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Study finds ‘strong association’ between high levels of fine particulate matter and abnormal sperm shape - but impact on wider fertility remains unclear

High levels of air pollution are associated with poor sperm quality and could be partly responsible for the sharp drop in male fertility, according to a new study.

A team of scientists, led by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, studied the sperm of nearly 6,500 men and found a “strong association” between high levels of fine particulate air pollution and “abnormal sperm shape.”

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Wenlock Edge, Shropshire It couldn’t be the power-station chimney, it was in the wrong place. And it was too late in the year to be a stack of hay

As the match-flare of a November afternoon dimmed in the trees, I caught a glimpse of a tower. Peering through hazel branches I could make out a tall structure that looked like the power-station chimney – except that was north and this was west. It could have been a stack of hay bales, but harvest was over long ago.

Curious to discover what I had seen, I wandered down the wooded bank, losing the long view, crossed the road and went through the gate on to a green lane, now used only by dog-walkers, sheep and an occasional tractor, but once the thoroughfare over the Edge to a hamlet on common land below.

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Bill Shorten gives emu a leg up, Malcolm Turnbull takes flight and Scott Ludlam offers shock support for ibis

• Vote now for your favourite Australian bird

Forget Bennelong or New England, the battle for Australia’s favourite bird is on.

As the inaugural bird of the year poll launched on Monday, the nation’s celebrities, political leaders and media outlets immediately began their campaigns.

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In the upcoming Queensland election all major parties are talking up public investment in energy generation. But are these policies paying heed to climate science? John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Taiwanese study finds that men exposed to higher levels of air pollution have poorer quality sperm. Add that to climate impacts and lung disease of fossil fuels.

I hate to break the news, but north Queensland will not be getting a new coal fired power station if the LNP are elected on Saturday.

Ratch Australia Corporation announced the completion of the first wind turbine at the Mount Emerald Wind Farm near Walkamin today after the three 16 tonne blades, each 57m long, were positioned in place atop a 90-metre tower.

The new wind farm, which will come on stream in the second semester of 2018, has a total capacity of 132MW. The electricity generated by the facility will all be sold in the wholesale market.

ATA report says a 100% renewable grid by 2030 not just doable for Australia, but cheaper and safer than building new coal plants.

Solar and storage bodies create Smart Energy Council to better reflect merger of solar, storage and smart software technologies.

New modelling predicts India is within a decade of peak coal demand for the power sector. This is sooner than anyone has predicted.

In the final week before an election, the biggest-selling newspaper in the Australian state of Queensland screamed a front-page headline that cut into one of the poll’s most divisive issues.

So long solar. NEG design assumes no large scale solar investments in Australia for at least eight years - despite recognition that large scale renewables responsible for most bill reductions.

A Supreme Court Justice launches the first of a series of scientific guides for UK judges.

Corporate leadership, individual excellence and energy efficiency innovation have been recognised and awarded at the National Energy Efficiency Awards 2017.

More than 70,000 seeds have been sent from Kew's Millennium Seed Bank to Lebanon, for vital crop research.

The biohacker movement wants to cure disease without the help of government or big companies

New modelling confirms little if any new renewable energy investment will be made under the NEG. But it reveals that the big savings the Coalition is claiming from the NEG are driven almost entirely by the policy it sought to kill - the renewable energy target.

One of the biggest issues in this Saturday's Queensland election is the controversial Carmichael coal mine. Our infographic breaks down what it means for Queensland, Australia and the world. Michael Hopkin, Section Editor: Energy + Environment, The Conversation Madeleine De Gabriele, Deputy Editor: Energy + Environment Wes Mountain, Deputy Multimedia Editor Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Ferns came along more than 200 million years before the dinosaurs walked the Earth. They were food for plant-eating dinosaurs and they're really great survivors. Heather, age 8, wants to know more. Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.