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'Secret Fraternity' May Have Scuttled Titanic Inquiry

Freemasons played big role in investigation, says 'Telegraph'

(Newser) - Britain's official Titanic inquiry has already been called a "whitewash"—but was it a conspiracy of Freemasons? A recently revealed list of two million Freemasons shows that members of their fraternity played a big role in the controversial investigation, the Telegraph reports. On the list are John...

Pro-ISIS Messages Painted on US School Rock

Students quickly paint over rock with words of peace

(Newser) - Students at Youngstown State University in Ohio woke up Monday to find pro-ISIS messages painted on a campus rock, WPXI reports. Photos of the three screeds soon made it online: "France deserves destruction," "YSU supports ISIS," and "We are coming for you." Students quickly...

American Women Are Drinking More Like Men

New analysis finds the gap in drinking habits is narrowing

(Newser) - It's well-known that men drink more than women—but a new analysis by a National Institutes of Health group finds that the gap between the way the two genders consume alcohol in the US is narrowing, according to an NIH press release . For example, the percentage of females who...

Cleaner Air Causing Sea Ice to Melt Away

Sulfur dioxide actually protected ice from the sun: study

(Newser) - Sulfur dioxide is a bad thing, right? Indeed, it's been linked to acid rain, crop failures, and respiratory problems—but scrubbing it from the atmosphere has also apparently caused Arctic sea ice to melt, the Anchorage Daily News reports. According to a new study from Environment Canada, recent reductions...

Pregnant Moms Won't Hurt Kids' IQ With Coffee

One or 2 cups a day not linked to lower intelligence or behavioral issues: study

(Newser) - Pregnant women who can't resist a single morning cup of joe don't have to worry about their caffeine habit when it comes to their child's future smarts, per a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology . Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio found that...

More Than Half of Amazon Tree Species Are Threatened

Study marks percentage of endangered trees for first time

(Newser) - More than half of the Amazon's 15,000 tree species may be facing extinction if governments can't curb deforestation, a new study says. Researchers reached this conclusion by comparing ground-level data on trees—about their leaves, branches, diameters, and so on—to projected deforestation across the vast South...

Simon Finally Reveals Subject of 2nd Verse of &#39;You&#39;re So Vain&#39;
Simon Finally Reveals Subject of 2nd Verse of 'You're So Vain'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nov 22, 2015 2:39 PM CST

Simon Finally Reveals Subject of 2nd Verse of 'You're So Vain'

Wait, the song is about more than one guy?!

(Newser) - Carly Simon has finally revealed the subject of "You're So Vain" ... sort of. "I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren [Beatty]," Simon, now 70, tells People in an interview to promote the memoir she's releasing later this month. When asked whether Beatty knows...

Rare Christian Papyrus Was Put on eBay for $99

Scholars jump at the chance to study the fragment

(Newser) - You never know what you'll find on eBay—like a rare New Testament papyrus fragment dating to around AD300. Opening bid? Just $99. "I thought, this can't be allowed to sell on eBay," Christianity scholar Geoffrey Smith tells the New York Times of the January listing....

Why Your Coffee Habit Is a Good Thing
 More Proof Your 
 Coffee Habit Is 
 a Good Thing 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nov 22, 2015 9:44 AM CST

More Proof Your Coffee Habit Is a Good Thing

3 to 5 cups per day slash your risk of death from several causes

(Newser) - Good news, coffee drinkers: You're less likely to die than those who steer clear of java. A new Harvard study finds regular coffee consumption not only boosts longevity but reduces your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and suicide. The study—based on surveys of more than 200,000 women...

Controversial Study Finds Antarctica Is Actually Gaining Ice

But that doesn't mean global warming isn't still a huge problem

(Newser) - A recent NASA study has come to a shocking conclusion that contradicts a host of other studies, multitudes of climate scientists, the UN, and even other scientists at NASA: Antarctica is actually gaining more ice than it's losing, despite global warming. How's that possible? Live Science reports the...

Why We Shouldn't Sleep Late on Weekends

Changes in sleep patterns on days off can lead to health problems, says study

(Newser) - Do you wake up early for work on weekdays? Then we're afraid researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have some bad news for you: You should be waking up early on weekends, too. UPI reports that a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found changes...

Study Shows Sarcasm Can Actually Be Good for You
Sarcasm Makes You
More Creative
new study
Nov 21, 2015 1:40 PM CST

Sarcasm Makes You More Creative

No matter whether you are the deliverer or the recipient, study says

(Newser) - A study has found that sarcasm—which has gotten a bad rap—can actually boost creativity and cognitive functioning in both the user and receiver, Scientific American reports. Researchers assigned volunteers to take part in simulated dialogues that were either sarcastic, sincere, or neutral, then gave them tasks to test...

You Probably Need to Wash Your Sheets Right Now
 You Probably Need 
 to Wash Your 
 Sheets Right Now 
in case you missed it
Nov 21, 2015 12:00 PM CST

You Probably Need to Wash Your Sheets Right Now

Here are some good, and also gross, reasons why

(Newser) - No one likes washing and changing their sheets, but what's the bare minimum you can get away with when freshening up your linens? University of Washington professor Dr. Marilyn Roberts tells Yahoo people should wash their sheets once per week "as long as there's no bodily secretions...

Healthy Foods Aren't Necessarily Healthy for Everyone

Researchers say it could change the way we think about dieting

(Newser) - Like many people, one middle-age woman in an Israeli study just couldn't seem to find a diet that worked. The problem: The seemingly healthy tomatoes she was eating multiple times per week were actually causing her blood sugar levels to spike. The New Zealand Herald reports the researchers from...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a monster diamond and a way to gauge brain power with raisins

(Newser) - A new jolt in the java world and an antibiotic meltdown make the list:
  • Here's How Often Happy Couples Have Sex : Couples who constantly "Netflix and chill" aren't necessarily happier. In fact, having sex once a week is just about perfect, according to a study of surveys
...

Scientists Find Tropical Forest—in the Arctic

It would have thrived near the equator 380M years ago

(Newser) - Bet you didn't know there was a tropical forest in the Arctic. That's what scientists say they've uncovered in Svalbard, Norway, though the remnants of the forest are actually 380 million years old and fossilized. Back when the early trees—a type dubbed Protolepidodendropsis pulchra—were alive...

Parasitic Worm May Make Women More Fertile

Women infected have an average of 2 more kids than others

(Newser) - A roundworm infection is bad news for a number of reasons, but it's possibly a bonus if you're trying to get pregnant. In a nine-year study that one fertility scientist says raises the possibility of "novel fertility-enhancing drugs," researchers analyzed 986 Tsimane indigenous women in Bolivia,...

Skull of 'Real' Winnie-the-Pooh Resurfaces

It's on display in London

(Newser) - You can now feast your eyes on the real-life inspiration for Winnie-the-Pooh—or her skull anyway. Winnie, a female black bear named after the Canadian city of Winnipeg, was a star attraction at London Zoo in the 1920s and a favorite of Christopher Robin, who named his own teddy bear...

New Superbug Prompts Warnings of 'Post-Antibiotic Era'

Mutation defeats drugs of last resort

(Newser) - Less than 90 years after Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the world is on the verge of returning to an era without antibiotics, scientists warn. Researchers have discovered bacteria in China that can defeat even the "antibiotic of last resort," reports the BBC , which describes the development as the...

How to Predict Your Child's Intelligence With a Raisin

'It could be the simplest test of childhood aptitude ever invented'

(Newser) - Raisins: They're not just for making inferior cookies anymore. Researchers claim they can predict how well an 8-year-old will do in school using nothing but a raisin and cup when the child is a toddler, according to a press release from the University of Warwick. The Telegraph says the...

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