Floods challenge UK to live with extreme weather
The UK is struggling with torrential floods as successive downpours scream in from the Atlantic but in future a flooded home may be less catastrophic
California thirstin': Tips from Australia mega-drought
The golden state has become so dry that it has had to switch off some of its water infrastructure: a decade-long drought in Australia could suggest ways to cope
Mind meld: The genius of swarm thinking
When animals swarm they exhibit a complex collective intelligence that could help us build robots, heal wounds and understand the brain, says Michael Brooks
Dark halo around spiral galaxy poses stellar mystery
The best measurement yet of the Pinwheel Galaxy's mass shows that its halo is oddly devoid of stars, putting a wrinkle in a key theory of galactic growth
Sound's good! An adventurer hunts neglected sonic gems
From rustling leaves to city sirens, we badly need to reconnect with the aural world, according to Sonic Wonderland by Trevor Cox
Moving remnants of a home shattered by Japan's tsunami
London's Natural History Museum has a new gallery showing the science of earthquakes – and a personal history of the destruction they can wreak
Organic produce could be worse for tropical wildlife
We have no clear picture of how organic farming affects tropical biodiversity because most research is in Europe, which has a very different farming backstory
Humanity's forgotten return to Africa revealed in DNA
Our species spread across the world from its African heartland about 60,000 years ago – but 3000 years ago, some humans went back to the homeland
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