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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0324911.].

Beginning with the Early Aurignacian, Homo sapiens demonstrated an enhanced symbolic capacity, expanding artistic expressions from body decoration to portable art and aesthetically refined tools. These artistic endeavors, often intertwined with utilitarian purposes, have sparked debates regarding their symbolic versus functional roles. Among these remarkable artifacts is a complete mammoth tusk boomerang from Layer VIII of Obłazowa Cave, Poland, found in association with a human phalanx. Determining its precise chronology and cultural context is critical for understanding the emergence and variability of symbolic behaviors among early Homo sapiens groups in Europe. This study refines the chronology of the Early Upper Paleolithic occupation of Layer VIII at Obłazowa Cave through radiocarbon dating of several bones and the human fossil found near the ivory boomerang. Bayesian modeling places the site’s main occupation phase between 42,810−38,550 cal BP (95,4% probability). The mammoth-ivory boomerang, calibrated to 42,290−39,280 cal BP with a 95.4% probability, emerges as one of Europe’s oldest known examples of this complex tool, exemplifying technological and symbolic innovation at Obłazowa Cave. This multi-disciplinary research underscores the importance of integrating advanced methodologies to explore cultural practices during the Upper Paleolithic. The findings not only deepen our understanding of Homo sapiens ’ adaptive strategies but also highlight the nuanced interplay of technology, symbolism, and environmental interaction during the earliest phases of human dispersals in Central Europe.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membranous nanoparticles released by cells as vital mediators of intercellular communication. As such, EVs have become an attractive target for pathogens and cancer cells, which can take control over their cargo composition, as well as their trafficking, shaping the pathogenesis. Despite almost four decades of research on EVs, the number of specific and efficient EV labeling methods is limited, and there is still no universal method for the visualization of their transport in living cells. Lipophilic dyes that non-specifically intercalate into the EVs membranes may diffuse to other membranes, leading to the misinterpretation of the results. Here, we propose a palmitoylated fluorescent mNeonGreen (palmNG) protein as an alternative to chemical dyes for EVs visualization. The Branchiostoma lanceolatum-derived mNeonGreen is a brighter, more stable, and less sensitive to laser-induced bleaching alternative to green fluorescent protein (GFP), which makes it a more potent tag in a variety of fluorescence-based techniques. A palmNG-expressing stable human melanoma cell line was generated using retrovirus gene transfer and cell sorting. This protein partially localizes to cellular membranes, and can be detected inside size-exclusion (SEC)-purified EVs. With the use of flow cytometry and fluorescent confocal microscopy, we performed qualitative and quantitative analyses of palmNG-EVs uptake in recipient human hepatoma cells, in comparison to PKH67-labeled vesicles. Our findings confirm that membrane-embedded mNeonGreen can be successfully applied as a tool in EVs transfer and uptake studies.