A charismatic, tweed-wearing grower from Perthshire falsely claimed to be able to create thriving tea plantations in Scotland. His elaborate deception took in luxury hotels, media outlets and tea growers across the country

With its large silver pouch, artistic label and delicate leaves, Dalreoch Scottish white tea might be expected to grace elegant cups with saucers, perhaps with a scone served on the side. Instead, it is nestled with an array of numbered polythene packets in a room just off a laboratory at the University of Aberdeen.

This is not an ordinary afternoon tea but evidence in a crime that science helped solve.

Analysis of DNA from teeth of troops buried in mass grave suggests soldiers had paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever

When Napoleon ordered his army to retreat from Russia in October 1812, disaster ensued. Starving, cold, exhausted and struggling with sickness, an estimated 300,000 soldiers died.

Researchers now say they have identified two unexpected diseases among soldiers who died in the retreat – paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever – which provide fresh insights into their plight.

Dating of rock formation in New Mexico casts doubt on theory that species was already in decline

Dinosaurs would not have become extinct had it not been for a catastrophic asteroid strike, researchers have said, challenging the idea the animals were already in decline.

About 66m years ago, during the late Cretaceous period, a huge space rock crashed into Earth, triggering a mass extinction that wiped out all dinosaurs except birds. However, some experts have argued the dinosaurs were already in decline.

Study of the drink beloved by Hollywood reveals chemical difference in beans passed through civets’ digestive system

It is a coffee beloved by Hollywood and influencers – now researchers say they have found an ingredient that could help explain the unique flavour of kopi luwak.

Also known as civet coffee, kopi luwak is produced from coffee beans that have passed through the digestive system of the Asian palm civet. The resulting product is not only rare, but very expensive – costing about £130 for 500g.

Medical experts have called for new way to more accurately measure obesity, although definition has yet to be adopted

Almost 70% of adults in the US would be deemed to have obesity based on a new definition, research suggests.

The traditional definition of obesity, typically based on having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, has long been contentious, not least as it does not differentiate between fat and muscle.

Scientists from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, look at 37 species to identify cause of ‘rat hole’ in pavement

With a front paw outstretched and its tail at an angle, the creature that fell on to wet concrete in Chicago left quite the memento mori.

Now, researchers say they have unmasked the identity of the victim, revealing the famous “rat hole” was most probably made by a squirrel.