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Tom's Guide
3 days ago
- Health
- Tom's Guide
Bed bugs have ruined our sleep for 60,000 years, new research reveals — 5 ways to keep them out of your mattress
Sleep is the great unifier and while our ancient ancestors didn't have to worry about excess screen time and bed rot, we do have at least one sleep disruptor in common: bed bugs. New research suggests that bed bugs are the earliest human pests, following us out of the caves roughly 60,000 years ago and booming as our population expanded into cities. And we haven't been able to shake them since. Researchers from Virginia Tech have been tracing the history of bed bugs back to a subset of the species detaching itself from bats and choosing humanity as their favorite food source. While the Last Glacial Maximum around 20,000 years ago (the ice age) saw a decline in the general bed bug population, the human-associated bed bugs bounced back. Sadly — or, perhaps, happily — the bat-following bed bugs haven't fared quite so well. And it turns out our oldest pests have weathered a lot to continue bothering us, thriving as we established cities, rejoicing as the population expanded and even surviving the emergence of powerful pesticides. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. So is there anything we can do to actually get rid of bed bugs? On a global scale, it seems unlikely. They're incredibly hardy and we clearly taste incredible. In your own home? That's a different story and if the past 60,000 years have been good for anything it's developing new, effective ways to remove bed bugs. The best mattresses you can buy online are undoubtedly better for your sleep than a Neanderthal bed (cavemen didn't even have Phase Change Material) but they are still vulnerable to bed bugs. However, with these tips you can keep bed bugs from infesting your mattress. One of the most effective ways to get rid of bed bugs at home is with a hot wash — bed bugs are not a fan of excessive high temperatures. We recommend washing your bedding once a week to prevent stains and this regular cleaning schedule can also prevent an outbreak of bed bugs before it gets started. Use a 140°F wash for a minimum of 90 minutes and follow up with either a hot dry cycle or a few hours in direct sunlight to eradicate bed bugs and their eggs. And when your sheets are drying, leave your mattress bare to allow it to breathe. This air flow helps trapped moisture dissipate and clears the enticing scent of you that attracts bed bugs to your mattress. Bed bugs are consummate hiders: they're tiny, fast and love the dark. That means the seams and crevices of your mattress are perfect bed bug homes. But the piles of laundry lying around your bed are equally attractive hideouts. If you want to limit the areas for bed bugs to lurk, keep the space around your bed clean. Just think, if Grug had only tidied his mammoth skin tunic away, we might not have to think about bed bugs at all... It's a common misconception that bed bugs are attracted to mess. They're just as happy in a clean mattress as a dirty one. However, keeping your bed clean does help you avoid bed bugs. Vacuuming your mattress can remove visible bed bugs as well as other pests and allergens that might be lurking in your bed. A thorough vacuum also presents an opportunity to check for bed bugs. As mentioned, they're exceptionally good at hiding which means you might not be aware of a problem until it's a full blown infestation. So when vacuuming keep an eye out for common signs of bed bugs, such as red or brown stains, eggs or discarded shell cases in the seams. Bed bugs have followed humans as we've spread across the globe — they're one of our most reliable travel companions. If you've been subject to a bed bug outbreak at home, there's a good chance they're an unwelcome souvenir from a trip away. You can avoid bringing bed bugs home with you by being alert, checking new beds for signs of pests and washing your clothing as soon as you get home. Research suggests that the creation of chemical pest control DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) contributed to a massive crash in bed bug population but it quickly bounced back (...yay.) However, there are chemical bed bug killers such as CrossFire that have proved effective at eradicating an outbreak, while diatomaceous earth is commonly used as pest control. Other preventative tools such as bed bug glue traps can help you stop bed bugs as they make their way to your mattress. But for a serious infestation, it might be time to call in the professionals. Otherwise, here's to another 60,000 years hand in hand with bed bugs.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Bed bugs have been bothering humans for 60,000 years
We humans might be the Earth's apex predator, but it's bugs that really rule the world. At least 5 million insect species live on our planet and some of them like to take up residence right alongside us. That includes bed bugs (Cimex lectularius). These pesky bugs have been thriving off of our blood for at least 60,000 years ago and may be considered our first 'pest.' According to a comparison of two recently sequenced whole genomes of two genetically distinct lineages of bed bugs, the human-associated lineage follows a similar movement pattern as our species and might be the first true urban pest. The findings are detailed in a study published May 28 in the journal Biology Letters. The theory goes that about 60,000 years ago, a few intrepid bed bugs hopped off of a bat and clung to a Neanderthal walking out of a cave. The bugs from that lineage decided to see what tasty morsels our bipedal cousins could offer, while the other lineage stuck to bats. The decision to stick around with the hominids proved lucrative. They've been thriving ever since. However, the less adventurous bat-living bed bugs have seen their populations decline since the Last Glacial Maximum–aka ice age–about 20,000 years ago. This new study looked into the long lineage of these distinct bed bug populations. The two lineages have genetic differences, yet not enough to have evolved into two distinct species. Understanding the historical and evolutionary relationship between humans and bed bugs can help inform models that predict the spread of bugs and diseases as urban populations increase. 'We wanted to look at changes in effective population size, which is the number of breeding individuals that are contributing to the next generation, because that can tell you what's been happening in their past,' study co-author and Virginia Tech entomologist Lindsay Miles said in a statement. Tying human expansion around the world to the emergence and evolution of urban pests like bed bugs can also help pinpoint the traits that co-evolved in both species. 'Initially with both populations, we saw a general decline that is consistent with the Last Glacial Maximum; the bat-associated lineage never bounced back, and it is still decreasing in size,' said Miles. 'The really exciting part is that the human-associated lineage did recover and their effective population increased.' One of the instances includes early establishment of large human settlements that expanded into cities such as Mesopotamia roughly 12,000 years ago. 'That makes sense because modern humans moved out of caves about 60,000 years ago,' added study co-author and Virginia Tech entomologist Warren Booth. 'There were bed bugs living in the caves with these humans, and when they moved out they took a subset of the population with them so there's less genetic diversity in that human-associated lineage.' As the human population increased and living in communities and cities expanded, the human-associated lineage of bed bugs experienced an exponential growth in their effective population size. [ Related: What head lice can tell us about human migration. ] With the whole genome data in this study, the researchers now have a foundation for further study of this 245,000 year old lineage split in the bugs. The team is interested in focusing on the evolutionary changes of the human-associated lineage compared with the bat-associated lineage that have taken place more recently. 'What will be interesting is to look at what's happening in the last 100 to 120 years,' said Booth. 'Bed bugs were pretty common in the old world, but once DDT [dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane] was introduced for pest control, populations crashed. They were thought to have been essentially eradicated, but within five years they started reappearing and were resisting the pesticide.' The team has already found a gene mutation that could contribute to that insecticide resistance they found in a separate study published in March that they will continue to examine for more clues. Understanding how that gene works could lead to solutions to handle these notoriously difficult to get rid of bugs.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'It was probably some kind of an ambush': 17,000 years ago, a man died in a projectile weapon attack in what is now Italy
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Around 17,000 years ago, a man fell victim to a bloody ambush in what is now Italy, with an enemy launching sharp, flint-tipped projectiles that left gashes on his thigh and shin bones, a new study finds. Researchers have known about this man, called Tagliente 1, since 1973, when his remains were uncovered during excavations at the Riparo Tagliente rock shelter in northeastern Italy. But the circumstances around his death had been a mystery. Now, a new discovery of cut marks on his leg bones reveals that this hunter-gatherer had a violent death, researchers reported in the study, which was published on April 28 in the journal Scientific Reports. The finding is some of the earliest evidence of "projectile impact marks" in the human paleobiological record, the researchers wrote in the study. When Tagliente 1 was first unearthed, disturbances during the dig led to the recovery of only his lower limbs and fragments of his upper body. But he is known to have lived during the Late Epigravettian period (circa 17,000 to 14,500 years ago), just after the Last Glacial Maximum, the coldest part of the last ice age. To learn more about Tagliente 1, who died between the ages of 22 and 30 according to a 2024 analysis of his leg bones, pelvis and teeth, Vitale Sparacello, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Cagliari in Italy and a co-author of the new study, took a deeper look at the Stone Age man's remains. While analyzing 3D images of Tagliente 1's bones, he noticed three parallel lines on the left femur, or thigh bone. "My mind started running," Sparacello told Live Science. When his colleagues went to the Natural History Museum of Verona to inspect the bones themselves, they found two more marks on the tibia, or shinbone, he said. Related: Stone Age Europeans mastered spear-throwers 10,000 years earlier than we thought, study suggests Traces of Paleolithic violence are rare, the researchers said, making new finds like Tagliente 1's remains valuable for piecing together the histories of past peoples. After discovering five straight cuts on the left femur and tibia, the team used a scanning electron microscope to determine features such as the shape and depth of the grooves, which revealed that one side of each lesion was steeper than the other. Then, the researchers compared Tagliente 1's lesions with those produced during previous experiments with exact replicas of different Late Epigravettian projectile weapons on wild sheep and goat carcasses. In that study, researchers examined the marks on the animal skeletons that were caused by flint-tipped arrows, and how they differed from those produced by carnivores or decay. All analyses pointed toward four of the five lesions on Tagliente 1's bones resulting from flint-tipped projectile weapons that were thrown at high speeds. He was hit from the front and behind, suggesting that there were either multiple assailants or that he was struck while running away, the researchers found. "Well, it could be an accident, but, like, what kind of accident is that?" Sparacello said. "So it was probably some kind of an ambush attack." Tagliente 1's bones showed no sign of healing, which indicates that he died soon after the attack, the researchers noted. The lethal blow may have been where one projectile hit close to the femoral artery. RELATED STORIES —World's oldest known fort was constructed by hunter-gatherers 8,000 years ago in Siberia —Violence in the ancient Middle East spiked with the formation of states and empires, battered skulls reveal —54,000-year-old stone points are oldest evidence of bows and arrows in Europe "It's very, very possible that this was a rapid death, because once your femoral artery is pierced, you have basically a few minutes before it's too late," Sparacello said. It's impossible to know who attacked Tagliente 1, but previous research offers clues. A study published in the journal Nature in 2016 suggested that projectile weapons indicate intergroup conflict rather than other forms of violence, like personal rivalries. And while it's unknown what triggered the attack, the researchers have an idea: They think the violence was sparked because of climate change, with the receding glaciers opening up new territories and prompting competition for resources.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
West Texas road project digs up Ice Age-era sloth tooth, here's what else they found
After a West Texas road project unearthed ancient remains of Ice Age era animals, more details have come to light on what else was found and what will happen next. On May 13, 2025, the Texas Department of Transportation announced the discovery of a tooth belonging to a Giant Ground Sloth in Lubbock. This tooth, along with a mix of other bones, was found during an archeological survey for Loop 88 between Jan. 27, 2025 – Feb. 5, 2025. 'We know we've found Giant Ground Sloth by its distinctive tooth,' said Chris Ringstaff, project planner with TxDOT's environmental affairs division, in a news release. 'We're here to get the road built. But who doesn't love digging up big ol' animals?' The remains are now being preserved and studied by the Museum of Texas Tech, 3301 4th St. The team has already learned that the excavation included more than the sloth tooth. Cool find: Giant Ground Sloth tooth found during Lubbock road project Dr. Eileen Johnson offered further insight into the find, and more details about what was found. Johnson is the museum's curator of anthropology, the director of the Lubbock Lake Landmark and the Texas Tech University chair for the Heritage and Museum Sciences Masters degree. "This is an exceedingly rare discovery for the southern plains and Llano Estacado," Johnson said. "We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it's very exciting, because it is such a rare and important find." The remains are estimated to be between 18,000-36,000 years old, placing it in the Last Glacial Maximum, the later part of the Pleistocene Epoch. This epoch is more commonly known as the Ice Age. "This is a major, major find for this time period, and we're still working with all of the remains," Johnson said. "They're very, very fragile, and it's going to take months and months to work with them, to do the conservation work, to get them stable enough to even handle them before I can begin to to do the work I need to do to determine species." Behind-the-scenes: Museum of Texas Tech gives tour of Paleontology, dinosaurs, Antarctic items Even though it is early in the process, Johnson did confirm other ancient creatures were in the mix. "We have at least another species represented, and possibly two others," Johnson said. "We do have some what are called micro-vertebrates. Tiger salamanders were inhabiting these lakes at this particular time. We have big animals and very tiny animals. It's really a nifty little locality." This article continues after the gallery. These helped paint a picture of what the excavation site would have looked like at this time. Johnson said it would have been the edge of a small lake with woody vegetation. "We do know that hackberry is a native tree, it goes back about five million years in the region, so the vegetation is probably associated with that, or something of that sort," Johnson said. Samples of the materials have been sent to be tested for age, sediments and other data. It will be months, possibly at least a year before a report with the findings could be published, Johnson said. For science: Here's what to know about Natural Sciences Research Laboratory at Texas Tech "It takes time, but it's going to be well worth it," Johnson said. "We don't know the species, we don't know the animals, there's still a lot of additional discoveries. You've got the first chapter. We're just beginning that story." TxDOT and the museum are working on a transfer of ownership, so the excavated materials will eventually belong to the museum. This isn't the first discovery of an ancient animal in West Texas this year. In March, a mammoth tusk was found on a ranch in far West Texas and is in the care of Sul Ross State University. 'We live in an amazing region that has great discoveries found all the time,' Pan said. 'It's not unusual, but it is always fantastic.' Alana Edgin writes about business, and occasionally historic discoveries, for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Got a news tip? Contact her via email at aedgin@ This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: West Texas roadwork finds Ice Age sloth, what happens next
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Humans reached southern South America by 14,500 years ago, genomes from 139 Indigenous groups reveal
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. During the last ice age, humans crossing from Asia along the Bering Land Bridge underwent three major population splits as they traveled through the Americas, a new genetic analysis reveals. This journey, which the team identified as the "longest human migration out of Africa," led to a group that settled in Patagonia 14,500 years ago. In a study published Thursday (May 15) in the journal Science, an international team of scientists detailed their analysis of 1,537 genomes of people from 139 different ethnic groups to identify genetic characteristics of the earliest Americans. "Many Indigenous populations are small and genetically unique," study co-author Hie Lim Kim, a population genomics professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told Live Science by email. "One of the main findings of our study is their extremely low genetic diversity." By analyzing genetic material collected by the GenomeAsia 100K consortium, which includes data from Asian populations whose ancestors made early migrations into the Americas, Kim and her team were able to identify the genetic background of Indigenous people throughout the Americas and pinpoint three key time periods when they split up. The first population split occurred between 26,800 and 19,300 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum, the researchers wrote in the study, as Indigenous Americans split from North Eurasian people. These dates are consistent with Native American presence at White Sands in New Mexico in the form of ancient footprints and vehicle drag marks dated to 23,000 to 21,000 years ago. Related: Ancient Indigenous lineage of Blackfoot Confederacy goes back 18,000 years to last ice age, DNA reveals According to the study, the next major population split happened between 17,500 and 14,600 years ago, when the Indigenous population in North America split, and some people made their way south. This Mesoamerican group then split rapidly into four native genetic lineages around 13,900 years ago, the researchers wrote: Chaco Amerindians or ancestral Pueblo peoples in the southwest U.S. and Amazonians, Andeans and Patagonians in South America. "Our estimation actually fits well with the archaeological records" of people in Patagonia, Kim said, which place people living in the furthest southern reaches of the continent by about 14,500 years ago. "It takes some time to accumulate genetic differences between the populations after they have settled in different regions in South America," Kim explained. But as people made their way into the new continent tens of thousands of years ago, they experienced a reduction in their genetic diversity — due first to geographic barriers, and later to populations being decimated after the arrival of European colonists. One key loss, the research team discovered, was in the variation in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. A high diversity of HLA genes in a population is important for immune system health. Previous studies found that, in regions such as Southeast Asia with a high number of disease-causing organisms, there was a higher diversity of HLA genes. But in the Indigenous South American genomes, the team found that there was significantly lower diversity in the HLA genes, which may have led to these people being more vulnerable to novel pathogens, Kim said. RELATED STORIES —Bear hair and fish weirs: Meet the Indigenous people combining modern science with ancestral principles to protect the land —11,000-year-old settlement in Canada could rewrite history of Indigenous civilizations in North America —'Groundbreaking' ancient DNA research confirms Pueblo peoples' ties to famous Chaco Canyon site The researchers wrote in the study that one of their aims is to emphasize the special medical needs of contemporary Indigenous peoples, as some have gene variants associated with problems like adverse drug reactions. "Most existing medicines were developed based on studies of European populations, often excluding Indigenous populations," Kim said. "It is critical to provide tailored healthcare and disease prevention strategies that consider their specific genetic profiles."
