discoveries

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

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Door Panel Saved Man Buried in Landslide for 60 Hours

He had been trying to get out of his room when the building collapsed

(Newser) - A migrant worker was pulled out alive Wednesday after he was buried for more than 60 hours in a massive landslide that swept through part of a major manufacturing city in southern China. A spokesman for the Shenzhen Emergency Response Office said that the man, Tian Zeming, was rescued around...

Scientists: We May Be Able to Alter Human Intelligence

There are 2 gene networks perhaps controlled by master 'switches': researchers

(Newser) - Researchers from London's Imperial College think they've found two networks of genes, possibly controlled by a master system, that control cognitive functions—a find that may allow them to modify human intelligence down the line, the Guardian reports. In a study published in Nature Neuroscience , scientists say these...

Vietnam Vet Finds Lost Love, New Mystery

Jim Reischl to start new search for daughter he never met

(Newser) - In January, Jim Reischl will visit Vietnam for the fifth year in a row. But this visit will be different. For four years the Vietnam vet has been searching for his long-lost love , whom he last saw in person when he shipped out in 1970. Now, he'll finally see...

Man Opens Fireplace, Finds Century-Old Letters to Santa

Missives in NYC apartment belonged to turn-of-the-century Irish immigrant family

(Newser) - When Peter Mattaliano decided to redo the fireplace in his NYC apartment, he called his construction-savvy brother to help him bust open the sealed unit. "We were joking that we might find Al Capone's money," Mattaliano tells the New York Times . "Then my brother yelled to...

How Villagers Buried Bodies to Ward Off 'Demons'

Experts revisit case of skeletons buried with sickles

(Newser) - Want to keep a demon-skeleton from haunting your rural settlement? Just bury it with a sickle at its throat. That's what researchers are saying about four skeletons from the 17th and 18th centuries found buried with iron sickles around their necks in a Polish cemetery, Discovery reports. Writing in...

Women in Their 30s Have &#39;Smarter&#39; Babies

 Mom's Age Affects 
 Child's Intelligence 
study says
Dec 21, 2015 5:10 PM CST

Mom's Age Affects Child's Intelligence

London School of Economics researchers cull the data

(Newser) - Think a mother's age at childbirth plays any role in her child's intelligence? According to data on British kids, it sure does. Using information on 18,000 children gathered over "an extended period of time," researchers from the London School of Economics say kids born to...

2 'Extinct' Snakes Found Swimming Happily

And they might be mating

(Newser) - Scientists feared the last of Australia's short-nosed sea snakes died about 15 years ago, which makes this new sighting doubly auspicious: A wildlife official snapped a photo of not one but two of the snakes swimming off the western coast—and they were making googly eyes at each other....

Magnesium Could Help Prevent Deadly Pancreatic Cancer

Every 100mg-a-day decrease in magnesium had real effect

(Newser) - Consuming higher levels of magnesium—a mineral found in dark leafy greens, nuts, beans, yogurt, and avocado—appears to dramatically reduce one's chances of getting pancreatic cancer, which is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. So report Indiana University Bloomington researchers this month in the...

Weirdest Dime You'll Ever See Heads to Auction

It was struck onto a nail and could fetch more than $10K

(Newser) - In probably one of the oddest items to come to the world of coin collecting, Heritage Auctions has announced the sale of a Roosevelt dime that was accidentally (or some say deliberately) struck onto a zinc nail—and the dime/nail is estimated to be worth roughly $10,000. In the...

Rare Venomous Sea Snake Found in California, Again

Blame it on El Niño

(Newser) - The 27-inch venomous yellow-bellied sea snake discovered dead on the sand in Huntington Beach, Calif., last week is "incredible" and "fascinating," but does "not an invasion" make, Greg Pauly of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County tells the Los Angeles Times . Nonetheless, it's...

How Sleep Position Can Give You Nightmares
How Sleep Position Can
Give You Nightmares
studies say
Dec 20, 2015 7:00 PM CST

How Sleep Position Can Give You Nightmares

Studies link sleep position to dream quality and emotion

(Newser) - Matt Berical noticed that his restless nights always ended with him facing right, while his girlfriend mostly reported nightmares after waking on her left. "Is there, I wondered, a correlation between bad dreams and sleeping position?" writes Berical at Van Winkles . He dug up a 2004 study that asked...

Archaeologist: King Tut's Wet Nurse Was His Sister

Public can now gawk at scenes showing Maya nursing the young pharaoh

(Newser) - Some 300 miles south of Cairo sits the Valley of the Kings, the location where Tutankhamen was laid to rest. But just 13 miles south of Egypt's capital is the necropolis of Saqqara, where officials, courtiers, and, apparently, King Tut's wet nurse, Maia, were buried. Her tomb was...

Zoo Says It's Got Earth's Longest Salamander

Oh, you know, just a normal 5-foot-2 amphibian

(Newser) - Prague Zoo says it likely has the longest Chinese giant salamander now on Earth. The critically endangered animal is the largest amphibian on the planet. In a statement Sunday, the zoo says Karlo, a Chinese giant salamander it received 19 months ago from the State Museum of Natural History in...

Horror Movies Are Literally Bloodcurdling

Study shows fear causes release of blood-clotting protein

(Newser) - People have been using the term "bloodcurdling" to describe feelings of intense fear for centuries. Now, a new study has found that being scared can, indeed, cause your blood to thicken, NBC News reports. Dutch researchers found that a frightening situation—in this case, watching a horror movie—can...

A Canadian Lake Has Fallen Off a Cliff

Rain, warming temperatures melted ice headwalls

(Newser) - In June, Canadian officials warned that a nameless lake in the Northwest Territories was about to fall off a cliff. It did. On July 15, a section of ground ice that's been around since the last ice age gave way, sending roughly half of the lake's 1 million...

Study Shows Why Giant Pandas Need Tinder

Mutual attraction drastically increases the likelihood of panda babies

(Newser) - The scientist who invents a Tinder for giant pandas may just single-handedly save the endangered species. A study published Tuesday in Nature Communications found that pandas are much more likely to successfully mate when they're attracted to each other. It seems like an obvious conclusion, and that's why...

What a Trip: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including tips to spot fibbers and the glory of magic mushrooms

(Newser) - A surprise finding about cancers of all types and a study of the Putin stroll make the list:
  • Almost All Cancer Cases Are Our Fault : A Stony Brook University study shows that up to 90% of cancers are caused by external factors such as smoking, drinking, sun exposure, and air
...

Study May Reveal Why Some People Live So Long

It's in the genes

(Newser) - Science may be closer to figuring out why some people live so darn long. Researchers studying 1,800 people over the age of 100 and another 5,400 over the age of 90 discovered four genes linked to their longevity, Live Science reports. "There's a reasonably strong genetic...

14% of Motorcycle Owners Are Women

 14% of Motorcycle 
 Owners Are 
 Women 
SURVEY SAYS
Dec 18, 2015 3:40 PM CST

14% of Motorcycle Owners Are Women

And the ladies are younger and better trained than male riders

(Newser) - More women are riding high on the hog than ever—literally. A survey by the Motorcycle Industry Council found that the ladies make up 14% of US motorcycle owners, and the ones who ride are younger, more educated, and more into motorcycle safety than their male counterparts, the Los Angeles ...

America's Oldest European Settlement Has Been Found

The colony in Pensacola predates Jamestown by nearly 50 years

(Newser) - The Pensacola News Journal has a highly interactive and informative look at a major discovery out of Florida: the oldest multi-year European settlement in the United States. “This is one of those almost once-in-a-lifetime type things,” University of West Florida professor John Worth says. "I didn’t...

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