ScienceDaily
Scientists may have debunked one of humanity's oldest habits
Marks on ancient human teeth long interpreted as evidence of tooth-picking may actually reflect ordinary wear patterns, a finding that calls decades of archaeological assumptions into question. Researchers reached this conclusion after studying wild primates, whose teeth showed similar grooves despite no tool use. The same study flagged a prevalent modern dental defect as uniquely human, suggesting contemporary diets and habits are leaving a lasting mark on our biology.
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South Australia’s koala boom could end in mass starvation
South Australia's koala population has grown to a point where the animals risk stripping their own habitat bare, setting the stage for widespread starvation. Researchers are urging targeted fertility control measures to bring numbers in line with what local forests can sustain. Without intervention, the boom could trigger an ecological collapse that harms both the koalas and the ecosystems they depend on.
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Could the Milky Way's missing mass be hiding in a swarm of interstellar comets?
A new paper from the University of Hamburg suggests that vast swarms of interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS could account for a portion of the Milky Way's missing mass, potentially complicating existing dark matter calculations. The arrival of our galaxy's third known interstellar visitor has prompted researchers to model how large populations of these objects might skew the numbers astronomers use to measure unseen matter. If confirmed, the finding would force a significant reassessment of one of cosmology's most enduring mysteries.
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Lunar orbiter concept could reveal five key elements across moon in two years
Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University have demonstrated through simulations that a compact X-ray telescope could map five key chemical elements across the entire lunar surface in just two years. The findings mark a significant step toward understanding the moon's geological history, offering a cost-efficient path to whole-surface chemical analysis. A 5-by-5 detector array could further accelerate results and sharpen resolution.
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Wonderwerk Cave bones reveal possible fire use by human ancestors 1.79 million years ago
Early human ancestors may have been using fire nearly 1.8 million years ago, according to new analysis of burned bones found in South Africa's Wonderwerk Cave. If confirmed, the finding would push back the accepted timeline of fire use by hundreds of thousands of years. The discovery adds fresh fuel to one of paleoanthropology's most contested questions: when exactly did our ancestors first harness flame.
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