discoveries

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In Some Ways, Americans' Teeth Worse Than Brits'

We're missing more of our chompers, study finds

(Newser) - A Washington Post article features a giant image of Austin Powers and a reminder of his "grotesquely discolored grin." It's evidence, of course, of how awful English teeth are, especially as compared with Americans' pearly whites. Except, as a new study published Wednesday in the BMJ finds,...

9 in 10 Cancer Cases Are Our Fault: Study

Don't blame genes or bad luck so much as external factors: scientists

(Newser) - Despite a recent study claiming the opposite , scientists say getting cancer isn't just bad luck in most cases. A study out of Stony Brook University shows as much as 90% of cancers are caused by external factors, like smoking, drinking, sun exposure, and air pollution, and are thus more...

Helping Others Could Be Good for Your Mental Health

Study shows small acts of kindness help us cope with stress

(Newser) - It turns out getting in the holiday spirit can be good for your mental health. A study published last week in Clinical Psychological Science found performing small acts of kindness for others can give us an improved outlook on things and help us to better deal with stress. "Stressful...

Droughts Could Be Even Worse for Trees Than We Thought

And the effects can last for years, study says

(Newser) - The ability of Earth's forests to stand up to droughts may be worse than previously believed. The Washington Post reports that many current scientific models assume trees recover immediately following a drought. But Princeton's William Anderegg demonstrated droughts actually have "legacy effects" on trees in a study...

Physicists May Have Found Another New Particle

More data is needed before hints can be confirmed

(Newser) - First, scientists experimenting with CERN's Large Hadron Collider discovered the Higgs boson . Next came the possible discovery of pentaquarks . Now scientists may have detected a new, unknown particle. Working from June to mid-November, two teams from the European Organization for Nuclear Research, aka CERN, spotted excess pairs of gamma...

Your Computer Now Knows When You're Mad

The way you move your mouse is giving you away

(Newser) - We may like to think that we are indescribably complex emotional creatures, but computer scientists at Brigham Young University are finding that they can accurately predict one side of ourselves—our dark, angry side—simply by tracking the way we move a mouse while on a computer. "Using this...

US Executions at Lowest Level in Decades

New death sentences also way down

(Newser) - The number of people executed in the United States this year dropped to the lowest level since 1991, as states impose fewer death sentences and defendants in capital cases get access to better legal help. The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization that opposes capital punishment and tracks the...

Study: Vegetarians Are Hurting the Planet
 Vegetarian Diets 
 Hurt the Planet, Too 
study says
Dec 15, 2015 4:45 PM CST

Vegetarian Diets Hurt the Planet, Too

'What is good for us health-wise isn't always what's best for the environment'

(Newser) - What part of a BLT do you think it's hardest on the environment to produce? Hint: It's not the meat. "Eating lettuce is over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon," Paul Fischbeck says in a Carnegie Mellon press release . "Lots of...

1st Basketball Game Was Basically a Giant Fight

According to a newly discovered audio recording of James Naismith

(Newser) - If any of the old-timers at your holiday gatherings this year complain about how basketball players have gotten soft and the fouls aren't as hard as they used to be, tell them to blame the game's inventor. A newly discovered audio recording of James Naismith—thought to be...

Study Finds Humans Are Really Good at Sleeping

We may have evolved to sleep less and deeper than our primate ancestors

(Newser) - Ever wonder why your cat sleeps all day while you're stuck with the measly seven hours you can cram in between Scandal and your morning commute? As it turns out, you're just way better at sleeping than your furry friend. According to a study in Evolutionary Anthropology, humans...

The Biggest Physics Breakthroughs of the Year

We now know what's needed for secure quantum teleportation

(Newser) - Physics World has given its 2015 Breakthrough of the Year award to two scientists in China who demonstrated the requirements for secure quantum teleportation. Sadly, this doesn't mean you'll be able to randomly appear anywhere in the world, but it's pretty cool regardless. Basically, the research...

Why Putin Walks That Weird Walk

It may be because of his KGB weapons training: scientists

(Newser) - The peculiar walk of one Vladimir Putin (left arm swinging naturally, right arm stiff at his side) has been the subject of speculation, with guesses ranging from childhood illness to an in-utero stroke, Live Science reports. But a group of Dutch neuroscientists—or "movement disorder enthusiasts," as they...

Experts Find Possible Tunnel, No Nazi Gold Train

But a man behind the claim isn't so convinced

(Newser) - So much for all that excitement ? Polish geology experts said Tuesday they have found no traces of a train at a site allegedly hiding a World War II Nazi train. Experts from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow examined the site in Walbrzych, in southwestern Poland,...

Study Suggests Romney Will Outlive Obama

Researchers studied 279 elected presidents and prime ministers

(Newser) - Leading a country doesn't just bring a few unwanted gray hairs . The stressful gig also takes years off a person's life, according to a new study in the journal BMJ . Research in this area has been conflicting: A previous study found no adverse effects on life expectancy, another...

To Spot a Liar, Look for These 6 Clues

New computer software far outperforms humans

(Newser) - Poker players have been saying, and even living and dying by it, for years: Everyone has a tell. Whether we're lying or telling the truth, most of us reveal ourselves through the tiniest physical and verbal clues, and new lie-detecting software developed at the University of Michigan analyzes these...

Archaeologists Find Pieces of SF Before the Quake

Sewing machine parts are the newest find

(Newser) - Subway construction workers in San Francisco are becoming accustomed to working alongside archaeologists as they dig up layers of the city's past to make way for the $1.6 billion light rail line set to connect Chinatown with South of Market by 2019. And now those teams have unearthed...

Single Dose of Magic Mushroom Ingredient Did Months of Good

When given to patients with life-threatening cancer

(Newser) - People who receive life-threatening cancer diagnoses and find themselves battling depression and anxiety might consider munching on magic mushrooms, and that's not coming from a snake oil salesman. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine announced last week at the annual meeting of the American College of...

Most-Played Holiday Song in Retail? No Longer Mariah

Carey is dethroned by The Shins

(Newser) - Everywhere you go this holiday shopping season, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" will be played. There's no escaping it—but, for the first time in decades, there's another song you might hear more often. That's right: For the first year since...

Linguist Breaks Down the 'YouTube Voice'

Stressed and elongated vowels both play a role

(Newser) - Think people sound similar when talking to the camera on YouTube? You're not alone: Writing at the Atlantic , Julie Beck found a "bouncy" speaking style across so many videos that she christened it the "YouTube voice." "But I had a hard time putting my finger...

How Popular Fish Sauce Sank an Ancient Ship

Romans poured fishy, salty garum on nearly every dish

(Newser) - A Roman ship apparently sank about 2,000 years ago while carrying a heavy load of ketchup—or at least the Roman version of ketchup. Italian archaeologists discovered the ship off the coast of Liguria in northern Italy, near Genoa, filled with clay jars containing a condiment once popular across...

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