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TRANSIT OF MERCURY: Sky watchers have had a rare opportunity to witness Mercury fly directly across the face of the Sun, a sight that unfolds about once every 10 years, as Earth and its smaller neighbouring planet came into perfect alignment.

THIN AIR: Air bubbles trapped in 2.7 billion-year-old lava flows in the Pilbara suggest the Earth's atmosphere weighed less than half that of today and was far thinner than previously thought.

CARROT COLOUR: The humble supermarket carrot owes its deep orange colour to a newly-found gene, according to an analysis of the full carrot genome.

Currently the world’s biggest producer of lithium, Australia is well-placed to take advantage of the lithium-ion battery solar storage boom

Out Western Australia way unlikely new environmental heroes can be found toiling in the red ochre dust of the Pilbara.

Until recently companies such as Altura Mining, which has a long rap sheet of coal projects to its name, weren’t exactly contributing to the effort to curb global carbon emissions, but that is about to change.

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A giant insect-eating plant and a 100-tonne tree were among the 149 species of plants and fungi described for the first time by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew last year. More than 2,000 species new to science were discovered worldwide the same year, but a new report warns that one in five of the world’s plant species is threatened with extinction

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The woman accused of leading one of Africa's biggest smuggling rings

Air pollution kills 28,000 people every year in the UK. But the solution might lie in a hi-tech tower that sucks up harmful particles

High in the skies over London, the UK’s first air pollution monitoring squad have been using the latest sensors to chart the levels of ozone and nitrogen dioxide in our atmosphere. The team is highly trained, each equipped with a hi-tech backpack, and proficient in social media. Which all sounds relatively standard, apart from the fact that it is entirely made up of pigeons.

Using one of the UK’s best-known feathered friends as a publicity stunt for air pollution awareness was the brainchild of Plume Labs, which has created an app for monitoring pollution on the go. It follows on the heels of similar apps released in the past two years, ranging from UCLA’s AirForU to BreezoMeter, the brainchild of Israeli engineer Ran Korber, who was looking to buy a house for his family far away from polluted environments.

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On 8 May 2016 the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, announced a federal election would be held on 2 July 2016 and as such the Australian Government has assumed a caretaker role. Only updates which adhere to Caretaker...

New research into termites has found they arrived in Australia 10 million years ago by travelling on rafts made out of tree logs.

The energy internet, the ‘smart’ grid, solar energy and battery storage are converging and the economic benefits are clear

Change is coming to the energy landscape. A transition to a new energy economy is happening. In a country like Australia – awash with energy both under and above the ground – this transition could be rapid and profound. There is a lot to lose for those who can’t keep pace.

Last month the government committed $1bn to the Clean Energy Innovation Fund. The fund will have “the primary purpose of earning income or a profitable return” on debt and equity extended to renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-emissions technologies. While many will argue the right way for that money to be used, investment like this is well timed.

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More than 10 years after they were wiped out in Kakadu, 'cane toad smart' northern quolls are returning.

A look back at the best known, and not so well known, achievements of Sir David Attenborough to mark his 90th birthday on Sunday. Attenborough influenced more than just nature documentaries, giving the green light to Monty Python and live snooker while head of a fledgling BBC2. He also has a menagerie of species named after him

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Across central Africa, militias have turned the savannah into killing fields

Brigadier Venant Mumbere Muvesevese, a 35-year-old father of four, became the 150th ranger in the last 10 years to be killed protecting lowland gorillas, elephants and other wildlife in Virunga national park last month. He and his young Congolese colleague, Fidèle Mulonga Mulegalega, were surrounded by local militia, captured and then summarily executed.

Related: Burning the ivory is just the beginning

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Lord John Krebs and other eminent scientists have written to the editor of The Times accusing the newspaper of favouring climate change deniers over real science.

Three modern day explorers head out on a bushwalk that ends with the discovery of Aboriginal rock art.

Three modern day explorers head out on a bushwalk that ends with the discovery of Aboriginal rock art.

Brush-tailed bettong, three-toed snake-tooth skink, swift parrot and types of orchid and albatross listed

Nearly 50 new species of flora and fauna have been added without fanfare to the federal government’s list of threatened species, including nine that are critically endangered.

Among the species to be added to the list under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act were the brush-tailed bettong (endangered), the three-toed snake-tooth skink (vulnerable), the swift parrot (upgraded from endangered to critically endangered), and several types of orchid and albatross.

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Making animal welfare a political issue.

The big news in the federal budget for rural Australia was changes to the wine tax rebate, money for inland rail and status quo on the backpacker tax.

Photographers have been inspired by the majesty of America’s national parks since they were founded more than a century ago

• Tim Dowling hits the road

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