How do algae react to the warming of the Arctic Ocean? How is it affecting wildlife in the fjords? To find answers, researchers rely heavily on divers who brave the icy waters to gather samples.

"Without them, we wouldn't be able to successfully complete our projects," admits Cornelia Buchholz, a marine biologist who is working at Ny-Alesund on Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago in the heart of the Norwegian Arctic.

A popular campground at Yosemite National Park in California will be temporarily closed after several dead squirrels were found to be carrying the plague, officials said Friday. 

The move comes about a week after a girl who visited the park tested positive for the plague. She was treated and has recovered. 

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Saturday defended Australia's carbon pollution reduction target as in line with those of other countries after the nation's climate change authority criticized the goal as "disappointing".

The government on Tuesday announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent of 2005 levels by 2030, well below the level recommended by the independent Climate Change Authority which advises the government on the issue.

Astronomers have discovered a planet 100 light years away that looks a lot like Jupiter once did and may offer new insights on how planets are formed, researchers said Thursday.

Known as 51 Eridani b, it is the first exoplanet detected by a new instrument called the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), according to the report in the journal Science.

Air pollution is killing about 4,000 people in China a day, accounting for 1 in 6 premature deaths in the world's most populous country, a new study finds.

Physicists at the University of California, Berkeley, calculated that about 1.6 million people in China die each year from heart, lung and stroke problems because of incredibly polluted air, especially small particles of haze. Earlier studies put the annual Chinese air pollution death toll at 1 to 2 million, but this is the first to use newly released Chinese air monitoring figures.

The current El Nino, nicknamed Bruce Lee, is already the second strongest on record for this time of year and could be one of the most potent weather changers of the past 65 years, federal meteorologists say.

But California and other drought struck areas better not count on El Nino rescuing them like in a Bruce Lee action movie, experts say.

The European space probe Rosetta captured a range of scientific data Thursday as it trailed an ancient comet past the Sun which could help scientists better understand the origins of life on Earth.

During its run before the Sun the probe collected particles and gas put off by the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as it delivered a solar heat-driven fireworks show of gas jets and shed about a tonne of dust per second. 

Police in Vietnam have seized more than 700 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of rhino horns and elephant tusks believed to have originated from Mozambique, state media said Friday.

The haul of prized animal parts was discovered hidden in two containers on board a ship carrying ground stones at the central port of Da Nang on Thursday, Tuoi Tre newspaper said.

Dark skies due to a nearly invisible moon will make this year's Perseid meteor shower -- peaking Wednesday and Thursday -- an especially star-studded event, astronomers say.

So grab a folding chair, prepare a list of wishes, and get as far from bright city lights and clouds as you can to watch the natural firework display.

The comet where a European spacecraft landed last year has made the closest approach to the sun of its 6 ½-year orbit.

The European Space Agency said comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko reached its closest point to the sun, known as perihelion, at 0203 GMT Thursday.