SCIENCE

The dugong will be spared by four Australian clans from their hunt for the next five years. The four traditional owner groups promised to temporarily stop the hunt after negotiations with the Queensland government.

High winds on Thursday morning prompted NASA to delay its GRAIL mission to the moon. The $496-million GRAIL mission will provide a very detailed map of the moon's gravitational field, allowing them for the first time to better calculate the composition of its crust, mantle and core.

There will be one less space junk hovering above Earth come late September or early October, this according to U.S. space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as it revealed on Thursday the impending return of a research satellite that lost its steam in 2005.

The Fire and Emergency Service Authorities (FESA) reissued on Friday a bushfire alert for residents of Pippingarra in Port Hedland. Reports said the blaze that is razing between Marble Bar Road and Beebingara Creek has become out of control and unpredictable.

Dolphin whistles aren't just random sounds for other dolphins but are a way the animals "talk" to each other, according to a new study.

Scientists and amateur astronomers are foregoing sleep as the closest, brightest supernova of its kind in 25 years lights up the night sky.

A study by researchers at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom theorises that a meteor shower 3.9 million years ago was the source of previous metals on the planet Earth.

A new study shows that most of the gold and other precious metals found in Earth today came from a barrage of meteorites that pummeled Earth 3.9 billion years ago.

The call is out for scuba divers all over Australia to participate in Dive Against Debris. So grab your gear and hit the water as our ocean needs you!

Environmental News You Shouldn't Miss

In the nuke-crazed 1950s, Ford wanted to put mini reactors in cars. That didn't fly, but now we're hearing of radioactive thorium lasers that could power a car 300,000 miles without recharging. But what if two of them have an accident?

On Hawaii's Big Island, a Starbucks outlet sells Ecuadoran bananas. It's a trivial example of the way the twisted logic of global business creates its own unsustainable reality.

The pizza company announces 'plans' to build the first restaurant on the moon, but can't guarantee delivery in 30 minutes or less.

The local and international attention that "Lolong" got after it was captured last week stressed the 21-foot crocodile that Bunawan town officials suspended on Wednesday public viewing to allow the now famous reptile some rest.

It's Landcare Week - 5-11 September 2011 - and we've teamed up with Be Natural to help raise awareness about Landcare and the help they give to the Australian Bush.

Kerosene, according to the fact sheet provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), can effect the lungs, brain, skin, eyes, and cause other behavioural issues - burns from the fuel is a dangerous side effect also.

Last week's haul by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources of a record 21-foot crocodile spurred many residents of Agusan del Sur Province to become Crocodile Dundees.

A newly discovered star with a primitive chemical composition has left scientists to rethink previous star formation models.

The Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced on Tuesday the capture of a 21-foot (6.4-metre) crocodile in the remote village of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur Province. The reptile weighed 2,370 pounds (1,075 kilogrammes) and is estimated to be over 50 years old, AFP reported.

As I've been living in Austin, Texas, for a while, I thought I would report on the Texas drought situation first hand. How bad is the drought situation here?

NASA is planning to return to the Moon with the launch of twin lunar orbiters that will map the moon's gravity in unparalleled detail.

A shark bit the legs off a young bodyboarder at a popular surfing spot in Western Australia on Sunday. The injuries proved to be fatal and authorities are now searching for the shark and the man's missing limbs.

Earthquake experts from different parts of the world gathered at the Southern California Earthquake Center to study better ways to forecast tremors. Despite the presentation of several theories on how to predict temblors, the seismologists agreed that more study is needed.

The masked crusader of conservation has not been heroically accepted by football fans.

The last passenger pigeon on Earth died 97 years ago today. Housed at the Cincinnati Zoo and named "Martha," she was the final holdout of a species that went from one of the planet's most abundant birds to one of its highest-profile extinctions.

Scientists have discovered a natural compound that protects coral reefs from sunlight, opening the door to sunscreen pills and UV-resistant crops.

A surprising aerodynamic innovation in wind turbine design called the 'wind lens' could triple the output of a typical wind turbine, making it less costly than nuclear power.

Las Vegas hosts a clean energy summit, and politicians pledge allegiance to green cars, photovoltaic arrays, geothermal and wind turbines.

In this month's Industry Interview we are pleased to chat to Igor Bratnikov, one of the initiators and founders behind GeenXC ? an organisation of people trying to raise awareness and raise money for national parks and forests. He's also a seasoned travel photographer and journalist who shares his experiences through his photo blog.