Mathematicians Reveal Why Humans Keep Becoming Cannibals

Researchers from Poland and Czechia modeled the costs and benefits of cannibalism and found it can help only in rare, extreme conditions.

As infection and disease risks accumulate over time, cannibalism collapses as a long-term survival strategy.

The study helps explain why taboos against cannibalism are so widespread: the practice is often self-defeating.

Cases such as kuru among the Fore people in Papua New Guinea highlight the deadly role of prion disease transmission.