The rise in ocean levels is alarming

South Africa's health minister has said a newly identified coronavirus variant is of "serious concern." Scientists said the variant could be behind a major spike in cases in the country.

How effective will vaccines be against the new variant? Hope rests on research centers and vaccine developers to keep up with the speed of the variant's spread around the world.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is sounding "alarm bells" over a record high temperature in Siberia. The record temperature was logged in June 2020 in the town of Verkhoyansk.

An EU climate agency has said 2021 was the fifth-warmest year ever recorded globally. Greenhouse gas emissions have supercharged wildfires, heat waves and flooding, affecting every continent.

As delegates from around the world take part in the world's first summit on protecting the world's oceans, our guest has written a book explaining how algae could be a major part of our future. Seaweed can be grown not just for food, but also for medicines, for replacing plastic and for decarbonising the economy. Vincent Doumeizel spoke to us from the One Ocean Summit in Brest in north-western France.

A robotic “sixth finger”, that can be worn on the hand next to the pinky to move like a real finger, has been created by Japanese researchers studying how brains react to new and independent body parts.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.

The event in Portugal will present a nonbinding declaration meant to curb ocean pollution and destruction, as well as discuss financing models for ocean preservation.

Scientists recently discovered a crater off the coast of Guinea. While it was not as impactful as the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, its regional consequences would have been huge. Our regional correspondent Sam Bradpiece spoke to one of the researchers involved.

The NATO chief told a German newspaper that Russia and China have big plans for the polar region that could further spike geopolitical tensions. Washington is set to appoint its first Arctic ambassador.

Our current vaccines don't protect well against the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. But scientists say they have produced an antibody in a mouse model that could lead to new vaccines that fight all variants.

Our oceans are louder than ever – thanks to huge container ships, offshore wind farms and gas exploration. The excessive noise renders whales deaf, kills plankton and scares fish away from their feeding grounds. What can industry do to help?