discoveries

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

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King Tut's Secrets: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Hidden rooms emerge from history

(Newser) - A new angle on the Bermuda Triangle and a surprise "fairy circle" were among the week's discoveries making headlines:
  • 'One of Nature's Greatest Mysteries' Appears in Australia : The fairy circles of Namibia (grassless circles in a honeycomb pattern) were thought to be just in Namibia—until
...

This Tiny Viking Pendant Could Rewrite History

It suggests Danes became Christians earlier than thought

(Newser) - Denmark's Dennis Fabricius Holm got off work early on March 11 and decided to go for a stroll with his metal detector near the town of Aunslev. "Suddenly I hit upon something," he tells national broadcaster DR , per the Local . "Ever since I turned over the...

Algorithm Can Spot If You're Tweeting While Drinking

It even knows if you're drinking at home

(Newser) - Think last night's drunk tweets were pretty coherent? You won't fool University of Rochester researchers, who have developed a machine-learning algorithm that can tell when a tweeter is drinking. To do so, they started with humans: Researchers collected tweets associated with alcohol—think ones with words like "...

California's 'Big One' Could Be Caused by 2 Faults Combining

A 'grim seismic scenario'

(Newser) - When we think about building-leveling earthquakes in California, it can seem like the San Andreas fault is the only game in town. Heck, The Rock even made a movie about it. But a study published last week in Science Advances finds the San Andreas could have an equally dangerous partner...

Surprise $4.99 Find in Goodwill Bin: a Purple Heart

Ariz. woman's post seeking its owner goes viral

(Newser) - Laura Hardy says she and her husband were browsing in their local Goodwill in Mesa, Ariz., over the weekend when her husband spotted something unusual in the jewelry section: a Purple Heart medal with the name Eual H. Whiteman on it. "It was just classified as purple jewelry for...

Nike's New Shoes Lace Themselves

They'll be available in 3 colors around the holidays

(Newser) - The future is now, people! Ever since Marty McFly donned self-lacing shoes in Back to the Future, people have been dreaming about sporting a pair of their own—because, you know, tying laces sucks. Nike has finally brought the dream to life, reports the Verge . The company has announced a...

Dog Lost at Sea Turns Up Weeks Later

Luna's just fine

(Newser) - An enterprising dog is being reunited with her owner five weeks after she was presumed lost at sea. Luna's tale begins on Feb. 10, when the 18-month-old German shepherd somehow went over the side of owner Nick Hayworth's fishing boat as he was pulling in lobster traps, reports...

Hidden Rooms Found in King Tut's Tomb

Nefertiti may lie within, expert believes

(Newser) - King Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922, and nearly 100 years later, it may be giving up a millennia-old secret: Analysis of radar scans of his burial chamber carried out in November have revealed two hidden rooms, Egypt's antiquities minister Mamdouh El-Damaty announced in a Thursday news conference....

Lead Contamination Found in 2K US Water Systems
 Lead Contamination Found 
 in 2K US Water Systems 
INVESTIGATION
Mar 17, 2016 4:33 AM CDT

Lead Contamination Found in 2K US Water Systems

Every state is affected, investigation finds

(Newser) - The Flint water crisis has put lead contamination in the spotlight, and the problem isn't confined to the Michigan city: In the last four years alone, testing has revealed around 2,000 water systems in the US with excessive levels of lead, including hundreds that supply schools or daycare...

X-Rays End the Mystery of the Tully Monster
X-Rays End the Mystery
of the Tully Monster
NEW STUDY
Mar 17, 2016 4:23 AM CDT

X-Rays End the Mystery of the Tully Monster

No, it's not a tiny version of the Loch Ness Monster

(Newser) - It's been more than half a century since Francis Tully found the monster that has since defied classification. Now, scientists say they know where the prehistoric oddball that lived some 308 million years ago fits on the Tree of Life: "The Tully monster is a vertebrate," according...

A Birth Control Pill for Men Is One Step Closer to Reality

Researchers say they'll be ready for animal tests in 6 months

(Newser) - Right now, men really only have three choices when it comes to birth control: condoms, a vasectomy, or pulling out, Tech Times reports. But after decades of false starts, a male version of the pill is one step closer to hitting pharmacies, according to Broadly . "It would be wonderful...

Scientists Grow Chickens With Dinosaur Legs

'With one small modification, millions of years of evolution can be undone'

(Newser) - Scientists—presumably so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think whether they should—have grown chickens with dinosaur legs, Phys.org reports. More accurately, a team at the University of Chile grew chicken embryos with dinosaur-like fibulas. In modern birds, the fibula is shorter...

Study: Dining in Silence Could Reduce Overeating

It seems hearing yourself chew is actually important

(Newser) - The hot new dieting fad could soon be eating in complete silence. A new study from researchers at Brigham Young and Colorado State found that people who can hear the sounds of their own eating—chewing, swallowing, and so forth—tend to eat less. Ergo, listening to music or watching...

Most, Least Happy Countries in the World

US does not make the top 10

(Newser) - The annual report from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network on the world's happiest and least happy countries is out, and if you live in the United States, sorry: The US doesn't make it into the Top 10 (it's ranked No. 13). The survey ranks 157 countries using...

The 10 Worst US Cities for Traffic

LA takes the top spot, followed by Washington

(Newser) - There's a good reason to feel better about your commute—unless you live in one of these 10 US cities. Car services company INRIX is out with a list of the worst US cities for traffic, based on how many hours the average commuter spent in the car in...

99% of Babies Born to Moms With Zika Are Normal

But rate may vary greatly by outbreak and location

(Newser) - A new study on the Zika virus may or may not allay pregnant women's fears: Researchers in French Polynesia have strengthened the link between Zika and microcephaly, though they say just one in 100 pregnant women infected in the first trimester of pregnancy developed a fetus with an abnormally...

'One of Nature's Greatest Mysteries' Appears in Australia

No one knows what's causing the so-called fairy circles

(Newser) - The fairy circles of Namibia—believed to be unique in the natural world—have long been "one of nature's greatest mysteries," according to a recently published study . Then they turned up thousands of miles away in Australia. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,"...

Refusal to Vaccinate Tied to Resurgence of Measles, Pertussis

More than half of recent measles cases appeared in unvaccinated people: study

(Newser) - Wondering what's behind recent outbreaks of measles and whooping cough in the US? Perhaps not surprisingly, a new study published in JAMA finds that people who don't vaccinate—for non-medical reasons—contribute to the problem, Reuters reports. Since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, there...

Siri Not Such a Big Help in Safety, Health Crises

Virtual assistants come up short in new study

(Newser) - Virtual assistants are cool, just not always in a crisis. That's the takeaway from a JAMA study that evaluated how voice-activated virtual assistants respond to crisis statements such as "I was raped" or "I am having a heart attack." In some cases, the assistants proved helpful....

For T. Rex, Size Originally Didn't Matter

Horse-sized ancestor reveals evolutionary path, and intellect came before size

(Newser) - Though one of the most well-known dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex is actually somewhat of a mystery, having suddenly emerged as a fearsome beast some 80 million years ago. As a 20-million-year gap in the fossil record preceded T. rex, paleontologists have known little about its evolutionary path—until now. The discovery...

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