Australia’s giant kangaroos of yesteryear were likely homebodies — and that inclination ultimately did them in.The massive marsupial megaherbivores, which, at an estimated 375 pounds, weighed more than twice as much as contemporary kangaroos, really had no reason to wander. Until about 280,000 years ago, they lived in a plant-eater’s Eden — a lush rainforest that, to them, probably seemed like the ultimate salad bar.But their inability — or unwillingness — likely led to their extinction when the climate started changing, according to a new study in the journal PLOS ONE. Extinction of Giant KangaroosEarlier studies proposed that Protemnodon didn’t have the physical ability to hop very far. Their unwieldy size and ungainly body shape rendered them unsuitable for long-distance foraging. This runs contrary to large mammalian herbivores, in which the bigger the body size, the wider the foraging range. Consider the buffalo. Studies of other ancient kangaroo species suggest they were hunted to extinction, although that view remains controversial.A new study gives the theory of marsupial stasis more credence. Researchers analyzed Strontium isotopes from Protemnodon teeth found in Mt. Etna Caves in central Queensland. The dental isotopes only matched the local limestone, rather than any rocks or minerals from more distant areas. The researchers concluded the animals had a smaller foraging area than expected.As the climate turned drier, the increasing aridity dried out Protemnodon’s grazing zone. Their inability to locate greener pastures ultimately led to their extinction. The researchers were surprised at just how geographically limited the giant kangaroo’s dining zones appeared.“Using data from modern kangaroos, we predicted these giant extinct kangaroos would have much larger home ranges,” Christopher Laurikainen Gaete, a researcher at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and an author of the paper, said in a press release. “We were astounded to find that they didn’t move far at all, with ranges mirroring smaller modern kangaroo species.”Researching Giant MarsupialsThe researchers still don’t know if this relatively limited grazing range was true for all Australian giant marsupials of the same time period. They are unsure if Protemnodon's extinction due to its inability to roam was an isolated incident. More research will be required to determine that those giant marsupials, unlike massive foraging mammals, have home ranges tied more to their habitat than their body size.The relatively new method of tracking dental strontium remnants may help resolve that question sooner, rather than later.“These new isotopic techniques have blown our field wide open. Imagine ancient GPS trackers — we can use the fossils to track individuals and know where they moved, what they ate, who they lived with and how they died,” Scott Hocknull, a paleontologist at the Queensland Museum and an author of the study, said in the news release. “It’s Paleo Big Brother.”Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

Tales of gladiators going head-to-head with ferocious lions in ancient Rome’s coliseum are legendary. Scenes of such deadly combat have been portrayed in stories, paintings, and mosaics (a Man versus Big Cat conflict was even suggested in the movie “Gladiator,” but never actually depicted). But until now, there has never been any direct physical evidence that such contests took place.A discovery showing tooth marks on a human bone suggests that these artistic accounts are more journalistic than fictional. It represents the first piece of archeological forensic evidence that man versus lion matches did, indeed happen during the Roman Empire, according to an article in PLOS One.“For years, our understanding of Roman gladiatorial combat and animal spectacles has relied heavily on historical texts and artistic depictions,” Tim Thompson, an archeologist from Maynooth University, Ireland and lead author of the study, said in a press release. “This discovery provides the first direct, physical evidence that such events took place in this period, reshaping our perception of Roman entertainment culture.”Roman Gladiator Evidence in EnglandLesions on the left iliac spine of 6DT19. (Image Credit: From the research paper: Unique osteological evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat in Roman Britain)The evidence comes not from Italy, but, rather a Roman cemetery in York, England. It turns out that the city, famous for its massive gothic Minster cathedral, is also home to a gladiator graveyard.An 1800-year-old cemetery lies on the Roman road leading out of York. Excavation began there in 2004. Archaeologists since then have examined 82 male skeletons. But there was no conclusive evidence that the remains of what appeared to be robust young men were anyone other than soldiers or slaves — until now.“The bite marks were likely made by a lion, which confirms that the skeletons buried at the cemetery were gladiators, rather than soldiers or slaves, as initially thought and represent the first osteological confirmation of human interaction with large carnivores in a combat or entertainment setting in the Roman world,” Malin Holst, a lecturer at University of York’s Department of Archaeology and an author of the paper, said in the press release.Lion Attack Wounds Discovered on the SkeletonMarble relief with lion and gladiator. (Image Credit: © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.)Researchers compared bite marks on the skeleton to sample bites from a lion at a zoo and determined they matched. The wound did not appear to have healed and was likely the man’s cause of death. The man, who archaeologists estimated was between 26 years and 35 years old, also appears to have been decapitated following his demise, which may have been part of a Roman burial ritual then.The burial location also indicates that gladiator competitions during the Roman Empire weren’t just limited to Rome.“We often have a mental image of these combats occurring at the grand surroundings of the Colosseum in Rome, but these latest findings show that these sporting events had a far reach, well beyond the center of core Roman territories," Holst said. “An amphitheater probably existed in Roman York, but this has not yet been discovered.”Read More: The Hierarchy of the 1,200-Year-Long Roman EmpireArticle SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

A few years ago, I hired an electrician to install a wired video doorbell in my house. He quoted me $1,500 because my house has a “unique” shape and it would require a lot of work to get wiring over there. The following week, I bought a battery-powered video doorbell for $99 and installed it myself in five minutes. You can live out this DIY smart home improvement scenario and save even more money by grabbing the Ring Battery Doorbell for just $55 right now at Amazon. This is the cheapest it has been since Black Friday last year, and a ton of other Ring accessories, including the excellent Floodlight Cam, are also on sale if you want to jump into an entire system. Ring Battery Doorbell, Head-to-Toe Video — $55 (was $99) Ring See It This is Ring’s bread-and-butter video doorbell. It has head-to-toe video coverage, which means you can see the ground as your delivery driver drops off your package or your food. It connects to Alexa (obviously) and sends you notifications to let you know what’s going on in front of your home. The two-way talk feature allows you to interact with people at your door, whether you’re inside the house or somewhere away from home. Most importantly, however, it’s super easy to install. I did it with 10 minutes and an impact driver. It’s as simple as sinking a few screws. The built-in battery charges with a simple USB-C cable, and it can last months between charges depending on usage and conditions. You will need a Ring subscription to use this camera, which means paying for the Basic ($5 monthly or $50 annually), Standard ($10 monthly or $100 annually), or Premium ($20 monthly or $200 annually) plans. I use the Standard plan, and it does everything I personally need. I think most people would feel the same way. It comes in two colors, including the Venetian Bronze (shown above) and Satin Nickel. Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (newest model) — $99 (was $150) Ring See It If you don’t mind spending $99, you can upgrade to the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, which offers improved video quality and more customization options. The customizable motion detection zones allow you to specify how your camera operates, increasing accuracy and reducing annoying false alarms. This model installs easily and charges via USB-C as well. Ring security camera deals Ring Indoor Cam (newest model) — Home or business security in 1080p HD video, White $35 (was $60) Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam | See all around with 360° pan coverage, HD video, plus Two-Way Talk (2024 release) | White $60 (was $80) Ring Spotlight Cam Plus, Battery | Two-Way Talk, Color Night Vision, and Security Siren (2022 release) – White $119 (was $149) Ring Battery Doorbell with Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus (White) $169 (was $249) Ring Alarm 14-Piece Kit – home security system with 30-day free Ring Home subscription $249 (was $329) Ring Spotlight Cam Plus, Battery | Two-Way Talk, Color Night Vision, and Security Siren (2022 release) – Black $119 (was $149) Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) | latest generation, 2023 release $69 (was $99) The post The best battery-powered doorbell camera is down to just $55 from $99 right now at Amazon appeared first on Popular Science.

This oil painting by French artist Firmin Didot (1764-1836) depicts human-animal combat in ancient Rome. New evidence shows it likely occurred as far away as Roman Britain.   Credit: Public Domain / Wikicommons Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Archeologists in the UK and Ireland recently uncovered a rare find: the skeletal remains of a gladiator from Roman-era England. The bones not only help experts better understand the lives of fighters—they reveal who they fought against for the crowds’ entertainment. And according to a study published April 23 in the journal PLOS One, the skeleton displays the first-ever evidence of human-animal combat in Europe during the Roman Empire. Gladiator combat is a well-documented aspect of ancient Roman society, but the physical remains of fighters have remained elusive. Due to this lack of bodily evidence, experts have instead long relied on historical accounts, artifacts, and artwork to learn about gladiator combats. Contemporary textual evidence indicates that in addition to humans, organizers forced combatants and prisoners to face large animal predators. Events known as “venationes” (beast hunts) pitted trained and armed human performers against lions, boars, bears, elephants, and other animals. Meanwhile, “damnatio ad bestios” battles focused on reenacting mythical stories involving wild animals, often as backdrops for public executions. Despite written evidence and physical relics like weapons and armor, the lack of forensic information made it especially challenging for historians and archeologists. For example, it remained unclear if gladiator matches held as much importance in Roman-occupied regions like Britain as they did in Rome itself. Images of these spectacles survive to the present-day, but no direct links have supported human-animal gladiator matches in Roman Britain. However, analysis of a man’s skeleton excavated near York appears to finally offer concrete confirmation of the gruesome entertainment. Puncture injuries by large felid scavenging on both sides of bone. Credit: Thompson et al., 2025, PLOS One According to study authors, the remains were initially discovered during a city development project nearly two decades ago in a larger gravesite. Recent bioarcheological examination and isotopic analysis indicated the individual was a 26-35 year old local at the time of his death, and was buried around 200-300 CE near Eboracum, the Roman city that preceded York. His cause of death  starkly contrasted with other nearby remains. Experts previously noted a number of depressions on his pelvis resembling carnivore bites. After creating a three-dimensional scan of the area, researchers then compared the indentations to various animals’ teeth marks. Additional consultation from zoologists confirmed a large cat such as a lion likely caused the injuries by. Given their placement, the study authors also theorized the bites occurred as the predator was scavenging the body around his time of death.  “The implications of our multidisciplinary study are huge,” Maynooth University professor of archeology and study lead author Tim Thompson said in a statement. “Here we have physical evidence for the spectacle of the Roman Empire and the dangerous gladiatorial combat on show. This provides new evidence to support our understanding of the past.” David Jennings, CEO of the independent charity organization York Archeology that contributed to the study, said the newest findings also spoke to the latest advancements in the field. A bone featuring puncture markings from a leopard was used in the study for comparison. Credit: Thompson et al., 2025, PLOS One “One of the wonderful things about archaeology is that we continue to make discoveries even years after a dig has concluded,” he said. “It is now 20 years since we unearthed 80 burials at Driffield Terrace. This latest research gives us a remarkable insight into the life–and death–of this particular individual, and adds to both previous and ongoing genome research into the origins of some of the men buried in this particular Roman cemetery.” The first proof of human-animal combat in Roman Britain also helps clarify and situate regional culture during this time period. “As tangible witnesses to spectacles in Britain’s Roman amphitheatres, the bitemarks help us appreciate these spaces as settings for brutal demonstrations of power,” explained John Pearce, a study co-author and classics professor at King’s College London. “They make an important contribution to desanitizing our Roman past.”    “We may never know what brought this man to the arena where we believe he may have been fighting for the entertainment of others,” added Jennings. “But it is remarkable that the first osteo-archaeological evidence for this kind of gladiatorial combat has been found so far from the Colosseum of Rome.”

News Climate Wetland bacteria could make more methane in a warming world The findings offer clues to a worrisome recent spike in wetlands’ methane emissions Below the peaceful surface of Chesapeake Bay tidal wetlands, methane-producing and methane-consuming microbes are competing for food. Higher temperatures may give the producers the edge. Beata Whitehead/Moment/Getty Images Plus By Carolyn Gramling 1 hour ago Warming temperatures may cause methane emissions from wetlands to rise — by helping methane-producing bacteria thrive. Higher temperatures favor the activity of wetland soil microbes that produce the potent greenhouse gas, at the expense of other microbes that can consume it, researchers report April 23 in Science Advances. The scientists, led by microbiologist Jaehyun Lee of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul, conducted a summer field study in coastal wetlands near the Chesapeake Bay, analyzing soil conditions in a set of marshy plots with differing environmental conditions. The findings may offer clues to a puzzling and worrisome spike in wetland emissions of methane over the last decade. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

News Anthropology A lion’s bite marks a fatal fight with a possible Roman-era gladiator Physical evidence of a fight between a Roman gladiator and a lion has been unearthed in England Researchers say they have found physical evidence of a fight between a lion and a gladiator in Roman Britain. In this illustration from the 1860s, gladiators battle tigers and lions in Rome’s Colosseum. Nastasic/digitalvision vectors/getty images By Bruce Bower 1 hour ago As a fight to the death reached its end around 1,800 years ago, a victorious lion sank its teeth into a young man’s thigh bone. Those feline bite marks, preserved on a skeleton interred in northeast England, provide the first physical evidence of a Roman-era battle between a gladiator and a nonhuman animal anywhere in Europe, say forensic anthropologist Timothy Thompson of Maynooth University in Ireland and colleagues. The man’s remains, which date to between the years 200 and 300, come from what may have been a gladiator cemetery in the Roman city of Eboracum, now called York, the researchers report April 23 in PLOS ONE. Bite marks on the thigh bone of a man who lived in Roman Britain, including those shown here, were likely made by a lion during a gladiator show or public execution, a new study finds.T.J.U. Thompson et al., PLOS ONE, 2025 Previous excavations found that most graves there contained men between the ages of 18 and 45, many of whom displayed injuries from violent fights. Diet-related bone chemistry tests indicated that these men had grown up in different parts of the Roman empire, perhaps before entering gladiator training. Most had been decapitated after death, a practice possibly associated with gladiator burials in Roman Britain. Written records and artworks have documented fights between armed performers and dangerous predators such as lions, leopards and tigers in Roman amphitheaters. Roman records also cite public amphitheater spectacles in which such animals maimed and killed criminals, warfare captives, Christians and others. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08781-xBrief ciprofloxacin exposure in humans drives antibiotic resistance evolution in gut bacteria through selective sweeps, particularly involving DNA gyrase mutations, which persist long after exposure and demonstrate the human gutʼs capacity to promote resistance evolution.

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01161-5Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a growing health threat, but its evolution outside laboratory settings is poorly understood. Bacteria living in the human gut are now found to evolve persistent resistance after brief exposure to antibiotics, and factors that promote this evolution have been identified, highlighting the gut as a potential hotspot for this process.

A parasitic worm may raise the risk of cervical cancer through several mechanisms, scientists have found, although HPV remains the primary driver behind the disease.

A skeleton in England may have belonged to a gladiator who died fighting a large cat, possibly a lion, a new study finds.