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The article discusses research on the extinction of cave bears, which suggests that the bears may have been herbivores, making it difficult for them to build up enough fat to survive long winter months of torpor in their caves as the Earth's climate rapidly changed from hot and dry to cold and wet during the Pleistocene.

The article discusses a study by Alejandro Pérez-Ramos and his team at the University of Malaga in Spain which found that cave bears had large sinuses that shaped their skulls in a way that meant they could only chew with back teeth.

The article reports on an study published in "Scientific Reports" which found deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of cave bears, which analyses the role of modern human interference in the extinction of the animals.

Corrections are provided for articles from the December 22, 2018 issue related to the extinction of cave bears and frost flowers.

The article discusses Neanderthals' hunting of cave bears and using their caves as shelters in northern Italy, referencing an article coauthored by scientist Marco Peresani in the "Journal of Archaeological Science." An overview of the bear bones found in Rio Secco and Fomane caves in Italy, including Neanderthal teeth marks on the bones, is provided.

The article discusses research by Jean-Marc Elalouf of the Institute of Biology and Technology which used analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of cave bears to suggest a date for the creation of the Chauvet cave paintings, discovered in France in 1994. Radiocarbon analysis of the paintings indicated an age of 30,000 years but archaeologists like Paul Pettitt argue that the paintings were newer. Elalouf analyzed the age of remains and argues that the species became locally extinct 29,000 years ago.