They may have looked more like a green carpet than a forest but the first land plants really did change the world.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Why is the universe magnetized? It's a question scientists have been asking for decades.

— Coral Gables — By combining detailed chemical measurements in the ocean, oil slick, and air, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Miami, and elsewhere have independently estimated how fast gases and oil were leaking during the BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill in 2010.

New research from the University of Warwick suggests the way foreign aid is distributed following a natural disaster in developing countries does little to help small firms recover.

Dozens of giant tortoises of a species believed extinct for 150 years may still be living at a remote location in the Galápagos Islands, a genetic analysis conducted by Yale University researchers reveals.

In a first for the UK, a new map detailing Scotland's wild areas is being published today by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

Researchers have explained the puzzling disappearing act of energetic electrons in Earth's outer radiation belt, using data collected from a fleet of orbiting spacecraft.

As the reality and the impact of climate warming have become clearer in the last decade, researchers have looked for possible engineering solutions – such as removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or directing the sun's heat away from Earth – to help offset rising temperatures.

by Catherine Zandonella - A rare and exotic mineral, so unusual that it was thought impossible to exist, came to Earth on a meteorite, according to an international team of researchers led by Princeton University scientists.

Researchers from The Australian National University have used the latest earthquake-measuring technology to image the tectonic plate beneath southeast Australia and reveal for the first time the continent's geological building blocks.

Mars Express reveals wind-blown deposits on Mars - - New images from ESA's Mars Express show the Syrtis Major region on Mars.

Why did Renaissance shoppers fill their baskets with rosaries, crucifixes, Christ-dolls and devotional paintings? A new study by historian Mary Laven investigates the significance of Catholic clutter, as she explains.