Sweden

The history of life on Earth is shrouded in shadow, but we're slowly shedding more light on where we came from. Now, newly-discovered fossils of what look like red algae discovered in India, suggest that multicellular life arose several hundred million years earlier than previously believed.

The Icehotel, built annually in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, has always been as fleeting as it is beautiful, eventually melting away to nothing. Joining the 27th Icehotel this year, though, is Icehotel 365 – a newly opened hotel made of ice that will stay open all year round as the others come and go.

​Ice cleats may be good for preventing falls on ice and snow, but they aren't good indoors. To cut back on swapping shoes, a Swedish inventor has developed Gripforce, winter boots with retractable spikes in the soles that quickly swap between cleats and regular boots at the flip of a switch.

​Range anxiety is a priority for many EVs, but others are steering into the skid with small EVs designed for short-range city driving. Joining them is the Swedish startup Uniti, which has just hit its crowdfunding goal to develop a prototype of its own little electric city car by the end of 2017.

Every winter in Sweden, a magical hotel is constructed out of ice and filled with glittering ice sculptures and artworks. Then it melts away when temperatures rise. This year, though, an extra Icehotel is being constructed and the arctic circle's 24/7 summer sun will help it to stay cool.

​It’s not often that a dinner makes history, but that was the case when two men tucked into a meal of pasta and fried vegetables. The historic ingredient? Cabbage that had had its genome edited with CRISPR-Cas9, marking the first time such a plant had been grown, harvested, cooked and eaten.

As cities seek to become greener and healthier places to live, cycling is increasingly being catered for. In Malmö, Sweden, this now extends beyond infrastructure like bike lanes, with a specially designed apartment block and hotel being built for people who wish to lead a car-free lifestyle.

Working to rid its independent transport sector of fossil fuels by 2030, Sweden has opened up its first electrified highway, which will serve as a testbed for a possible wider deployment in the coming years. ​​

As city neighborhoods go, Örnsro Trästad – or Örnsro Timber Town – will be about as green and serene as they come. The planned development will be built from the ground up as neighborhood and park in equal measure, with buildings made of wood.

Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, is hosting the 26th edition of its famous Icehotel. The hotel is made from 4,000-5,000 tons (3,629-4,536 tonnes) of ice and boasts chandeliers made from 1,000 hand-cut ice-crystals. This year, an African elephant, a Gothic ice cave and 1970s Love Capsule await guests.

Have you ever wished you could change the weather to be more like somewhere else in the world? Well, travelers at Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sweden can now experience just that. The airport's new Climate Portal simulates the weather from other locations in real time.

Small airports often don't have much traffic because they don't have an adequate tower system, and they don't have an adequate tower system because they don't have much traffic. The opening of the world's first remotely operated air-traffic control system could change that.