Science and nature facts, news and stories

Find out how Homo sapiens left Africa and migrated to other regions of the world, including Europe, Asia and America.

Discover what causes the colourful lights of the aurora borealis.

Find out key facts about our species, Homo sapiens, and how we evolved.

Delve in to the wonderful world of birds and discover their incredible behaviour through photos from our Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. 

Finding out exactly when feathers evolved, and which animals had them, could offer important new insights into the distant past.

It’s believed that biofluorescence helps the birds to stand out or hide in their tropical forest habitats.

Just 47 unprovoked shark attacks were recorded in 2024.

Baminornis zhenghensis shows early birds already had some of their key characteristics by the Late Jurassic.

The discoveries that changed our understanding of dinosaurs over the past two centuries.

Millions of years before modern birds evolved, their dinosaur ancestors were soaring through the air.

By the end of the Jurassic Period, dinosaurs ruled our planet. But how they became such a diverse group remains a mystery.

The earliest ancestors of birds looked noticeably different from the creatures familiar to us today, reflecting their dinosaur origins.

The surface of the ocean is warming four times faster than it was 40 years ago.

The passenger pigeon was once the most numerous bird in the world, but in just half a century, it had gone extinct.

New research reveals that damage to these environments is pushing freshwater animals to the edge of extinction.

In 1982, the company managing the Santo Niño copper mine packed up and left. The local community is dealing with its toxic legacy.

Winter is a time where many animals conserve their energy, fly south or grow a thicker coat.  

Flocks of starlings form ever-changing, mesmerising aerial displays in autumn and winter. 

Help your local wild birds to survive winter by putting out these nutritious fat balls. 

Shrubs, climbers and small trees provide important food and shelter for insects, birds and other animals.

The woolly mammoth is an ice age icon. But it was only the very last chapter in a six-million-year-long story. 

Get the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about these fascinating, slithering reptiles.

With wingspans that stretched a whopping 71 centimetres, these epic insects would have blocked out the Sun as they flew past.  

Detachable, autonomous penis arms – need we say more?

New research into the Sun's magnetism could make solar storms easier to predict.

Welcome to the next era of natural history collections. 

Millions of pieces of human-caused debris are orbiting Earth. But are they an issue, and what can we do about them?

Anyone can capture the majesty of the galaxy with a simple camera. All you need is a dark, clear night and the willingness to have a go.

Researchers are probing what it means to be a separate species.

Learn about the longest-surviving human species, which was also the first known to leave Africa.

Buried alongside this individual were a range of symbolic objects.

What features make us human? And where, when and why did they evolve?

Worms and snails are living in cavities under the bottom of the sea.

Discover the fascinating, gelatinous world of jellyfish, from painful stings to brilliant bioluminescence. 

Trilobites survived for more than 250 million years. But what made them some of the most successful early animals?

Sea urchins can be found in every ocean on Earth. They’ve been around for 450 million years - but are they now at risk?

It's very difficult to know what the Antarctic was like before humans arrived – but whale bones could hold the answer.

Our butterfly expert talks about her life, passions and the power of perspectives.

A mystery beginning in the South Atlantic, and ending in South Kensington, has finally been solved.

Our latest attraction stands tall over the new gardens.

Photographer Jaime Rojo brings to life the perilous journey of these iconic butterflies and the efforts to save them.

Ian Wood’s photo No Access fought off competition from 24 other images to emerge victorious.

Delve in to the wonderful world of birds and discover their incredible behaviour through photos from our Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. 

This year the People’s Choice category features a curious chimp, a dancing crab and a snuffling sengi.

Get the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about these fascinating, slithering reptiles.

What are those milky white splatters – are they pee or poo?

Take a virtual tour of the Natural History Museum and explore the astonishing diversity of the natural world.

If you know what you’re looking at, little bits of bone can add up to something big. 

Finding out exactly when feathers evolved, and which animals had them, could offer important new insights into the distant past.

Photographer Jaime Rojo brings to life the perilous journey of these iconic butterflies and the efforts to save them.

It’s believed that biofluorescence helps the birds to stand out or hide in their tropical forest habitats.

Just 47 unprovoked shark attacks were recorded in 2024.

Baminornis zhenghensis shows early birds already had some of their key characteristics by the Late Jurassic.

Vegavis iaai might offer new insights into the origins of modern birds.

Find out how Homo sapiens left Africa and migrated to other regions of the world, including Europe, Asia and America.

Ian Wood’s photo No Access fought off competition from 24 other images to emerge victorious.

Samples from the asteroid Bennu contain some of the ingredients needed for life to develop.

The surface of the ocean is warming four times faster than it was 40 years ago.

The remains of the earliest dinosaurs could lie beneath the Amazon rainforest and the Sahara Desert.

Find out key facts about our species, Homo sapiens, and how we evolved.

Over 15,000 mounds are scattered across Mars’ lowlands – but until recently, no one knew how they got there.

Conch snails make death-defying leaps to evade deadly predators.

New research reveals that damage to these environments is pushing freshwater animals to the edge of extinction.

The passenger pigeon was once the most numerous bird in the world, but in just half a century, it had gone extinct.

The UK’s biggest-ever site of dinosaur footprints has been discovered in Oxfordshire.

Planetary scientist and meteorite expert Dr Ashley King shares his tips on how to get the best view.

Discover what causes the colourful lights of the aurora borealis.

Delve in to the wonderful world of birds and discover their incredible behaviour through photos from our Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. 

Millions of years before modern birds evolved, their dinosaur ancestors were soaring through the air.

A previously unknown rock type at the new Mars rover landing site is revealing more about the red planet.

Our species mated with the Neanderthals much later than thought, tearing up the timeline of human evolution.

Spinosaurs, tyrannosaurs and relatives of Velociraptor once stalked England’s south coast.