Recent discoveries include evidence of early human migration routes in Turkey, 112-million-year-old amber fossils from South America, a study on playing badminton in space for astronaut well-being, a breakthrough in quantum squeezing with nanoparticles, and wild chimpanzees consuming alcohol, suggesting deep evolutionary roots for alcohol attraction.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute have successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Paleolithic deer tooth pendant, using a new, non-destructive method for isolating DNA from ancient bones and teeth. From the DNA retrieved they were able to reconstruct a precise genetic profile of the woman who used or wore the pendant, as well as of the deer from which the tooth was taken. The tooth remains fully intact after analysis, providing testimony to a new era in ancient DNA research, in which it may become possible to directly identify the users of ornaments and tools produced in the deep past.