Somewhere in the North Atlantic right now, a longfin mako shark -- a cousin of the storied great white -- is cruising around, oblivious to the yellow satellite tag on its dorsal fin.

In mid-July, that electronic gizmo should pop off, float to the surface and instantly transmit a wealth of data to eagerly awaiting marine scientists in Cuba and the United States.

The science of climate change divides the United States along political lines, but ideology matters little when it comes to views on space exploration, animal research and genetically modified food, a study said Wednesday.

Rather, gender, age and education are stronger influences than politics on certain science issues, said the Pew Research survey, which queried 2,000 people about 22 different topics.

Hydroelectric dams may cause 70 percent of wildlife in the nearby area to go extinct, according to a study Wednesday that raises new concern about what is often touted as a green energy source.

The study in the journal PLOS ONE focused on how animals in the tropical rainforest were coping as a result of the Balbina Dam in the central Amazon, in Brazil.

About a third of the world's polar bears could be in imminent danger from greenhouse gas emissions in as soon as a decade, a U.S. government report shows.

The U.S. Geological Survey, the Interior Department's research arm, said updated scientific models don't bode well for polar bear populations across the world, especially in Alaska, the only state in the nation with the white bears.

Australia Thursday hailed a United Nations decision to keep the Great Barrier Reef off its endangered list as "tremendous", but activists warned more must be done to improve the marine park's health.

The world's biggest coral reef ecosystem, which has had World Heritage Site status since 1981, has been under increasing threat from climate change, farming run-off, development and the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish.

The hungry baby crocodiles wriggle in Jose Antonio Villeda's hand. One by one, he squeezes open their jaws and uses a plastic tube to prod pieces of fish down their gullets.

Villeda is a park ranger working to save the local population of Crocodylus acutus, also known as the American crocodile, here in the mangroves of the Barra de Santiago nature reserve on El Salvador's Pacific coast.

China's pledges ahead of a major climate change conference in Paris lack ambition and are easily achievable, experts said Wednesday, adding Beijing could offer more.

Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday unveiled the hotly-awaited climate promises in Paris, which will host U.N. talks at the end of the year tasked with producing a global pact on curbing climate change.

A solar-powered aircraft flying between Japan and Hawaii as part of a round-the-world bid passed the halfway point of the perilous Pacific Ocean crossing Wednesday, and broke its own endurance record.

Solar Impulse 2 had traveled 55 percent of the way to the tropical U.S. state by 0700 GMT, having flown 4,305 kilometers (2,675 miles) with 3,430 kilometers more to go, according to the project.

Many people didn't notice, but the last day in June was just a little bit longer than in years past.

A "leap" second was added Tuesday to compensate for the slowing speed of the Earth's rotation around the sun. 

A washing machine stands in the middle of Maria Jimenez's California yard, like a redundant relic of modern life. Nearby are several rented mobile toilets, no longer in use.

For four months, she and her family have had no running water.