discoveries

Read the latest news stories about recent scientific discoveries on Newser.com

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Closer Look at Bird Feeders Shows 'Evolution in Action'

Study links feeder use to migration north, beak shape and size changes in Anna's hummingbirds

(Newser) - A new study finds that human-provided hummingbird feeders aren't just helping hummingbirds survive—they're changing the physical traits of the birds themselves. Researchers focused on a species called Anna's hummingbirds, also finding that the feeders have helped the birds expand northward, from California to British Columbia,...

Scientists May Have Found a New Way to Halt Malaria

Bed nets coated with drugs that 'cure' mosquitoes may help stop disease in its tracks

(Newser) - What if, instead of killing mosquitoes to stop malaria, we simply cured them? Harvard scientists believe giving mosquitoes anti-malarial drugs could turn these notorious disease-carriers into harmless biters. Malaria, a parasitic disease spread by female mosquitoes, causes nearly 600,000 deaths annually, most of them children, and traditional prevention...

Scientists Decode Mystery of Orange Cats
Scientists
Decode
Mystery of
Orange Cats
in case you missed it
May 18, 2025 11:00 AM CDT

Scientists Decode Mystery of Orange Cats

The felines are missing a particular section of genetic code that affects coloring

(Newser) - Scientists have unraveled why orange cats are orange—it turns out they're mutants, reports Scientific American . More specifically, they have a particular genetic mutation that has been identified for the first time. As the BBC explains, orange felines have a section of code missing within a gene known as...

8-Year-Old Finds a Shipwreck
8-Year-Old
Finds a
Shipwreck
May 16, 2025 6:07 AM CDT

8-Year-Old Finds a Shipwreck

Scientists say boy may have discovered St. Anthony, schooner that sank in Lake Huron in 1856

(Newser) - A metal detector turned out to be quite the birthday gift for a Canadian 8-year-old—he seems to have found a nearly two-century-old shipwreck. Back in 2023, Lucas Atchison was testing out his new acquisition at Point Farms Provincial Park, along the shores of Lake Huron in Ontario, when he...

Harvard's $28 Magna Carta Turns Out to Be a Treasure

Worth millions, it's one of 7 known copies issued by Britain's King Edward I in 1300

(Newser) - Harvard thought it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta—until two historians discovered it's actually a rare, centuries-old version, possibly worth millions. Now, the university is rethinking its place in the story of one of history's most influential documents, per the AP . The Magna Carta,...

Fossil Footprints Are Rewriting History of Evolution

Reptile footprints are more than 30M years older than previous earliest find

(Newser) - Scientists in Australia have identified the oldest known fossil footprints of a reptile-like animal, dated to around 350 million years ago, around 100 million years before the earliest dinosaurs. The discovery suggests that after the first animals emerged from the ocean around 400 million years ago, they evolved the ability...

Men Face Higher Risk of Death From 'Broken Heart Syndrome'

Women are more likely to be diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, however

(Newser) - A new study highlights that men hospitalized with "broken heart syndrome"—aka takotsubo cardiomyopathy —die at more than twice the rate of women, despite women being more frequently diagnosed with the condition. Using data from almost 200,000 US patients between 2016 and 2020, researchers found...

In Argentine Court's Basement, a Trove of Nazi Material

Membership booklets, photos sent from Japan in 1941 rediscovered at nation's highest court

(Newser) - Crates of documents related to Nazi Germany have been found in the basement of Argentina's highest court—a "startling discovery" linked to "the country's efforts to discourage the spread of Nazi ideology," according to the New York Times . Court officials say the documents were sent...

Vandal Filmed Defacing World Heritage Site

Man spray-painted crude image on wall at Peru's historic Chan Chan

(Newser) - Authorities in Peru are searching for a man caught on camera spray-painting a crude image on a wall at Chan Chan, a centuries-old archaeological site and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The act of vandalism occurred on one of Chan Chan's original walls, with video footage of the incident...

We Might've Underestimated Neanderthal Toolmaking
We Might've Underestimated
Neanderthal Toolmaking
NEW STUDY
May 12, 2025 8:32 AM CDT

We Might've Underestimated Neanderthal Toolmaking

New analysis suggests 'sophisticated' spears were wielded by Neanderthals, not their ancestors

(Newser) - A set of wooden spears long thought to be among the world's oldest hunting weapons may actually be a bit younger than scientists previously believed, and possibly the work of Neanderthals rather than their ancestors. The spears, made from spruce and pine, were unearthed in a German coal...

Eggs Less Likely to Crack When Dropped on Their Side
Egg-Cracking Study Upends
Conventional Wisdom
new study
May 9, 2025 4:45 PM CDT

Egg-Cracking Study Upends Conventional Wisdom

Those dropped on their sides cracked less often than those dropped on their ends

(Newser) - Eggs are less likely to crack when they fall on their side, according to experiments with over 200 eggs. What does this mean for the best way to crack an egg for breakfast? Not much, since a break around the middle is the best way to get the golden yolk...

Chimps Drum With Distinct Rhythms to Communicate
Who's Got Rhythm?
The Chimps
NEW STUDY
May 9, 2025 2:08 PM CDT

Who's Got Rhythm? The Chimps

Researchers find each chimp has a unique drumming style they use to communicate

(Newser) - Chimps and humans appear to share a common trait—the ability to drum. Researchers analyzed 371 instances of chimpanzees hitting tree trunks and found the primates keep a regular rhythm, suggesting a musical ability that predates humans, reports the AP . "Our ability to produce rhythm, and to use...

99.999% of the Deep Sea Remains Unexplored
99.999% of the Deep Sea
Remains Unexplored
NEW STUDY
May 8, 2025 10:25 AM CDT

99.999% of the Deep Sea Remains Unexplored

Researchers describe bias in geographic coverage, operator representation

(Newser) - Across Earth's deep oceans, explorers have taken a look at an area roughly the size of Rhode Island, which isn't saying much. That works out to about 0.001% of the deep sea, according to a study published Wednesday in Science Advances . In other words, 99.999% of...

Shingles Vaccine Proves Good for the Heart
Shingles Vaccine
Has Added
Benefits for
the Heart
NEW STUDY
May 8, 2025 8:25 AM CDT

Shingles Vaccine Has Added Benefits for the Heart

Study finds shot lowers risk of heart attack, as well as stroke, by 26%

(Newser) - A shingles shot might do more than spare you from an awful rash—it could help keep your heart ticking, too. New research out of South Korea links the vaccine not just to preventing shingles, but to lowering your risk of heart attacks and strokes. Scientists at Kyung Hee...

Rare Carnivorous Snail Lays an Egg From Its Neck

This is the first time the moment has been captured on video

(Newser) - The strange reproductive habits of a large, carnivorous New Zealand snail were once shrouded in mystery. Now footage of the snail laying an egg from its neck has been captured for the first time, the country's conservation agency says. What looks like a tiny hen's egg is seen...

Charred Vesuvius Scroll Gives Up Its Author

PHerc. 172 identified as part of Greek philosopher Philodemus' 'On Vices'

(Newser) - There's been a "very exciting development" in the two-year-old Vesuvius Challenge, an effort to decode ancient scrolls charred by the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. As unrolling the 2,000-year-old carbonized scrolls unearthed in Herculaneum guarantee damage, if not total destruction, scholars have been using powerful 3D X-rays...

Physicists: We Figured Out a Tricky Italian Dish
Physicists: We Figured Out
a Tricky Italian Dish
new study
May 3, 2025 8:30 AM CDT

Physicists: We Figured Out a Tricky Italian Dish

Secret to a perfect 'cacio e pepe' recipe is to add starch, they say

(Newser) - It's a physics study with the most tangible of applications: a better recipe. Italian scientists say they've figured out how to make a tricky Italian dish—cacio e pepe—come out great every time, reports the BBC . The trick is adding starch to the water. The name of...

Hundreds of Snake Bites Gave Man 'Amazing Antibodies'

Wisconsin man's unique blood could help develop antivenom effective against many snake species

(Newser) - Tim Friede has been bitten by snakes hundreds of times—often on purpose. Now scientists are studying his blood in hopes of creating a better treatment for snake bites. Friede has long had a fascination with reptiles and other venomous creatures. He used to milk scorpions' and spiders' venom as...

Birds Give Us Another Sign of Our 'Slow-Moving Extinction Crisis'

Research finds 75% of bird species in North America are seeing a population decline

(Newser) - North America has a bird problem—not too many, but perhaps too few in the not-so-distant future. New research published Thursday in the journal Science reveals that 75% of the continent's bird species are on a downward spiral, seeing their populations decline between 2007 and 2021. The Washington Post...

After Cancer, Women More Likely to Report This Than Men

Female patients appear to have more cancer-related depression, fatigue than male counterparts

(Newser) - Women who struggle to get back to their old selves after cancer aren't alone. Female cancer survivors are significantly more likely than male counterparts to suffer fatigue and depression, according to new research. Dr. Simo Du, a resident physician at New York City's Jacobi Medical Center, first noticed...

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