Protein in Homo erectus teeth suggests Denisovans gave us some of their DNA

Protein in Homo erectus teeth suggests Denisovans gave us some of their DNA

fivenewscrypto    mai 15, 2026   

Humanity's ancestry has grown far clearer thanks to our ability to obtain ancient DNA. We now know that, as humans left Africa, they interbred with the groups they met there, Neanderthals and Denisovans. Evidence from the Denisovan genome also suggests that this was nothing new; the Denisovans had apparently interbred with an even earlier group. But the identity of that group remained a bit of a mystery.

Now, some evidence from ancient proteins suggests that the mystery group was Homo erectus, a species that left Africa over a million years ago and spread throughout Eurasia. And, thanks to the Denisovans, it appears that modern humans inherited some of that Homo erectus DNA.

In the teeth

Without access to all the repair enzymes made by living cells, DNA rapidly degrades. The double helix fragments, and bases change identity or fall off entirely. While cooler, drier environments slow this process, it sets a hard limit on how far back in time we can obtain DNA sequences. So far, it seems that Homo erectus remains on the far side of that time limit.

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Foiled plot tried to sneak 49 lbs of cocaine into Australia via Xerox printers

Foiled plot tried to sneak 49 lbs of cocaine into Australia via Xerox printers

fivenewscrypto    mai 14, 2026   

Four Australian men have given new meaning to the term “bricked printers.”

According to a press release from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) today, three men have been sentenced for trying to use five printers to smuggle 22.4 kg (49.4 pounds) of cocaine into Australia.

In 2019, Australian news outlets reported that the printers were Xerox brand and that the drugs had a street value of approximately 9.3 million AUD to over 12.4 million AUD ($6.7 million to over $9 million).

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AI invades Princeton, where 30% of students cheat—but peers won't snitch

AI invades Princeton, where 30% of students cheat—but peers won't snitch

fivenewscrypto    mai 14, 2026   

Pity poor Princeton.

The ultra-elite university has a mere $38 billion in endowment money. Many of its dorms lack air conditioning. And it's in New Jersey.

I kid about New Jersey, of course. Despite not being allowed to pump one's own gas there, the "Garden State" grew on me during three years spent in the Princeton area. I still keep up with its goings-on, which led me to this week's article in the Daily Princetonian on how AI was disrupting the university's long-running traditions.

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The physics of how Olympic weightlifters exploit barbell's "whip"

The physics of how Olympic weightlifters exploit barbell's "whip"

fivenewscrypto    mai 14, 2026   

Olympic weightlifting consists of three basic movements performed on a barbell: the snatch, the clean, and the jerk (with the latter two executed in combination). At such an elite level, athletes seek to exploit every possible advantage, including how a barbell bends and recoils in response to loaded weight and applied force—a property known as flexural bending in physics and dubbed the "whip" by Olympic athletes. Scientists are learning more about the underlying mechanisms of the whip, according to a presentation at this week's meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Philadelphia.

Joshua Langlois, a graduate student at Pennsylvania State University, competes in Strongman competitions as a hobby. He also has friends who compete at the national level in Olympic weight-lifting events. "They told me how they use the whip," Langlois said during a media briefing. "When they dip down, they can feel when the bar flexes back up and use that to accelerate the movement upward to increase the amount they can lift."

Langlois decided to conduct a modal analysis, i.e., how an object moves or vibrates, to quantify the whip and better understand the mechanics, as well as what makes for a good barbell at the elite level. He suspended four 20-kg men's barbells (women use 15-kg barbells)—with 50 kg loaded on each end—from elastic resistance bands so that the bar was essentially floating in space. Then he attached accelerometers at each end of the bar where the vibrational mode patterns occur. Next, he tapped set locations across the bar with a small hammer, measuring the acceleration at the endpoints, which enabled him to map out how the bars moved in response. He compared the vibrations of different barbells, as well as a single barbell loaded with different weights.

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NASA provides some details about Artemis III, but hard decisions remain

NASA provides some details about Artemis III, but hard decisions remain

fivenewscrypto    mai 14, 2026   

NASA announced Wednesday that it will fly the Artemis III mission in low-Earth orbit and that it continues to target 2027 for this stepping-stone flight that will help land humans on the Moon.

The space agency chose the orbit close to Earth—as opposed to a higher orbit—because it would preserve the final remaining Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage for launching the Artemis IV landing mission later this decade. Instead, NASA will use a "spacer" to simulate the mass and overall dimensions of an upper stage but without propulsive capabilities.

The additional information released this week follows a decision made by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman three months ago to shuffle the agency's Artemis plans in order to accelerate a lunar landing.

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Amazon devices chief says a new smartphone is “just not the goal”

Amazon devices chief says a new smartphone is “just not the goal”

fivenewscrypto    mai 14, 2026   

In March, Reuters reported that Amazon was developing a new smartphone. Citing four anonymous “people familiar with the matter,” the publication said that Amazon was exploring using Alexa as an operating system and developing the phone, codenamed Transformer, to push people to use Amazon’s AI and other services. At the time, the sources said that Transformer could still be canceled, and Amazon declined to comment on the report to Ars Technica.

In an interview published on the Financial Times (FT) today, Panos Panay, Amazon's head of devices and services, said building a new phone isn’t Amazon’s goal.

The company already tried selling a smartphone in 2014, but it discontinued the Fire Phone about a year later following poor sales.

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Daredevil: Born Again S2 gives us a darker, grittier canvas

Daredevil: Born Again S2 gives us a darker, grittier canvas

fivenewscrypto    mai 14, 2026   

We loved the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel's hotly anticipated revival of the popular series in the Netflix Defenders universe, and its sophomore outing did not disappoint. The show just wrapped its critically acclaimed second season, with a third already well underway—all part of MCU's Phase Six master plan.

(Some spoilers below, but we'll give you a heads up before any major S2 reveals.)

From its inception, Daredevil: Born Again was built around the conflict between Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio), with Fisk attempting to leave his criminal past behind as the newly elected mayor of New York, and Murdock determined to abandon his vigilante activities as Daredevil to focus full time on his law practice.

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