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Scientists map 17,000-year-old woolly mammoth’s path using its tusk

One ancient male mammoth was quite the vagabond.

We might think of woolly mammoths as giant, lumbering beasts from a disappeared era, but a new study suggests their massive size didn’t stop them from tallying major miles in the frigid north thousands of years ago.

«It’s not clear cut if it was a seasonal migrator, but it coveredsome serious ground,» explains University of Alaska Fairbanks researcherMatthew Wooller, in a statement. «It visitedmany parts of Alaska at some point during its lifetime, which is prettyamazing when you think about how big that area is.»

Wooller led a team using chemical isotope data to map the life journey of a single mammoth that lived over 17,000 years ago. A paper on the findings is the cover story in this week’s issue of the journal Science.

The group of international researchers analyzed isotopic signatures in the male mammoth’s tusk from the elements strontium and oxygen, then cross-referenced that data with maps of isotope variation across Alaska created from analyzing the teeth of small rodents from around the state.

«From the moment they’re born until the day they die, they’ve got adiary and it’s written in their tusks,» said Pat Druckenmiller, apaleontologist and director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North. «MotherNature doesn’t usually offer up such convenient and life-long records ofan individual’s life.»

The ancient dental records show the big old boy lived to be 28 years old and in that time it covered enough of the Alaskan tundra, taiga and mountains to nearly circle the world twice.

This woolly one didn’t exactly have an easy journey, though. The analysis showed an abrupt shift around age 15 that likely means the mammoth was ostracized from its herd, which often happens with contemporary elephants. Later, a spike in nitrogen isotopes during the last winter of the animal’s life suggest it may have starved to death where its remains were eventually recovered above the Brooks Range.

That fate was a sad harbinger for the entire species. The individual mammoth was related to the last group that roamed mainland Alaska, likely outlasted by only a few small groups on northern islands.

The research also has a darkly relevant feel today for extant species in the north like polar bear that are seeing their traditional range dwindle as the Arctic takes on the brunt of global warming.

«The Arctic is seeing a lot of changes now, and we can use the pastto see how the future may play out for species today and in the future,»Wooller said. «Trying to solve this detective story is an example ofhow our planet and ecosystems react in the face of environmentalchange.»

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The Switch 2 Is Here, and I’ve Scoured the Internet for Every Accessory Available Right Now

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T-Mobile’s Free Premium iPhone 16 Pro Deal Explained. Learn Exactly How It Works

Along with a free iPhone, you can get an extra $800 to pay off your old device.

If you’re starting a new cell phone plan, most major mobile carriers require a multiyear commitment so it’s a big decision you need to consider carefully. First, think about the plan and provider itself: What’s the best coverage in your area and how many lines do you want to add? Next, compare the best mobile phone plan deals to save yourself the most money

T-Mobile has some fantastic deals right now you can take advantage of that make it a pretty competitive pick — especially for Apple fans looking to upgrade.

T-Mobile’s incentives include free lines and streaming services but one huge highlight is the chance to snag the top-rated iPhone 16 Pro free. The language on some of these offers can be a little confusing so we’ve broken down how T-Mobile’s current deals work below. Note that there aren’t any set expirations for these offers so they could vanish at any moment. We wouldn’t wait too long if you’re hoping to take advantage of these savings.

Why these deals matter

You more or less need a phone with reliable coverage these days but costs can add up quickly. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your mobile device or shopping for the best family plans, these T-Mobile deals can help save you some serious cash each month.

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iPhone WWDC Wishes: What We Want to See Apple Include in iOS 19

Whether Apple calls it iOS 19 or iOS 26, these are some of the things we hope the tech giant brings to the iPhone next.

Apple is set to hold its Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, when the tech giant will show the world what it’s been cooking up during the past year for iOS 19 — or iOS 26 — the software that runs the iPhone. Until then, CNET’s experts have their own ideas about what Apple should bring to the iPhone.

While iOS 18 brought some useful new features to all iPhones, like RCS messaging, and Apple Intelligence to newer iPhones, we’re still taking bets on what Apple will include in iOS 19. Reports suggest Apple is planning a significant redesign of the iPhone OS, changing everything from icons, apps, menus and more. But CNET’s writers and editors have a few ideas we’d like to see in the upcoming OS. Some things we’ve asked for in the past, like customizable lock screen controls, have come to fruition, so maybe we’ll hit the mark again this year.

Here are some of the features and changes we hope Apple includes in the upcoming iOS software. 

Bring split screen to the iPhone

Add a native split screen. It’s been available on Android phones and the iPad for years. But on iOS I still have to run my calculator and budget tracking note in two separate windows. 

— Mike Sorrentino

Start a workout right from my iPhone

I’d like the ability to start an outdoor workout from the Fitness app on my iPhone (like I can do in Strava or Polar). That way if I forget to wear my Apple Watch or I don’t have one, I can still record my workout. The Apple Watch uses heart rate data to calculate move minutes but I don’t see why the iPhone can’t give me credit for an actual workout using other indicators like distance/pace on a run. 

— Vanessa Hand Orellana

No more green bubbles, please

I’m overjoyed Apple added RCS messaging with iOS 18, but I’m going to dream big here: I’d love it if texts with Android users weren’t still green! While it’s great to be able to finally send high-resolution media and see typing indicators with folks who aren’t also using iMessage, it’s still far too easy for iPhone users to scoff at anyone turning their text thread green. End the pettiness once and for all!

— Abrar Al-Heeti

An easier way to manage unused apps

I have more apps on my iPhone than I’ll ever use, after years of installing things to try out and then forgetting about them. Shunting everything into the App Library helps get it out of mind, but that’s the app version of keeping a box of cables you think you might need some day. So I’d like a way to clean up apps, similar to how you can identify large apps in Settings > General > Storage. Let me see when I installed them, the last time I used them and be able to delete the ones I no longer want. I know this sounds fiddly but the thought of going through them all manually is exhausting, so that will never happen.

— Jeff Carlson

Searchable clipboard manager for all your copy and paste needs

I want a clipboard manager in iOS 19. The iPhone has a single copy and paste option, meaning if you copy something, and then copy something else, that first thing you copied is lost. For iOS 19, I’d love to see a searchable clipboard manager, one that has a history of all the things I’ve copied in the last hour, day, week or even month. And if I paste something, I’d like to see multiple options that I can choose from appear right at my fingertip.

— Nelson Aguilar

More customization options for all screens

I want more lock screen, home screen and Control Center customization options, please. I’d like to place my lock screen controls elsewhere on the screen so I don’t accidentally open any control — including, yes, my flashlight. Same thing with the home screen. I appreciate being able to place apps anywhere as long as they are within Apple’s oppressive grid that locks our apps into little boxes. If you have large icons — like I do — there’s an entire empty row at the bottom where it looks like apps or folders can go there but they can’t. Let us breathe the air of freedom, Apple! Please, for the love of everything good, let me move the scroll bar on the right side of the Control Center. I keep hitting it when I open the Control Center and it takes me to a page I don’t intend to be on, which makes it frustrating to use. 

— Zach McAuliffe

Long press, double click and more action button triggers

Now that the Action button is on more iPhones, please add support for triggering different shortcuts with multiple presses. In its current setup, I can set the Action button to trigger one action at a time. By default it can toggle between turning on the ringer and putting your iPhone into silent mode. But there are a number of other options for it like being able to open the Camera app and take a photo or make an elaborate automation in the Shortcuts app like to use it to order coffee from Dunkin’.

But the Action button could do so much more if Apple would add support for multiple input clicks. Like it could be a toggle for ringer/silent mode with a single long press, but do something else (like turn on/off the flashlight) with a double-long press. I think this would add so much functionality to the button and as a result open it up to even more people taking more advantage of it.

— Patrick Holland

Better Log video editing tools

I want iOS 19 to add better editing tools for Log video. The ability to shoot Log footage directly on the iPhone is amazing for enthusiastic filmmakers like me but it can only be edited by transferring it off of your phone to an iPad or MacBook. I’d love to see Apple bring deeper editing tools to be able to add cinematic color grades to your Log footage directly on your iPhone. 

— Andrew Lanxon

Intelligently organize photos by event in the Photos app

Okay, we’re all glad that in iOS 18 Apple improved the Photos search by adding AI image recognition to actually bring up all the images of your cats. It slightly makes up for the questionable revamped layout of photos and albums that confuses me to this day. I’d love it if in iOS 19, the Photos app had a new way to view photos: in a timeline intelligently organized by event. Say you go to the park for a birthday and have a bunch of photos clearly from the same occasion — the app prompts you to confirm they’re all connected, asks for a title and, boom, event logged. Then I could look at a vertical timeline of logged events from the past few months or years, all of which can be searched if I can’t quite remember, say, when I last went to the park. Yes, I can do this manually by making albums, but it’s the kind of fastidious labor I just can’t bring myself to keep up with. That’s what I want AI to do for me. 

— David Lumb

Simple volume controls across the iPhone

Sometimes it’s the small changes that can help make for a smoother experience. I want to see Apple clean up volume controls. If I set the volume to a certain level, I want it to stay at that level for all applications. Sometimes the settings can vary depending on what you’re doing. Too often I come across the problem of lowering my volume to prepare to listen to something — but surprise! — the volume is loud again because I put in headphones and it keeps the louder setting I used the last time I listened to music in my headphones. It just leads to unnecessary frustrations, and makes users feel like they don’t really have control of their devices.

— Bridget Carey

For more on Apple, here’s what to expect from WWDC 2025 and our thoughts on the iPhone 16 Pro and iOS 18 months after their launch. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet.

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