How the biggest land animal on the planet runs from one of the smallest - suggesting African farmers could use bees to protect crops.

Researcher show thick-skinned African giants are afraid of a swarm's buzz, possibly from being stung as babies.

Three people jointly awarded 2007 prize for work in embryonic stem cell research.

Scottish police forces recorded a dramatic rise in drug-related deaths last year, prompting fears that substance abuse is spiralling out of control.

· More than 3,000 issued to British forces since 2004 · Study links injuries to number of shocks

When Craig Venter announced that he was going to unravel the human genome, it sparked one of the most bitterly contested races in the history of science. Here, in an extract from his new memoir, he describes the acrimonious sprint to the finish.

Team aims to finish job ancestors began by reaching south pole 100 years later.

Britain's worst nuclear accident, the Windscale fire in Cumbria, released twice as much radioactive debris as was previously thought.

Ben Goldacre: Huge numbers of bioactive compounds extracted from plants are used today in medical practice, including even common stuff like aspirin. There is little difference between herbal medicine and medicine in terms of what is used, only in how it is used.

Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.

Any day now Craig Venter - geneticist, yachtsman and Vietnam veteran - will announce that he has achieved one of the greatest feats in science: the creation of artificial life. He talks to Ed Pilkington.

A 72-year-old man is due to become the father of his own "grandchild" by acting as a sperm donor for his daughter-in-law. The case is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK.

Cambridge, Masachusetts, October 5 2007: Last night saw the presentation of the Ig Nobel awards 2007. Awarded by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine, the prizes recognise 'achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think'

Colquhoun's attack on nutritional therapy (August 15th) as unscientific fails to address any actual points of science.

A town is introducing "intelligent" car-park ticket machines which can automatically text for help if anyone attempts to break into or damage them.

· UK radiologist wins spoof Nobel prize for medicine· Study of the word 'the' captures literature award

· Call for individualised remedies to be banned· Little evidence to support claims of efficacy

·Research suggests fewer treatment side-effects·Trials in humans planned for 18 months' time

Letter: Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the first time human beings put anything into orbit (How Russia lost the moon, October 2). Twelve years later men walked on the moon.

"The photo album of the Zoological Society of London, which has been running London Zoo for almost 180 years, will become accessible online for the first time today. Photographs of the historic zoo dating from the 19th century through to astonishing images of the present day can be viewed at www.zsl.org/printstore, bringing the Zoo’s history to life through the web."

Plans to build a bank of stem cells that can be used to test the safety of new medicines were announced yesterday by a government-backed consortium of scientists and drug companies.

The Norfolk Broads, one of Britain's greatest natural treasures, is under increasing threat from pollution, rising sea levels and growing demand for water, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds warns today.

Sergei Khrushchev: The Soviets squandered the lead in the space race that Sputnik gave them, despite my father's efforts.

By using a computer modelling technique scientists in Australia have compared Smilodon fossils with modern lion skulls.