Scientists on Tuesday offered a slender piece of good news about global warming, reporting that cities can be of surprising help in soaking up carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal greenhouse gas.

Around four percent of the world's land surface is defined as urbanized, a figure expected to surge as the planet's human population rises from seven billion this year to as much as 9.5 billion by mid-century.

Millions of tons of plastic debris dumped each year in the world's oceans could pose a lethal threat to whales, according to a scientific assessment to be presented at a key international whaling forum this week.

A review of research literature from the last two decades reveals hundreds of cases in which cetaceans -- an order including 80-odd species of whales, dolphins and porpoises -- have been sickened or killed by marine litter.

She's the last northern white rhinoceros on view anywhere in Europe — but zoo keepers are hoping lonely Nabire will find solace with a southern rhino 11 years her senior.

Another northern white — Nesari — died here in her sleep in May aged 39, further reducing the world's dwindling population of the critically endangered animal.

Dinosaurs have captivated the public for decades, but a new U.S. exhibit aims to show that there is still much about the giant reptiles that baffles experts and amateurs alike.

The 1,300 square meter (14,000 square foot) gallery at the Los Angeles natural history museum is set to open on July 16 and is seen as an important step in upgrading the museum ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2013.

Atlantis blazed a path into history Friday as it rocketed off the launch pad for a final time, marking the last-ever liftoff of the 30-year-old American space shuttle program.

The storied spacecraft is carrying a crew of four U.S. astronauts toward the International Space Station on a 12-day mission to re-stock the orbiting lab.

It began as a bright white dot in Saturn's northern hemisphere. Within days, the dot grew larger and stormier.

Soon the tempest enveloped the ringed planet, triggering lightning flashes thousands of times more intense than on Earth.

The fossil of a car sized mega-wombat has been unearthed in northern Australia, scientists said Wednesday -- the most complete skeleton of its kind.

Weighing in at a whopping three tons, the herbivorous diprotodon was the largest marsupial to ever roam the earth and lived between two million and 50,000 years ago.

A new species of mouse has been discovered in Brazil, the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation announced Tuesday

.

One of Iceland's most feared volcanoes looks ready to erupt, with measurements indicating magma movement, Icelandic experts said Wednesday, raising fears of a new ash cloud halting flights over Europe.

The Hekla volcano is close to the ash-spewing Eyjafjoell, which last year caused the world's biggest airspace shut down since World War II, affecting more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers.

The Bahamas on Tuesday announced a ban on shark fishing, becoming the latest country to protect the ancient sea predator which is considered at risk due to demand for its fins in Chinese cuisine.

The Atlantic Ocean archipelago said it was banning the commercial fishing of sharks in its 243,000 square miles (630,000 square kilometers) of water, along with the sale, import or export of shark products.