An international consortium of scientists said on Wednesday they had collected 1.5 million specimens of wildlife in an unprecedented mission to document the biological treasures of Papua New Guinea.

Marine invertebrates, fungus, algae, plants and roughly half a million insects were among the bounty from the three-month exploration of one the world's last biodiversity hotspots, they said at a press conference in Paris.

A campaign by global environmental movement Earth Hour to get promises of action from individuals and organisations has spread to at least 50 countries, its chief executive said Wednesday.

Andy Ridley said the "I Will If You Will" campaign, launched in 2012 in 13 countries, is expected to expand its geographic reach almost fourfold this year, strengthening the group's impact beyond an annual lights-out event.

Hyperbaric chambers have been used for decades to treat divers with the bends, burn victims and people with traumatic injuries, but in the U.S. they're increasingly being used on ailing pets.

Doctors at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine have recently used an oxygen chamber on dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits and one monkey.

The vast majority of the Earth's estimated 13 million species are still unknown and to describe them all would take up to 2,000 years, according to a leading Brazilian scientist.

"We estimate that there are a total of around 13 million species (known and unknown) in the world," Thomas Lewinsohn, a renowned professor of ecology at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Sao Paulo state.

A corn crop dries up in a field pictured July 28, 2011 near Perryton, Texas. Scientists said Monday they have identified a physical mechanism behind the extreme weather that has …more

Scientists said Monday they have identified a physical mechanism behind the extreme weather that has plagued many parts of the world in recent years -- and that it is tied to climate change.

The Mars rover Curiosity has successfully transferred a pinch of rock dust to its onboard laboratories for inspection, two weeks after drilling into its first rock.

NASA said Monday it received confirmation of the deliveries over the weekend. Scientists will spend the next several weeks studying the rock's chemical and mineral makeup.

Scientists from 55 countries opened a two-day meeting Monday to mull how to use science to fight poverty and promote sustainable development.

Taking part were members of the InterAcademy Panel (IAP), a global network of 106 national science academies tackling such issues as global warming, population growth, human reproductive cloning and evolution.

The Nobel prize awarded to Francis Crick in 1962 for discovering the structure of DNA has been put up for auction by his family along with one of his lab coats, his books and other memorabilia.

It is believed to be the first Nobel prize placed at auction in more than 70 years and the opening bid is set for $250,000, Heritage Auctions said Monday.

Away from the construction bustle of Sochi's Olympic Park, where Russia will host the Winter Olympics next February, residents of a small community north of central Sochi have seen only the filthy side of preparations.

Uch-Dere, a village about 40 kilometers up the Black Sea coast from the Olympic Park, is the site of greater Sochi's only waste site.

Scientists are delving deep into the travels of whales -- thanks to high-tech tracking devices -- to try to help protect them

Scientists are delving deep into the travels of whales -- thanks to high-tech tracking devices -- to try to help protect them.