Allowing the legal culling of wild wolves in order to discourage illegal poaching is counter-productive, researchers reported Wednesday in a study that challenges long-practiced conservation strategy.

During a 15-year period when wildlife management policies in two US states flipped half-a-dozen times, growth in wolf populations slowed systematically whenever culling was permitted, even after controlling for the number of animals legally killed, they found.

Astronomers celebrated Monday witnessing one of the highlights of the skywatchers' year, when the Sun, Mercury and Earth all lined up -- a phenomenon that happens just a dozen or so times per century.

Mercury was seen through telescopes as a black dot inching over the face of our star, providing a celestial spectacle lasting seven and a half hours.

Scientists unveiled Monday the gene in carrots that gives rise to carotenoids, a critical source of Vitamin A and the pigment that turns some fruits and vegetables bright orange or red.

The world's most powerful proton smasher is preparing for its biggest run yet which scientists hope will uncover new particles that could dramatically change our understanding of the Universe.

SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean early Friday after launching a Japanese communications satellite into orbit.

A bug over half a meter long discovered in southern China has been declared the world's longest insect, state media said Thursday.

SpaceX plans to launch early Friday a Japanese communications satellite into a distant orbit before attempting to land the first stage of its Falcon rocket on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.

The liftoff is scheduled for 1:21 am (0521 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the California-based company headed by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk said.

An international team of scientists said Monday they had discovered a trio of Earth-like planets that are the best bet so far for finding life outside our solar system.

The three orbit an ultracool dwarf star a mere 39 light years away, and are likely comparable in size and temperature to Earth and Venus, they reported in a study, published in Nature.

Waist deep in sparkling blue water off the white beaches of the Indian Ocean spice island of Zanzibar, seaweed farmer Mtumwa Vuai Ameir gently ties seedlings to wood poles.

Seaweed farmed on the Tanzanian archipelago is one of Zanzibar's key exports -- used for food, cosmetics and medicines in Asia, Europe and North America -- but now the vital industry is struggling with warmer waters killing the crops.

Large parts of Australia's Great Barrier Reef could be dead within 20 years as climate change drives mass coral bleaching, scientists warned Friday.

The World Heritage-listed reef is currently suffering its worst bleaching in recorded history with 93 percent of corals affected due to warming sea temperatures.