SCIENCE

The Australian Capital Territory announced on Wednesday the construction of the country's largest solar power plant. Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) will build and operate a 20-megawatt facility in a 50-hectare solar farm in Tuggeranong.

A report released Wednesday by carbon analysts RepuTex estimates savings of $2.5 billion for Australian polluters with the two new policies regarding the carbon tax announced last week by the Gillard government.

At least 18 iron ore mines have been granted permission by the High Court of India on Monday to resume mining activities in Karnataka after a more than a year of suspension on environment concerns, pointing to what could mean 5 million tonnes a year of renewed production.

Queensland wants to ban tanning salon use in the state by the end of 2014. Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg cited the increased health risks to cancer as justification for the state legislation that pushes for the prohibition on solariums.

A video clip of a bullet-shaped UFO was uploaded on Tuesday to YouTube, but viewers are left to interpret the filmed sighting, as the uploader did not post a description.

A new HIV-suppressing pill gained the approval of the U.S. Federal and Drug Administration recently, paving the way for its commercial sale in the United States and possibly in other countries soon.

Water Minister Tony Burke extended on Monday by two weeks consultation with four states after the deadline for the approval of the fourth blueprint for the Murray-Darling Basin plan lapsed.

Two major UFO sightings have hit the news in the past two days, one from outside Earth, and the other, just above a crop circle in England. Do you think the two were legitimate UFO sightings? Watch the videos to see for yourself.

Another classic battle between environmental groups and business interest is shaping up in Victoria which announced on Thursday the opening of its national parks to private tourism development.

The adage that when a door closes, another window opens appears true for Australia's mining sector BHP Billiton announced it will no longer push through with its Olympic Dam expansion project, the federal government approved the $10.4-billion coal mine and rail project of Indian firm GVK Power and Infrastructure in Galilee Project.

British classical performer Sarah Brightman has recently completed medical checks in Russia for her imminent tour into space, while comedian Ashton Kutcher may have to wait longer for his own space tour.

At the tail end of Shark Week, a solar-powered robot has begun a shark-stalking voyage across the Pacific — and a new app lets anyone tag along.

To save Australia's reefs and marine life, scientists from the University of Queensland are proposing new methods for protection against heat stress such as the use of shade cloth.

Tropical fish species are showing up in Australian waters as a response of marine life to climate change. The report on oceans and climate change, released Friday, called the movement as southern migration.

Green and health groups are seeking protection of Alice Springs from uranium mining. To give the initiative a stronger push, the Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC) and the Public Health Association of Australian (PHAA) asked Northern Territory Resources Minister Kon Vatskalis to come up with a special reserve land order.

American scientists have caught the biggest Burmese python ever weighed, and they are now examining the euthanized giant snake at the Florida Museum of Natural History, hoping to manage invasion threats posed by the species.

A manufacturing plant in Taranto, Italy by ILVA, Italy's largest steel maker, may be forced to close shop after a court ruling released over the weekend ordered the particular plant cannot fabricate steel while in the process of carrying out court-ordered improvements to its production line in light of the environmental and public health hazards it has created to its community.

A manufacturing plant in Taranto, Italy by ILVA, Italy's largest steel maker, may be forced to close shop after a court ruling released over the weekend ordered the particular plant cannot fabricate steel while in the process of carrying out court-ordered improvements to its production line in light of the environmental and public health hazards it has created to its community.

British scientists have uncovered 10 new gene regions where DNA changes are linked to Type 2 diabetes. The discovery brings nearer the science community of a biological understanding of the ailment.

Queenslanders should expect another controversy to erupt soon as another safe sex campaign ads featuring a condom and gay men were posted on Sunday in bus shelters and billboards.

Some people still doubt the Roswell UFO story due to insufficient reports on the matter, but a former Air Force official has recently stood up to assert there were actually two aircrafts that crashed on the site almost 65 years ago.

Scientists from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute of the Melbourne University had established a link between the heavy use of marijuana and damage to brain memory and learning capacity.

After a week of continuous heavy downpour which flooded Metro Manila and nearby provinces, the sun finally shone on the Philippines on Thursday.

Is Adelaide ready for an earthquake? A panel of four experts from South Australia will explore Adelaide's preparedness for an earthquake.

The more than 300 millimetres of rain that the monsoon dumped on Metro Manila and nearby Philippine provinces failed to dampen the Filipinos' penchant for updating their statuses on social networking sites.

Does Australia's love for sport making it sick?

Despite the absence of a typhoon, monsoon rains which dumped 300 millimetres (12 inches) of rain in the Philippine national capital region (NCR) caused half of Metro Manila to be flooded. The amount is thrice the daily average of 80 to 100 mm of rain, the Philippine weather bureau said.

NASA scientists celebrated Monday the first landing of its six-wheeler Curiosity rover on the Martian surface.

Despite the lack of a storm signal, torrential rains since Monday flooded parts of the Philippines, especially the national capital region (NCR). Hard hit by the heavy rains is Metro Manila where some parts are several metres deep in flood water.