A mysterious hand that was created around 3,500 years ago and is believed to be Europe's oldest prosthetic limb will go on display in the UK for the first time this week. The artefact, which experts think may also have doubled as a knife, was discovered in western Switzerland in 2017. It is made from bronze with a gold cuff and dates to between 1,500 and 1,400 BC. The hand has been on display only once before, making a brief appearance in Germany, but will now be part of the'World of Stonehenge' exhibition at the British Museum. Detectorists found the hand buried in a human grave near Lake Biel, along with a hair ornament, bronze dagger and cloak pin.

Drones and other unmanned systems are to be tested on Salisbury Plain by the British military, to tackle the costly and often dangerous task of delivering essential supplies to frontline troops. One such company is Animal Dynamics, a spinout from Oxford University. The startup has turned to recent advances in computational analysis to help it learn from nature and challenge engineering conventions. By tapping into design lessons from millions of years of evolution, Animal Dynamics is producing machines that mirror the mechanics of animals to help them perform better and move more efficiently. The Financial Times reports that Stork, the firm's autonomous paraglider, is one of five unmanned transport concepts chosen by the British government's Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory for assessment during a four-week military exercise on Salisbury Plain this November. The Stork consumes less fuel than a conventional drone and can carry up to 100kg of supplies over 100km.