axis’
New findings suggest that the Moon used to spin on a different axis and show a slightly different face to the Earth.

Call for dedicated polar Sentinel
European scientists, worried they could soon lose their best satellite for studying the poles, urge policy-makers to develop an ongoing capability.

New high for renewables investment
Global investment in renewable energy hits a new high, beating the previous record in 2011, a study shows.

‘Mystery voyage’ of Scottish island deer
Red deer on the outer Scottish islands were probably brought there in boats by Neolithic humans from as far away as mainland Europe, according to a study of ancient and modern deer DNA.

Pig heart kept beating in baboon
Scientists say they have kept a pig heart alive in a baboon for more than two years.

Project to drill into ‘dinosaur crater’
An expedition gets under way to drill into the Chicxulub Crater, the deep scar made in the Earth’s surface by the asteroid that hastened the end of the dinosaurs.

Bid to trap raccoon loose in Highlands
An animal welfare charity attempts to trap a raccoon that was spotted several miles from where one was filmed in the Scottish Highlands.

The man who culls wallabies by the thousand
Meet the man who shoots 30,000 wallabies a year

Vitamin D ‘heals damaged hearts’
Vitamin D supplements may help people with a failing heart, a study suggests.

Dung clue to Hannibal’s Alpine crossing
Scientists may be closer to revealing the route taken by Hannibal as he crossed to Alps to attack ancient Rome.

Species rule change considered
A government consultation on whether to change the rules governing how contractors deal with protected species when developing sites ends this week.

VIDEO: How your brain picks the right word
The average English-speaker has about 50,000 words in their mind. But how do they find the right one in 600 milliseconds?

Bizarre fossil ‘kept babies on strings’
A newly discovered 430 million-year-old creature appears to have dragged its offspring around on strings, like underwater kites.

VIDEO: Test flight success for ‘passenger’ rocket
Space transportation company Blue Origin say they have successfully launched and landed a suborbital rocket, which is capable of carrying six passengers, for the third time.

Computer science A-level 1970s style
Computer science A-levels in the 1970s

VIDEO: How do we deal with this newt?
New rules governing how contractors deal with protected species could mean great crested newts remain in their current habitats.

The ‘next Einstein’? She’s from Africa
Might she come from Africa?

Lab-grown skin sprouts hair and glands
Scientists create artificial skin, made from mouse stem cells, that integrates successfully and even sprouts hairs when transplanted into another mouse.

Comet 67P presented in silhouette
Perfectly backlit by our star, Comet 67P was photographed in dramatic fashion this week by the Rosetta spacecraft – 260 million km from Earth.

AUDIO: ‘Hobbit’ species older than thought
The diminutive human species nicknamed “the Hobbit” probably went extinct at least 50,000 years ago – not the 12,000 years ago initially thought to be the case.

VIDEO: Turtle treated for buoyancy disorder
A turtle in Seattle has undergone experimental therapy involving a hyperbaric chamber to try and treat its buoyancy disorder.

Climate predicts bird populations
Hundreds of the most common bird species in Europe and the US are having their populations altered by climate change, according to scientists.

Bat disease jumps to US west coast
Wildlife officials express concern as white-nose syndrome, which has killed millions of bats in eastern US, is detected on the country’s west coast.

US and China to sign climate treaty
The world’s two largest carbon emitters have issued a joint statement confirming that both countries will sign the Paris Climate Agreement next month.

Lasers could ‘cloak Earth from aliens’
We should shine lasers into space if we want to hide our presence from alien civilisations, two US-based astronomers suggest.

VIDEO: Dog ‘sniffs out’ diabetes danger
A 13-year-old girl from Lancashire with diabetes says she has taught her dog, Pip, to sniff out changes in her blood sugar levels.

VIDEO: The sanctuary saving Sumatran tigers
A rescue centre in Indonesia is trying to rescue Sumatran tigers and save the species from extinction.

VIDEO: How do you bring up a baby gorilla?
Zookeeper Lynsey Bugg, who has been caring for a baby gorilla until she can be reunited with her mother, has been talking about how she looks after her.

Antarctic melt to ‘double sea-level rise’
Sea levels could rise by more than double the current estimate over the next 100 years, according to a new analysis of climate change in Antarctica.

‘Dancing’ tadpoles discovered in India
A new tadpole that burrows through sand is discovered in the Western Ghats of India, scientists report.

Tiny gravity gadget to peer underground
UK researchers build a device the size of a postage stamp that measures tiny fluctuations in gravity and could help monitor volcanoes or search for oil.

Age of ‘Hobbit’ species revised
The diminutive human species nicknamed “the Hobbit” probably went extinct at least 50,000 years ago – not the 12,000 years ago initially thought to be the case.

VIDEO: Race to save Japan’s lost satellite
Scientists and engineers in Japan are scrambling to save a satellite and more than a quarter of a billion dollars of investment tumbling out of control in space.

Ancient fossil was ‘nearly a spider’
Scientists say a 305 million-year-old fossil is the closest ancient relative to “true spiders” ever discovered.

Trees ‘tolerant to EU olive threat’
Laboratory tests show some varieties of olive trees appear to be resistant to an invasive pathogen that poses a serious risk to Europe’s olive industry.