Science Daily

• Scientists use DNA from poop to save the world’s rarest marsupial

  Scientists in Australia are using cutting-edge DNA techniques to help save one of the world’s rarest marsupials — the critically endangered Gilbert’s potoroo, with fewer than 150 left in the wild. By analyzing tiny traces of DNA in the animals’ scat, researchers uncovered clues about the elusive fungi the potoroos depend on for survival. The findings could help conservationists identify safer new habitats and establish backup populations before disasters like bushfires wipe them out.

• T. rex’s tiny arms may have evolved for a surprisingly brutal reason

  Why did T. rex have such tiny arms? Scientists now think it’s because its giant head became the ultimate hunting tool. Across multiple dinosaur groups, stronger skulls and crushing jaws evolved alongside shrinking forelimbs, especially in predators hunting enormous prey. In other words, once the bite became deadly enough, the arms may have stopped mattering.

• Humpback whale breaks migration record with 15,000 kilometer ocean journey

  Scientists have uncovered an astonishing new chapter in humpback whale migration: two whales were found to have traveled between breeding grounds in Australia and Brazil, crossing more than 14,000 kilometers of open ocean. One whale shattered records by covering at least 15,100 kilometers between sightings, marking the longest confirmed journey ever documented for an individual humpback whale.

• Lost for 150,000 years: Rainforest discovery upends human history

  For decades, scientists believed ancient humans avoided dense rainforests, treating them as nearly impossible environments for early survival. But a groundbreaking discovery in West Africa is rewriting that story. Researchers uncovered evidence that humans were living deep within rainforest environments in present-day Côte d'Ivoire around 150,000 years ago — far earlier than anyone thought possible.

• Rare graves reveal a lost world of Bronze Age Europe hidden for 3,000 years

  Scientists have uncovered remarkable new details about Bronze Age life in Central Europe by studying rare burials untouched by cremation. The research reveals communities experimenting with new foods, burial rituals, and cultural connections while largely staying rooted in their local homelands.