Curly hair may have been absolutely critical to humans evolving millions of years ago, scientists have discovered. In fact, having curly hair could have been the key reason as to why humans developed, grew taller and came to have larger brains. It’s all to do with regulating body temperature, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State University. Given that hair can help to protect the head from the sun’s rays, it’s thought that thicker, curlier hair types could have been key to human life progressing in Equatorial Africa. Scientists recreated the kinds of conditions that early humans would have experienced, using wigs featuring different hair types on models. They found that curls were most effective in keeping the models cool in an environment measuring 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) and 60 per cent humidity. Tina Lasisi is the study's lead author. She spoke to Newsweek about the findings and said: "We hypothesized that tightly curled scalp hair would provide some benefits, but the extent of these benefits was uncertain. "Previous studies on mammalian coats have shown that hair can limit the amount of sunlight reaching the skin, but we were particularly surprised by the significant reduction in solar heat radiation impact provided by tightly coiled hair.” The reduction in heat caused by tight curls could have led to the development of larger brains. "Once humans developed large brains, they could employ other behavioral and social strategies to cope with heat, potentially diminishing the relative advantage of curly hair," she said. "This could have led to a diverse distribution of hair textures worldwide. Furthermore, since straight hair better retains heat, populations in colder environments may have experienced selective pressure for straight hair." She added: "Future research should aim to answer these questions by incorporating our data into mathematical models of human physiology or conducting experiments with human subjects who have different hair textures to examine the impact on their thermal regulation.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

Apple is planning to stop selling some of its leather products, and offer alternatives instead, according to multiple reports. In recent weeks, numerous reports have suggested that Apple is planning on swapping its leather cases for new woven materials, with the upcoming release of the iPhone 15. Various leaks from within the supply chain have suggested that it has developed a new material that will take its place. Now one of those examples appears to have leaked on Twitter. It is impossible to know whether the case is a legitimate Apple one – and, even it is, whether it will go on sale – but it appears to show one of the cases with an iPhone inside. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who has a strong track record of leaks from within Apple, appeared to suggest the case was legitimate. On Twitter, he said it was a “sample/replica of the new leather-free iPhone 15 case”. He then went on to suggest that Apple would also start “moving away from leather on its Apple Watch bands as well”. Apple offers a range of different leather Watch bands. It says they are made from “Roux Granada leather made in France”. It also sells leather straps as part of a collaboration with Hermès that has been ongoing for years. Mr Gurman initially suggested that partnership would be likely to continue, even if Apple stopped selling bands of its own – but then he suggested that could come to an end, too. Apple employees have been offered steep discounts on the Hermès accessories, he said, with staff being offered up to 90 per cent off. That suggests the company could be getting rid of stock it intends to stop selling, and so the Hermès leather Watch straps could come to an end too. Apple will hold a live streamed event on September 12, where it is expected to unveil a new line-up of four versions of the iPhone 15, updated Apple Watches, and more. It also usually refreshes its accessories line, adding new colours to both the iPhone cases and Watch straps, even when it does not make significant changes like the introduction or removal of certain materials. Read More Apple is about to make a huge change to the iPhone that it never wanted to do Here’s when you will actually be able to get the new iPhone Apple is about to reveal the new iPhone – and a lot more

Elon Musk has threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for billions of dollars after quixotically blaming the Jewish rights organisation for spreading antisemitism on his social media platform X. The self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist”, who has amplified and reinstated neo-Nazi and far-right accounts since acquiring X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44bn last year blamed the ADL for “destroying” $22bn in the company’s value in a series of posts on Monday. “Since the acquisition, The ADL has been trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic,” Mr Musk wrote. He claimed that the site’s United States advertising revenue was down 60 per cent “primarily due to pressure on advertisers by ADL”. “If this continues, we will have no choice but to file a defamation suit against, ironically, the ‘Anti-Defamation’ League.” An ADL spokesperson told The Independent in a statement that it did not comment on legal threats, but added that Mr Musk was helping to boost a coordinated “Ban the ADL” campaign being waged by self-declared antisemites. “ADL is unsurprised yet undeterred that antisemites, white supremacists, conspiracy theorists and other trolls have launched a coordinated attack on our organisation. This type of thing is nothing new,” the ADL spokesperson said. “Such insidious efforts don’t daunt us. Instead, they drive us to be unflinching in our commitment to fight hate in all its forms and ensure the safety of Jewish communities and other marginalised groups.” Mr Musk’s threats to sue the ADL, a century-old NGO that describes itself as the “leading anti-hate organisation in the world”, were met with anger and disbelief from some commentators on X. “In his pursuit of some kind of utopian free speech universe, Elon Musk has turned Twitter / X into a free-for-all for Neo Nazis and White Extremists to unleash a torrent of unprecedented antisemitism and Jew hatred,” wrote Israeli human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky. NYU professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat posted: “So it's the Jews manipulating others. Elon Musk that is so original!” Since Mr Musk’s takeover, advertisers have fled the platform or reduced their ad spend as hateful content was allowed to spread unchecked. Mr Musk, the world’s richest person with an estimated net wealth of $248bn, fired an estimated 80 per cent of its workforce, including most of its content moderators, and reinstated previously banned accounts. X’s US advertising revenue over a five-week period from April to May this year came to $88m, a 59 percent decrease from one year ago, according to the New York Times. In August, X filed a lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) after it published a report showing that moderators had failed to take action on 99 out of 100 examples of harmful content by verified “blue check” users that the organisation had flagged. “Musk is trying to ‘shoot the messenger’ who highlights the toxic content on his platform rather than deal with the toxic environment he’s created,” CEO Imran Ahmed said in a statement. “CCDH has no intention of stopping our independent research – Musk will not bully us into silence.” The Independent attempted to reach Mr Musk through X, Tesla and via a personal email address but did not hear back. Read More Elon Musk calls Burning Man ‘best art on Earth’ amid chaos that saw thousands stranded and one dead Elon Musk promotes transphobic content as hate speech surges on his far-right platform X threatens to sue researchers who accused Twitter of allowing ‘hate to prosper’ on platform

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