Ripped from the Headlines: April 2025: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 6–April 12, 2025

A new study claims that there are hints of early language in bonobo calls. Many primatologists are excited about the finding, which suggests that the small African ape can string sounds together in various ways to communicate different things. Others are skeptical that the vocalizations of these chimpanzee relatives reveal anything new about how human language evolved. Researchers collected and analyzed hundreds of hours of bonobo recordings before reaching their conclusion.

Millions of people participated in demonstrations in all 50 states and internationally, rallying in opposition to President Donald Trump's administration and its policies. More than 1,400 "Hands Off" protests were organized in cities and towns around the country. Demonstrators carried messages ranging from calls to protect civil liberties to safeguarding social programs.

Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company, says it has brought back the dire wolf — extinct for 10,000 years — by recreating its genome. Using a process called "de-extinction," scientists combined DNA from dire wolf fossils and gray wolves, then used domestic dogs as surrogate mothers to birth three puppies: Remus, Romulus, and Khaleesi. Genome was coined in 1920 from gene and chromosome.

An American tourist was arrested for trying to make contact with an isolated indigenous tribe on an island in India. Mykhailo Polyakov landed via inflatable boat on North Sentinel, a remote island in the Indian Ocean. He hoped to film the native inhabitants, who reject interacting with outsiders and have reacted violently in the past to intrusions onto their island. Polyakov did not meet any Sentinelese, but he was charged with violating a law protecting indigenous tribes.

New rules banning wigs shook up Ivory Coast's wildly popular beauty pageants this week. In past years, contestants in the elaborate shows have spent huge amounts of money on long, flowing hairpieces. The new standards are meant to celebrate natural African beauty rather than embracing Western styles. The contests will continue to feature processions of women vying for the top spot, but contestants' hair will no longer be covered by artificial locks when they're judged on their loveliness.

After recent wildfires in Southern California, some experts say it's time to get rid of the iconic palm trees in Los Angeles. The giant trees, with their hand-like splays of fronds, are strongly associated with the city's skyline, but they're also blamed for fueling destructive fires. Most palms are not native to California, and they provide little shade. They also make it hard for firefighters to extinguish blazes, as their tall trunks provide "ladders" for fire to climb.

The White House imposed new tariffs on Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, which are populated by many penguins and seals, but not by people. Australian authorities mocked the move as "an obvious mistake," but the White House defended it as a "protection against loopholes." The remote, volcanic islands, which are Australian territories, are basically untouched by humans, providing an ecosystem that's home to hundreds of thousands of the distinctive black-and-white, flightless birds.

As honeybees experience massive die-offs, many farmers are now using mason bees to pollinate their crops. Although honeybees are the most commonly used agricultural pollinators, their fertilization of plants is much less efficient than that of mason bees. A honeybee carries most of the pollen it collects back to the hive, but a mason bee has no hive. It flops onto a flower, sending pollen flying so that the dusty, yellow spores cover the bee's body before it moves on to the next blossom.

New research offers a glimpse into what extinct giant sloths may have looked like, including just how furry they were. These ancient, slow-moving mammals dwarfed their modern, cat-sized relatives — some were as large as elephants! Analysis shows that most giant sloths were likely covered in a thick pelt of dense fur to protect them from extreme temperatures. The sloth got its name from its slowness, which was perceived as laziness but is actually a vital survival adaptation.

After dozens of gopher tortoises, which don't swim, were found on a remote stretch of Florida coastline, park rangers realized they must have been swept miles across the sea during Hurricane Helene last summer. The hard-shelled reptiles usually live in dry forests and dunes, and they've very rarely been seen in the 1,100-acre coastal park. Scientists still aren't sure if the tortoises floated on the waves or clung to debris that was carried ashore during the storm.