discoveries

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

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Forget Fingerprints, You Have a 'Breath Print,' Too

Researchers find that individuals have unique breathing patterns, a potential diagnostic tool

(Newser) - A new study suggests that your breathing might be as unique as your fingerprint. A two-year research project out of Israel's Weizmann Institute rigged 100 young adults with nasal airflow tubes throughout their daily routines. What emerged was a surprise: Each person's pattern of breaths—inhalations, exhalations, and...

Scientists' Ruined Plans Lead to Incredible Footage

They wanted to explore the Powell Basin but ice blocks forced them to its outer edge, fortuitously

(Newser) - In the frigid depths off Antarctica, scientists captured live footage of a mysterious squid species never before seen alive. Researchers aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's R/V Falkor (Too) research vessel made the rare deep-sea discovery on Christmas Day last year, somewhat by accident. Forced to change their plans...

Finally, Hard Proof That These Dinos Scarfed Down Plants
In the Belly of This
Beast, a Major Find
NEW STUDY
Jun 11, 2025 8:24 AM CDT

In the Belly of This Beast, a Major Find

Fossilized plant matter discovered in sauropod's gut confirms the creatures were herbivores

(Newser) - Scientists have long believed that the enormous, long-necked sauropods—like those popularized in films such as Jurassic Park and The Land Before Time—were herbivores. Researchers had some clues based on teeth shape and an unwieldy body that didn't suggest these dinosaurs could chase prey well, but hard...

Ancient Farm Site Showcases Indigenous Ingenuity
Ancient Farm
Site Showcases
Indigenous Ingenuity
NEW STUDY
Jun 10, 2025 9:29 AM CDT

Ancient Farm Site Showcases Indigenous Ingenuity

Menominee ancestors grew crops for centuries, despite challenging conditions

(Newser) - A new archaeological study is spotlighting Michigan's Upper Peninsula as home to what experts now call the "most complete" ancient agricultural site in the eastern US, per the New York Times . The area, known as Sixty Islands and considered sacred by the Menominee Nation, contains traces of...

Syrian Rubble Yields a Surprise: an Ancient Tomb Complex

Contractor excavating a destroyed house makes a find thought to date to the Byzantine Era

(Newser) - A contractor digging into the earth where the rubble of a destroyed house had been cleared away in northern Syria stumbled across a surprise: the remains of an underground Byzantine tomb complex believed to be more than 1,500 years old. As the AP reports, the discovery emerged last month...

Ancient Wall in Mongolia's Gobi Desert Did More Than Defend

Researchers find the medieval barrier managed resources, set imperial boundaries

(Newser) - A new study is shedding light on the Gobi Wall, a massive but little-understood medieval barrier that crosses 200 miles of Mongolia's highland deserts. For their research published in the journal Land , archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the National University of Mongolia, and Yale combined satellite...

Those Ice Baths May Not Be 'a Great Idea'
Those Ice Baths May
Not Be 'a Great Idea'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 8, 2025 6:29 AM CDT

Those Ice Baths May Not Be 'a Great Idea'

Cold plunges in general may hamper muscle recovery after exercise, researchers say

(Newser) - If you've ever been tempted to buy an ice bath or take part in a "polar plunge," you may want to check out this study first—at least if you're into weight training. A dip into frigid waters "looks like it's not a great...

Scientists Discover Cosmic Secret in a Planetarium Show
Scientists Unlock
Cosmic Secret in a
Very Unlikely Place
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 7, 2025 12:00 PM CDT

Scientists Unlock Cosmic Secret in a Very Unlikely Place

They uncovered surprise glimpse of the Oort Cloud while preparing planetarium show

(Newser) - Scientists have unlocked one of the solar system's many secrets from an unexpected source: a planetarium show. At the American Museum of Natural History in New York last fall, experts were preparing "Encounters in the Milky Way," a deep dive into our home galaxy shaped by the...

Scientists Report Major HIV Breakthrough
Scientists Report
Major HIV Breakthrough
NEW STUDY
Jun 5, 2025 11:20 AM CDT

Scientists Report Major HIV Breakthrough

Virus can be forced out of hiding by mRNA technology

(Newser) - Researchers say they may have found a way to bring a cure for HIV a step closer by deploying the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines. The team at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, reports they can now force HIV out of hiding...

To Survive Heat Waves, the Clown Fish Shrinks
When It Gets Too Hot,
the World's Nemos Shrink
NEW STUDY
Jun 4, 2025 10:45 AM CDT

When It Gets Too Hot, the World's Nemos Shrink

Becoming smaller when it's hot helps boost survival rates for clown fish

(Newser) - Clown fish are now joining the list of animals altering their bodies and behavior in response to climate change. According to a new study published in Science Advances , scientists in Papua New Guinea observed that clown fish, made most famous by the 2003 animated film Finding Nemo, temporarily shrank...

As Coffee Intake Rises, So Does Chance of Healthy Aging
More Good News
for Coffee Lovers
NEW STUDY
Jun 3, 2025 10:15 AM CDT

More Good News for Coffee Lovers

Research suggests drinking caffeinated coffee in midlife ups chances for healthy aging

(Newser) - One more for the " coffee is good for you " camp: An unpublished, not yet peer-reviewed study presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition in Orlando suggests caffeinated coffee helps on the path to healthy aging. The study involved more than 47,000 female...

Researchers Suggest New 'Standard of Care' for Cancer

International study finds that regular exercise helps survivors live longer

(Newser) - A major new international study has the potential to reshape cancer care with a relatively simple suggestion: regular exercise. The study, which tracked nearly 900 colon cancer patients in the US and five other countries for up to eight years, found that cancer survivors who followed a modest exercise...

Prints Aren't the Only Stable Thing About Your Fingers

Scientists say blood vessels under skin cause wet fingers to wrinkle the exact same way each time

(Newser) - A new study sheds light on why fingers wrinkle in water—and why those wrinkles appear in the same places every time. Biomedical engineer Guy German of Binghamton University in New York wanted to know if pruney fingers always wrinkle the same way after water exposure. To find out,...

Ingenious Hawk Uses Crosswalk to Hunt

Bird learned when cars stopped for pedestrians, they provided excellent cover for an attack

(Newser) - Wildlife in urban areas have to adapt to human ways, but a hawk in New Jersey has taken things to a whole new level. The Cooper's hawk learned to use a crosswalk to hunt prey, reports Smithsonian . Zoologist Vladimir Dinets noticed the bird in action in West Orange, New...

Researchers Predict Lots More Cavities if Fluoride Goes

Study says the ramifications could be expensive

(Newser) - A nationwide ban on adding fluoride to public drinking water could saddle US families with billions in dental bills and result in millions of additional cavities, according to a new study published in JAMA Health Forum . Researchers modeled two scenarios: one in which all public water systems contain optimal...

Scientists Warn: 'Transient' Strokes Aren't So Transient

Researchers say people shouldn't dismiss or ignore ministrokes, tied to risk of cognitive decline

(Newser) - Many people ignore or downplay the sudden symptoms of a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also called a ministroke—but new research suggests that's a mistake. A large study published in JAMA Neurology by the University of Alabama-Birmingham and University of Cincinnati tracked more than 30,000 adults and...

Strange New Celestial Object Spotted in Milky Way

Astronomers aren't sure what it is, or why it's emitting X-rays

(Newser) - Astronomers have discovered a strange new object in our Milky Way galaxy. An international team reported Wednesday that the celestial object—perhaps a star, pair of stars, or something else entirely—is emitting X-rays around the same time it's shooting out radio waves. What's more, the cycle repeats...

Archaeologists Unearth More Ancient Finds Near Luxor

Egypt unveils 3 new tombs of prominent statesmen in Dra' Abu el-Naga necropolis

(Newser) - Egypt unveiled three new tombs of prominent statesmen in the Dra' Abu el-Naga necropolis in Luxor, officials said Monday. Archaeologists discovered tombs dating back to the New Kingdom period (1550BC–1070BC) and identified the names and titles of their owners through inscriptions found within, according to a statement by the...

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...

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