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These alternatives to the troubled planned nuclear plant will be faster to build and cheaper for energy consumers, say experts

The planned £18bn nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset are derided by critics as “one of the worst deals ever” for Britain, but defended as crucial to the UK’s energy policy by the government.

Recent resignations and financial warnings have knocked confidence in the Hinkley C deal, raising the question of whether clean energy alternatives could plug the gap. The fast-changing economics of the energy world, with renewables and other clean technologies falling in cost, indicate they can. The alternatives also look faster to build – it would take a decade to get Hinkley into operation – and cheaper for consumers, who ultimately foot the bills.

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A new study shows that the current Mediterranean drought is likely the worst in 900 years, probably due to human-caused intensification

In a warming world, we expect to see increases in some extreme weather events. The science is pretty clear that in some parts of the world, drought and heat waves have and will continue to increase. In other areas, more severe storms along with precipitation and flooding have increased. Drought, heat waves, and floods are examples of changes to weather and climate patterns that will have costs for human society.

It’s tricky to discern not only whether past extreme weather have changed, but also whether human-caused global warming is a factor. Scientists need high-quality records that go back many decades to see if there is any trend towards increasing or decreasing extreme weather. But weather is quite variable. We can see a rise or fall in extreme weather events with no apparent cause, human or natural.

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WATER WORLD?: Internal heating, fuelled by the natural decay of radioactive elements in Pluto's rocks and other sources, likely keeps an ocean of ammonia-rich water liquid beneath the dwarf planet's frozen surface, new data suggests.

Application on ecological sustainability - call for public comments open from 22 March 2016 until 26 April 2016.

WILDLIFE WARRIORS: Drones can provide a more precise way of monitoring nesting seabird colonies than traditional methods used in wildlife conservation, according to a new Australian study.

The September 2015 Quarterly Update has been released.

The September 2015 Quarterly Update has been released.

ONLINE DATING: If you're looking for the love of your life on online dating sites it may pay to take your time rather than rapidly swiping through profile pictures and making snap judgments about their attractiveness.

Communities and campaigners in Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg lobby for closure of two ageing 40-year old Belgian nuclear reactors close to borders

An unprecedented alliance of 30 major cities and districts from three countries has joined forces to try to shut down two ageing Belgian nuclear reactors close to their borders.

Cologne and Dusseldorf in Germany, Luxembourg City and Maastricht in the Netherlands are among the cities co-funding a lawsuit to close one reactor – Tihange 2 – and calling on the European commission to prepare a separate case at the European court of justice.

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OLD MUM: A pregnant Tyrannosaurus rex has been found, shedding light on the evolution of egg-laying as well as on gender differences in the dinosaur

WHALE TALE: The population of southern right whales in the waters off New Zealand today is just 12 per cent of its size before whaling began, according to a new study.

Fort Yukon has recorded Alaska’s coldest ever temperatures but this winter temperatures have been much warmer than usual, leading to dangerously thin ice

This year’s record-breaking temperatures have robbed the Arctic of its winter, sending snowmobilers plunging through thin ice into freezing rivers and forcing deliveries of snow to the starting line of Alaska’s legendary Iditarod dogsledding race.

Last month’s high temperatures – up to 16C (29F) above normal in some parts of the Arctic – flummoxed scientists, and are redefining life in the Arctic, especially for the indigenous people who live close to the land.

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Isle de Jean Charles has lost 98% of its land and most of its population to rising sea levels – but as remaining residents consider relocation, what happens next is a test case to address resettlement needs

Wenceslaus Billiot, an 88-year-old native of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, remembers growing up on a much different island than the two-mile sliver of his ancestral home that remains today.

“When I was a kid I used to do trapping in the back,” he said, gesturing towards the back of the small, one-story house that stands elevated on stilts to escape the floods that roll in from the bayou after nearly every storm. “You could walk for a long time. Now, nothing but water.”

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Recovery Plan for Three Handfish Species: Spotted handfish Brachionichthys hirsutus, Red handfish Thymichthys politus and Ziebell's handfish Brachiopsilus ziebelli

CLIMATE CHANGE: New findings suggest carbon dioxide from increasing plant respiration in a warming world may not be as big a problem for global warming as some have thought.

GREAT MOMENTS IN SCIENCE: It took a century of speculation and experimentation to discover gravitational waves, as Dr Karl explains.

An overview on blue-green algal blooms, how they are managed and the role of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.

EVOLUTION GAP: The fossils of a newly discovered, smaller ancestor of the Tyrannosaurus rex may hold clues as to why the iconic dinosaur rose to the top of the food chain, scientists say.

ENIGMATIC PATTERNS: The chance discovery of 'fairy circles' in Western Australia's Pilbara region is providing new insight into one of nature's enduring puzzles.

VIVID MIND: You don't have to have schizophrenia or take LSD to have a hallucination, and they don't always have to be scary either.