Cold fact: Bear neighbors of scientists are not so cuddly

Residents of the remote Arctic settlement of Ny-Alesund never lock their homes-happy to sacrifice privacy for the option of barging through the nearest door if a polar bear attacks.

The research center, formerly a coal-mining town, is perched on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, which is also home to a sizable polar bear community in one of the most extreme landscapes on Earth.

The northernmost permanent human settlement, Ny-Alesund hosts about 150 scientists, researchers and technicians during the Arctic summer, dwindling to a handful of caretakers in the colder months.