Amid chaos stemming from a March coup d'etat, hunting gangs are killing Madagascar's rare primates as bush meat for upscale restaurants, conservationists say.

See a torch-bedecked bull, a rocket go out in a blaze of glory, a green roof get mowed, and more in our editor's picks of the week's best news pictures.

A new study finds that people naturally walk in circles when their sense of direction is lost. Researchers had people walk in the desert and through a forest. Video.

Like police officers and nurses, cleaner fish on coral reefs wear certain colors and patterns to let "clients" know where to find them—and not to eat them—a new study says.

But hold the champagne. As plastic decomposes, it releases toxic chemicals that can harm ocean life—and possibly us—a new study says.

Despite unfriendly conditions for Atlantic hurricane formation, Hurricane Bill is now at Category 4, and is expected to stay that way. Said one meteorologist: "Bill is lucky."

A popular method of disinfecting water with sunlight may not help protect people from water borne disease, due partly to stigma, a new study shows.

The world's seafood appetite is growing but its oceans are increasingly empty. See what science has dreamed up to fill the void--from untethered "Oceanspheres" to sharp-edged "SeaStations."

Among fertile farms once rich with wetlands, conservationists are recruiting Washington State farmers to temporarily inundate their fields in an effort to bring back habitat for migratory shorebirds.

A WWF spokesperson says that, unless development around giant panda habitat in China is controlled, the panda could become extinct within two or three generations. Video.

Giant, propeller-driven fish farms may someday mimic the movements of wild schools or even allow fish to forage "free range" before recapturing them. Already, remote-control models are paving the way.

An unusual practice of flooding farmlands has brought back wetlands and shorebirds, which once made migration pit stops in the fertile Washington State valley.

Six gorilla orphans of a critically endangered species have been released on an isolated African island. Conservationists hope to move the gorillas into the wider wilderness within three years. Video

Hurricane Bill became the first hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic season today by skirting disruptive African air currents. Bill's path may take it toward the U.S. East Coast, but the forecast remains hazy.

Herbs and spices used to flavor food are also green alternatives to synthetic pesticides, scientists say.