Polar bear biopsies to shed light on Arctic pollutants

Scientists embark on a dramatic and pioneering research mission in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, firing tranquiliser darts at polar bears from a helicopter in order to take fat tissue biopsies from the Arctic creatures for the first time, allowing them to study the impact of pollutants on their health. Marie-Anne Blanchet, a French researcher at the Norwegian Polar Institute, said the "dramatic" decline in sea ice is likely to have "significant" consequences for the bears.

The expedition came at a time when the Arctic region was warming at four times the global average, putting mounting pressure on the iconic predators as their sea-ice habitat shrank.