Fire was an essential part of the survival of the ice age individuals for daily household chores such as cooking, heating, making tools or as a source of light. However, it is baffling that there is no evidence found of the well-preserved fireplaces from the coldest places of the ice age in Europe. A study led by researchers published in the journal Geoarchaeology revealed how upper palaeolithic individuals managed fireplaces during the Last Glacial Maximum, dating back between 26,500 to 19,000 years ago. A press release from the University of Vienna dated April 14, 2025, highlighted the findings of sophisticated fire building techniques.

Ice Age Fire-Making Techniques Revealed

The study was conducted by a group of scientists led by archaeologist Philip R. Nigst at the University of Algarve and the University of Vienna to shed some light on the ice age fire mystery. The three hearths analysis at a prehistoric site at the shore of the Dnister River in Ukraine revealed that people of the last Ice Age made different types of hearths and used wood along with bones and fat, not just to light fires but also to enhance the sustaining fires in the freezing conditions. Charcoal analysis suggested that these were spruce wood.

The observations signal that they were not confined to a single method of fire building but created various hearths. These findings were published on April 1 in the journal Geoarchaeology. After conducting micro-stratigraphic analysis, colourimetric and micromorphology analysis, the scientists discovered three flat, wood-fired hearths. An interesting fact analysed that one of the fires reached over 650 degrees Celsius. As per the team, this proves that whoever created this hearth had mastery of pyrotechnics despite the harsh milieu they inhabited.

However, it was said by one of the scientists, Marjolein D. Bosch, a zooarchaeologist, said that we further need to study whether the animal bones burnt at 650 degree celsius were actually burnt as fuel or it was just an accident. The fireplaces were quite organised and sophisticated, as if these have been constructed based on the season. The large and thick appearance of one fireplace suggests the tolerance of high temperatures. Night said that these fireplaces were used by hunter-gatherers and different times of the year.

Future Scope of Discussions

The question arises why this scant evidence of fireplaces still exists, dating back to the ice age.
Murphee asks that most of the evidence be destroyed by freezing and thawing of the soil. Further added by Nigst that they may have found it difficult to manage the fuel at the last glacial maximum. This may also signal the use of other technological solutions instead of fire. The team hopes to understand more about the role fire plays in human evolution and how it aided our species to become dominant.

A recent study indicates that water on the lunar surface may come from the solar wind. Water—of most importance as rocket fuel—is present in lunar surface dust, or regolith, produced by meteoroids and charged particles impacting lunar rock. The researchers discovered that several of this graph had evidence of dampness, with between 200 and 300 parts per million of water and the molecule hydroxyl. The water and hydroxyl in the lunar graph were both low in deuterium, suggesting their hydrogen came from the sun, likely delivered to the moon by solar winds.

When the hydrogen particles interact with oxygen present in lunar surface rocks, water molecules arise. The results suggest that other airless bodies in the solar system may also have water on their surfaces, therefore highlighting the possibility of finding such water on the surface of other such objects.

NASA Confirms Solar Wind May Create Water on the Moon’s Surface

As per the report, it is claimed that scientists have hypothesised—since the 1960s—that the Sun is the source of elements generating water on the Moon. The idea is that water molecules would be produced by a chemical reaction set off by a stream of charged particles—the solar wind— slamming onto the lunar surface. NASA-led researchers have confirmed this prediction in the most realistic lab simulation of this process yet.

Given much of the water on the Moon is believed to be frozen in continuously shadowed areas at the poles, the result affects NASA’s Artemis astronaut activities near the South Pole.

Solar Wind Can Create Water on the Moon, NASA Lab Test Confirms

Constantly flowing from the sun, solar wind is mostly composed of protons—nuclei of hydrogen atoms deprived of their electrons. Our planet’s magnetic shield and atmosphere help most of the solar particles to avoid reaching the surface of Earth. But the Moon has no such protection. As computer models and lab experiments have shown, when protons smash into the Moon’s surface, which is made of a dusty and rocky material called regolith, they collide with electrons and recombine to form hydrogen atoms.

Scientists have discovered proof of both hydroxyl and water molecules beneath the moon’s surface. These molecules leave a chemical imprint that interacts with light on the regolith. Generally speaking, “water” refers to either one or a mix of both molecules since hydroxyl and water cannot be differentiated right now.

NASA astronaut Yeo and colleagues examined Apollo lunar samples using a customised tool employing two samples worth of dust. Their little particle accelerator battered the dust to create a copy of solar wind spanning many days.

A new study has found that the private trade in Tyrannosaurus rex fossils is hampering researchers’ understanding of the iconic Cretaceous predator. Thomas Carr, an associate professor of biology at Carthage College, found that there are now more scientifically valuable T. rex specimens in private or commercial ownership than in public museums and other public trusts. The private market is likely to be an underestimate, as commercial companies are discovering twice as many T. rex fossils as museums.

Private Fossil Trade Threatens T. rex Research Progress

Carr concentrated on “scientifically informative” specimens—heads, skeletons, and isolated bones—to understand exactly how the private market sets the limitations for researchers able to obtain T. rex fossils. The most valued dinosaur sold in 2024 was a Stegosaurus, which sold for $44.6 million ; Carr wants to bring attention to his work so that other researchers may investigate how the commercial market is influencing other extinct species, including the T. rex.

As per the study, it is claimed that the private trade in Tyrannosaurus rex fossils is compromising knowledge of the famous Cretaceous predator. Director of the Carthage Institute of Palaeontology in Wisconsin and associate professor of biology at Carthage College, Thomas Carr, discovered that private or commercial ownership of T. rex specimens currently numbers more than those in public museums and other public trusts. The loss of juvenile and subadult specimens is especially worrisome, as the early growth stages of T. rex are bedevilled by a poor fossil record, and the loss of them carries the heaviest scientific cost.

Study Reveals T. rex Fossils Vanishing into Private Hands

Carr published his findings, titled “Tyrannosaurus rex: An endangered species,” in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica. He targeted “scientifically informative” specimens, such as skulls, skeletons, and isolated bones, to better understand the private market’s impact on the number of T. rex fossils available to researchers. He found 61 specimens in public trusts overall and 71 specimens—including 14 juveniles—in private ownership.

Driven by the luxury fossil market spanning all types of dinosaurs, private sales of dinosaurs outside of T. rex, as he has done with the T. rex, and the most expensive auction ever for a stegosaurus for $44.6 million in 2024, Carr believes his effort will motivate other academics to investigate how the commercial market is impacting other ancient animals.