Frisky flower uses bellows to blast pollen at birds
A group of South American plants has evolved bulbous organs in their flowers that spray pollen at pollinating birds because birds eat the male flower parts whole
Magnetic bubble may give space probes a soft landing
Next year, NASA will test plasma parachutes for spacecraft – a way to glide safely to the surface of Earth or Mars without huge heat shields
Google and Apple battle for the key to your smart home
The internet of things is about to go from buzzword to reality as your house wakes up to dozens of communicating appliances – but who will own the hub?
Nanoscale Monet is world's tiniest masterpiece
This recreation of Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise is just 300 micrometres across – its bold colours are the product of cunning nanotech
Biggest void in universe may explain cosmic cold spot
A cold spot in the big bang's afterglow may be a "shadow" of the biggest known hole in the cosmos – not a sign of a collision with another universe
Drop the eco-pessimism – you can make a greener world
After six years cleaning up England's environment, Chris Smith, the Environment Agency's outgoing chair, is in no mood for surrender
Designer red blood cells could move drugs around body
Red blood cells have been genetically engineered to make it easy to stick molecules to them, and so could safely deliver drugs where needed
We can build a sustainable world – if you want it
Healthy, happy and peaceful – that's what life will be like if we choose to tackle climate change and overconsumption. But will a green economy be any fun?
Frozen Icelandic cave illuminated by Northern Lights
This stunning image of Iceland's aurora borealis illuminating the weird underground world of a vast cave is vying for an award
Ancient water cache may be pristine primordial soup
Deep rocks have been cracked open and water isolated for billions of years released – the liquid may represent Darwin's "warm little pond" where life arose
How scared should we be of lab-created flu outbreaks?
Reports that artificially created flu viruses could unleash an untreatable pandemic are exaggerated
Tibetan altitude gene came from extinct human species
The distant ancestors of modern Tibetans interbred with extinct humans called Denisovans, and picked up a gene for living up where the air is thin
Kill cattle not badgers to halt UK's TB epidemic
Badger culls don't work. The most effective way to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis in the UK would be to cull whole herds of cows, infected or not
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