Martian microbes may be belching methane, says Nasa

Organisms living deep beneath the surface of the red planet could be responsible for giant methane plumes
- Ian Sample: Has Nasa found life on Mars?
Hybrid embryos: Nothing but a sideshow

David Jones: The prospect of cures from animal-human hybrids is not based on credible predictions but on spin and empty promises
What the Islamic world did for science

Audio (30min 55sec), Jim Al-Khalili and Alok Jha discuss science in the Islamic world, the Atheist Bus Campaign, extreme survival and autism

Britain needs a real-life Dan Dare

Nick Spall: Even Sweden can afford to inspire its future scientists and engineers by sending an astronaut into space. Why not Britain?
Did Englishman beat Galileo to moon?

Months before Galileo, Thomas Harriot was training his telescope on the moon and drawing detailed maps
How the zebra got its stripes

What purpose does animal colouration – or the lack of it – serve? A new study finds some answers, but much mystery remains
- The monochrome menagerie

Darwin Bicentenary

On the Origin of Species: Introduction

In the first of our abridged extracts from his great book, Darwin lays out his "mystery of mysteries" – where do new species come from?

Latest from our blog

Victorian novels 'helped us evolve into better people'

Reading about the evil of Dracula and the redemption of Mr Darcy encouraged the spread of altruistic genes, claim psychologists
The carbon cost of Googling

Can two Google searches really produce as much carbon dioxide as boiling an electric kettle?
Soothing the pains of romance

Brain hormone oxytocin may offer a remedy for the lovelorn, claims neuroscientist
Robot sets out on an epic trek

A robot no bigger than a golf cart undertakes the longest overland journey ever made on another world
Half finish school without science grades

440 schools fail to meet GCSE targets, with half of pupils leaving without basic science qualifications
Skycar sets off on epic journey

Video (1min 46sec), Flying car invented by British team sets off from London to Timbuktu

Autism linked to high levels of testosterone in the womb

Prenatal screening tests could follow ground-breaking research involving 235 children
- James Randerson: Depriving the world of geniuses
- I don't want to be 'cured' of autism
Because she's worth it

Physicist Athene Donald says she has never let being the only woman in a room hold her back
New weapon in climate war is a brilliant white roof

David Adam: Painting your roof white could help slow climate change. So would painting the moon and covering the desert in plastic sheets ...
Revolutionary stem cell therapy boosts body's ability to heal itself

Treatment stimulates the release of stem cells, which can repair damage after a heart attack or even mend broken bones
Another Manchester professor falls ill

Former scientist at Rutherford's nuclear laboratory becomes the latest to develop cancer
Accidents will happen

Jon Henley salutes the simple brilliance of Murphy's Law: that if something can go wrong, it will