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The short answer is no. An individual of one species cannot, during its lifetime, turn into another species. But your question helps us think about life, evolution and what it means to be human. Mark Elgar, Professor of Evolutionary Biology, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

From falcons that hunt by the light of skyscrapers, to bears that sit in wait at weirs, animals are using human structures to help them catch a meal. Bill Bateman, Senior Lecturer, Curtin University Trish Fleming, Associate Professor, Murdoch University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The scientist's remains will be also be interred close to Charles Darwin's grave at Westminster Abbey.

Documents reveal government plans to extend RFAs without fresh environmental or scientific reviews

Federal and state ministers have discussed legal concerns that imminent extensions to logging agreements might be invalid as they are based on old scientific assessments.

Commonwealth and state concerns about the “legal and political risks” to the RFA extensions that are about to be agreed are highlighted in a collection of 10 documents – including briefing notes and “contentious issues briefs” – prepared for the New South Wales primary industries minister, Niall Blair, and the state’s lands and forestry minister, Paul Toole, and obtained by Guardian Australia.

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The tragic death of Sudan the rhino should act as a warning of the need to act to prevent mass extinctions around the world, say conservationists

Conservationists have warned that the death of the last male northern white rhinoceros in Kenya is a sign that unsustainable human activity is driving a new era of mass extinctions around the globe.

Sudan, the “gentle giant” who lived in the Ol Pejeta conservancy in Kenya, was put down on Monday after the pain from a degenerative illness became too great.

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A telescope to study planets beyond our Solar System is selected by the European Space Agency.

Environment secretary says UK control of fishing waters delayed, not abandoned, by Brexit deal

The environment secretary, Michael Gove, has issued a coded warning to rebellious Tories to keep their “eyes on the prize” as he said he understood the fishing industry’s grave disappointment at Theresa May’s agreement to keep EU fishing policies during the Brexit transition period.

Scottish Conservative MPs are due to meet the prime minister in Downing Street on Tuesday following an outcry from the industry over the deal struck with Brussels.

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The last male northern white rhino has died, leaving only two females to save the species from total extinction.

Sudan, the ‘gentle giant’ who lived on the Ol Pejeta conservancy in Kenya, was put down on Monday after the pain from a degenerative illness became too great. He is survived only by his daughter and granddaughter

• Last male northern white rhino is put down

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Researchers produce a metal with exotic electrical properties by mimicking a pattern from Japanese basket-weaving.

Dogs are being trained to detect ancient treasures in an attempt to tackle cultural heritage trafficking.

Sudan died in a Kenyan conservancy at the age of 45, after months of ill health.

If you work in the UK fishing industry we’d like to hear what you think about the latest changes to affect fisheries

After pledging to repatriate control of UK fisheries and set quotas as part of core Brexit strategy, the government appears to have backed down in face of EU opposition. Instant return of control after Britain leaves the EU no longer seems possible, with vessels from Europe allowed to have continued access during the transition period after 29 March 2019.

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Opposition condemns Coalition plan to open more recreational and commercial fishing areas

Labor says it will move to disallow new marine park management plans proposed by the Turnbull government, branding the change the “largest removal of marine area from conservation, ever, from any government in the world”.

The new management plans were uploaded by officials on the federal register of legislation on Tuesday, cutting across a public announcement the Turnbull government had planned to make on Wednesday.

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A US study shows that more children draw women scientists than they did in the 1960s and 1970s.

A shoestring expedition to one of the remotest places in Sumatra has returned with stunning photos of tigers, tapirs, clouded leopards among other rare species, large and small. Will they find orangutans next?

Last year a motley crew of conservationists, adventurers and locals trekked into one of the last unexplored regions of Sumatra. They did so with a mission: check camera traps and see what they could find. The team – organized by the small NGO, Habitat ID – came back with biological gold: photos of Sumatran tigers, Malayan tapirs, and sun bears. They also got the first record of the Sunda clouded leopard in the area and found a specimen of a little-known legless reptile called Wegner’s glass lizard. But most tantalizingly of all is what they didn’t find, but still suspect is there: a hidden population of orangutans that would belong to the newly described species, Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis).

“The trek into the interior was fraught with hordes of leaches, wasps, cliffs, river-crossings, and trackless jungle, and it pushed everyone on the team to their limits,” Greg McCann, the head of Habitat ID and a team member, said, clearly relishing the adventure to an undisclosed area they call Hadabaun Hills.

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Hopes for species rest on IVF with two females after death of Sudan, the ‘gentle giant’

The last male northern white rhinoceros has died, leaving only two females with which conservationists hope to save the species from extinction.

Sudan, the “gentle giant” who lived in the Ol Pejeta conservancy in Kenya, was put down on Monday after the pain from a degenerative illness became too great. He is survived by his daughter and granddaughter.

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Sudan's death at the age of 45 leaves only two females of his subspecies alive in the world.

The Greens say climate change is to blame for to the bushfires in New South Wales and Victoria.

Plastic and cardboard packaging makes up more than a quarter of product weight in some of the UK’s best-selling chocolate eggs

Packaging alone accounts for up to a quarter, on average, of the total weight of the most popular Easter eggs on sale on the High Street, new research by a consumer group has revealed.

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Earth Hour campaign aims to raise awareness of the impact global warming could have on food supplies, from cod stocks to the rice and tomatoes used to make chicken tikka masala

Some of the UK’s best-loved dishes – including fish and chips and chicken tikka masala – could be under threat as a result of climate change, environmentalists warn in a new report on Tuesday.

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