Scientists said Wednesday they had used stem cells to grow primitive human brain tissue for use in studying disorders and early development of this most complex of organs.

They used the cells to grow what they dubbed "cerebral organoids" -- pea-sized blobs of 3D brain tissue in a Petri dish, with characteristics of early embryonic brain tissue.

China will add some 1,500 gigawatts of power production capacity by 2030, or the equivalent of Britain's existing capacity every year, a study showed on Wednesday.

Although the world's biggest carbon emitter will continue to draw considerable capacity from coal-fired plants, about half of the new capacity will be generated from renewable sources, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) said in its report.

A slowing in global warming that climate sceptics say undermines the greenhouse theory is simply a "hiatus" from higher temperatures, scientists said on Wednesday.

Grasping one of the thorniest issues in climate politics, the researchers said the recent slowdown lies in a natural but temporary cooling in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

Gus, the beloved and famously neurotic polar bear at the Central Park zoo in New York, has died aged 27, the Wildlife Conservation Society said Wednesday.

Some 20 million people are thought to have visited Gus during his time at the zoo, which saw him become famous for his obsessive swimming routine, and even become the star of a book based on his life.

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.