Each summer, microscopic dust particles kicked up by African sandstorms blow thousands of miles (kilometers) across the Atlantic to arrive in the Caribbean, limiting airplane pilots' visibility to just a few miles and contributing to the suffering of asthmatics trying to draw breath.

The phenomenon has been around as long as there's been sand in the Sahara Desert. But it's attracting ever more attention from regional scientists who say the clouds have grown, even if there's no global consensus on the issue.

Scientists in Sweden say they have confirmed the existence of a new chemical element, but its name may need some work.

Researchers at Lund University said Tuesday their find backs up claims by teams in Russia and the United States a decade ago that had remained unverified until now.

Japanese scientists have launched a sperm bank for endangered animals that uses freeze-drying technology they hope could one day help humans recreate animal populations on other planets, the chief researcher said Wednesday.

The team at Kyoto University's Institute of Laboratory Animals Graduate School of Medicine successfully preserved sperm taken from two endangered primates and a type of giraffe, associate professor Takehito Kaneko said.

On a hotel rooftop in Bangkok, dozens of barrels of green liquid bubble under the sun -- the latest innovation in urban farming. It may not look like it, but this green goo is an algae called spirulina -- a rich source of protein, antioxidants and nutrients.View Photo

On a hotel rooftop in Bangkok, dozens of barrels of green liquid bubble under the …

Japan suspended the launch of its next-generation solid-fuel rocket on Tuesday just seconds before lift-off after engineers discovered a technical glitch.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) had planned to launch the Epsilon rocket from the Uchinoura Space Centre in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, using just two laptop computers in a pared-down command centre.

The meteor that injured over 1,500 people when it exploded and showered debris over Russia in February may have had a close shave with the Sun earlier, researchers said Tuesday.

A study of its composition showed the space rock had undergone "intensive melting" before entering Earth's atmosphere and streaking over the central Russia's Chelyabinsk region in a blinding fireball, they said in a statement.

To some they are a nuisance, even a danger. To others, London's 10,000 foxes are a delightful reminder that this concrete wilderness is teeming with wildlife.

The ruddy brown creatures seem out of place on the streets of the British capital -- but they are now so common that 70 percent of Londoners will have seen one slinking around in the last week, according to a recent survey.

A leaden cloak of responsibility lies on the shoulders of U.N. scientists as they put the final touches to the first volume of a massive report that will give the world the most detailed picture yet of climate change.

Due to be unveiled in Stockholm on September 27, the document will be scrutinised word by word by green groups, fossil-fuel lobbies and governments to see if it will yank climate change out of prolonged political limbo.

Oceans that grow more acidic through Man's fossil fuel burning emissions, can amplify global warming by releasing less of a gas that helps shield Earth from radiation, a study said Sunday.

And the authors warned the potentially vast effect they uncovered is not currently factored into climate change projections.

Greenpeace activists paraglided to the top of the main stand of the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday to protest against drilling in the Arctic by the race's main sponsor, the Shell oil giant.

Six Greenpeace activists unfurled a banner that read "Arctic Oil? Shell No!" just before the race began, paragliding onto the roof in full view of thousands of spectators.