“Unwashed, greasy hair made it much harder for ice to stick. In contrast, when the polar bear hair was washed and the grease ...

Polar bears don’t have to worry about skipping a wash day. The sebum, or natural oil, on the mammals’ fur helps them survive ...

Unique lipids in polar bear sebum prevent ice accumulation, paving the way for eco-friendly anti-icing materials.

Polar bear fur resists ice because of a natural greasy coating called sebum. This helps them move quietly while hunting.

She realized that she had never seen a polar bear covered in ice in any wildlife documentaries, even after they emerged from a dive in below-freezing water. “And then I thought, well ...

Now, researchers have discovered the bears have another unexpected Arctic adaptation: greasy fur. It’s a trait that, ...

Polar bears have a built-in defense against ice — greasy fur. A team of scientists has discovered that their fur is coated in ...

But, Bodil noticed, polar bear fur did not freeze after getting wet. "I was very puzzled," she says. "When they go into the ...

Scientists have quantified how much climate change has driven the population decline of polar bears living in Canada's Hudson ...

Polar bears might be greasier than widely believed. The bears’ greasy fur is the secret to the popular species’ survival in ...

The results were striking. When unwashed, polar bear fur resisted ice adhesion significantly better than human hair and ...

Scientists have found that sebum is what allows polar bears to stay insulated and thrive in some of Earth’s most punishing ...