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Indigenous peoples of the Arctic traditionally use polar bear fur for its ice-resistant properties, but the science behind the bears’ natural antifreeze hasn't been studied until now

A numerical error in a scientific paper created alarm around the chemicals in black plastic utensils, but the extent to which they cause harm is up for debate

The success of Chinese firm DeepSeek suggests tech companies can train and run powerful AIs without consuming vast amounts of power

We will never get an image of the Milky Way from above, but M81 or Bode's galaxy is a good stand-in – and now is a great time to see it, says Leah Crane

A provocative new book delves into the way humans – and elephants – evolved to manage risk. We might do better to think more like elephants

The neck is less than 1 per cent of the human body's surface area, but it plays an oversized role in our lives, reveals Kent Dunlap's engaging natural and cultural history

Various projects aim to reestablish lynx as a wild species in the UK after being absent for centuries, but those involved face formidable hurdles, finds Graham Lawton

Feedback is intrigued (and terrified) by a new paper that suggests you could set off a ridiculously gigantic nuclear bomb deep under the seabed to mop up carbon dioxide

Scientists’ ideas for travelling to the stars range from the the wholly improbable to the hugely expensive and very difficult, says Ed Regis

Some animals – and even machines – may turn out to be conscious. Must we wait for scientific certainty before sharing our rights, asks The Moral Circle

US President Donald Trump has pledged to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in government agencies in order to build a “merit-based” society. But psychological research shows that such initiatives can create fairer outcomes, if employed correctly

A patch made from lab-grown muscle cells boosted heart function in monkeys with cardiovascular disease and is now being tested in humans

The West Antarctic ice sheet could cause metres of sea level rise if it collapses – but more than 120,000 years ago, it may have survived an even warmer period than it is experiencing now

Remarkable archaeological finds are telling a new story of how prehistoric humans turned clothing from a necessity into a means of self-expression

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 aircraft broke the sound barrier during three test runs, a step toward the possible return of supersonic commercial flights

Space-time may hide a bizarre new kind of black hole that causes Einstein’s theory of gravity to fail – and could solve the mystery of dark energy

For the first time that we know of, mice with two fathers have survived to adulthood, but the methods used would be "unthinkable" to try in people

Physicists have verified a connection between two counterintuitive quantum properties, which may help us understand how quantum objects stay inextricably connected through entanglement

The rate of warming in the oceans has more than quadrupled since 1985, suggesting global warming in general has undergone a marked acceleration

The new AI model from China's DeepSeek performs on a level with leading US models without requiring as much computing power – but despite a huge drop in their stock, it's not game over for US tech companies