discoveries

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

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Is Grisly Tale of King Harold True? Hunt for Body Begins

Grounds at Essex's Waltham Abbey Church to be scanned

(Newser) - King Harold II's death is immortalized in the Bayeux Tapestry, which shows England's final Anglo-Saxon king taking an arrow to the eye during the Battle of Hastings on Oct. 14, 1066; Norman knights then were said to have hacked him to pieces. Now, a team is tugging on...

Scientists Create 'Alzheimer's in a Dish'

Breakthrough will make drug testing much easier

(Newser) - A huge breakthrough in Alzheimer's research—and one that doesn't involve tests on mice: Scientists have successfully created "Alzheimer's in a dish" using human brain cells in research that will make it much cheaper and easier to test new anti-Alzheimer's drugs, reports the New York ...

Study Finds Evidence of Some Form of Life After Death

 Study Finds Evidence 
 of Some Form of 
 Life After Death 
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Oct 12, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

Study Finds Evidence of Some Form of Life After Death

Largest scientific study of its kind finds awareness can continue for minutes

(Newser) - There have long been stories of near-death or out-of-body experiences, but as researchers at the University of Southampton in the UK note, "objective studies on these experiences are limited." So they decided to investigate whether these claims corresponded with actual events. Their conclusion: It does seem to be...

New Evidence: Alexander the Great's Dad in Greek Tomb

Remains belong to Macedonian King Philip II, archaeologist says

(Newser) - Remains found in an ancient tomb at Vergina nearly 40 years ago belong to none other than Alexander the Great's father, Greek researchers say. Their evidence: The bones and cremated remains show signs of violence that jibe with the life of Macedonian King Philip II, a warrior who lost...

Scientists Determine Your &#39;Optimal&#39; Amount of Sleep
Scientists Determine Your 'Optimal' Amount of Sleep
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Oct 12, 2014 9:56 AM CDT

Scientists Determine Your 'Optimal' Amount of Sleep

7.6 hours for women, 7.8 hours for men

(Newser) - Suspect you're not getting enough sleep? You can now verify whether that is indeed the case. In a study published last month in the journal Sleep , researchers claim to have determined exactly how much sleep we need: 7.6 hours for women and 7.8 hours for men. The...

Remarkable new finds at ship that gave up Antikythera mechanism

 'Titanic of 
 Ancient World' 
 Gives Up 
 New Riches 
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Oct 12, 2014 7:02 AM CDT

'Titanic of Ancient World' Gives Up New Riches

Diver: 'This is the largest ancient shipwreck ever discovered'

(Newser) - As wrecks go, the one that gave up the 2,000-year-old Antikythera mechanism has long been considered a remarkable one. Even more so now: Archaeologists finished a three-week underwater excavation at the site off the coast of Antikythera in southern Greece on Tuesday and discovered that the ship was much...

7 Accused Witches Killed in Tanzania

Police arrest 23 in brutal village slayings

(Newser) - Authorities in a remote village in Tanzania have made 23 arrests after seven people were hacked to death or burned alive because they were believed to be witches, reports the Telegraph . The victims were both men and women in the western village of Murufiti, with five of them older than...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including an explanation of why tomato juice tastes better on airplanes

(Newser) - Another ancient village in Arizona and a forensics discovery about Descartes are on the list:
  • 2 Ancient Villages Emerge in Arizona National Park : Another ancient village has popped up in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park—the second such find in as many years. The villages are some 1,300
...

Descartes' Skull Reveals Secret About His Life

17th-century French mathematician famously said, 'I think, therefore I am'

(Newser) - French mathematician and father of modern philosophy Rene Descartes is perhaps most famous for his phrase, "I think, therefore I am." But now French medical anthropologist and forensic expert Philippe Charlier is adding a layer of intrigue to the thinker's history. Descartes died in Stockholm in 1650...

Huge Breakthrough in Quest for Type 1 Diabetes Cure

Scientists have coaxed stem cells into ones that produce insulin in mice

(Newser) - There's no known cure for Type 1 diabetes, so for 3 million Americans, an insulin pump or regular insulin injections form an imperfect and temporary solution. And it's one that doesn't always keep some of the disease's worst outcomes, including blindness and limb amputation, at bay....

Why Are Plane Passengers So Into Tomato Juice?

The taste is different in a low-pressure environment

(Newser) - Tomato juice: It's not something many people crave on land, but in the sky, it's hugely popular. Germany's Lufthansa airline, for instance, has said it serves some 53,000 gallons of tomato juice per year—not so far off from its 59,000 gallons of beer in...

Cave Paintings Change Story of Ancient Art

Indonesian art goes back at least 39K years

(Newser) - A closer look at cave paintings in Indonesia may redraw the map of prehistoric art and show us that the world's first artists were in Africa, National Geographic reports. An article in Nature says that cave paintings on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, once considered up to 12,000...

Mysterious Shipwreck Lies Beneath New York Lake

90-foot canal boat discovered last year

(Newser) - Divers were scanning the bottom of an Upstate New York lake last year when they stumbled upon a 19th-century boat, well-preserved but mysterious. Experts don't know the name of the canal boat in Cayuga Lake, nor do they know when it sank, the Ithaca Journal reports. They do know...

Physicist Paid Only $200 for His Nobel-Winning Invention

Company that Shuji Nakamura worked for also sued him for trade infringement

(Newser) - Shuji Nakamura's world got a little bit brighter yesterday morning when he found out he'd won the Nobel Prize in physics , along with Japan's Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano. But even though McKinsey guesses that Nakamura's invention—blue light-emitting-diodes, or LEDs—will be worth about $80...

2 Ancient Villages Emerge in Arizona National Park

Dwellings built into sand dunes

(Newser) - An ancient village has come to light in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park—and it's the second such find in as many years. The villages are some 1,300 years old, dating from between 200 AD and 700 AD, ABC News reports. Archaeologists discovered homes dug into the...

Scientists Close In on Lab-Grown Human Penis

They've had success with rabbits, are approaching first clinical trials

(Newser) - If you think a bio-penis is only for guys who've run into angry, knife-wielding partners, think again. Genetic defects, penile cancer surgery, trauma, and even erectile dysfunction are all reasons a sizable number of men might opt for a bioengineered penis. A team of researchers has done it successfully...

How to Reach World's Biggest Cave Chamber: Swim

Miao Room chamber can only be accessed via an underground stream

(Newser) - Cave-measurement contests may not get the average Joe's adrenaline pumping. But for an international team of scientists who toiled deep underneath the mountains in Guanxi, China, in 2013, new figures obtained via laser mapping have confirmed that the Miao Room chamber—a gigantic cavern that's part of the...

Scientists Are Decoding the Genetics of Height

They've now identified nearly 700 genetic variants related to height

(Newser) - Scientists are knee-deep in a freakishly large study (part of the aptly named GIANT Consortium) to better understand the genetics at play in human height. They tell Reuters that height can tell us a lot about various aspects of human health—including diseases like "obesity, diabetes, asthma that are...

Canada: Arctic Shipwreck Is Explorer&#39;s Flagship

 Shipwreck Canada 
 Most Wanted to 
 Find Is Found 
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Oct 5, 2014 10:40 AM CDT

Shipwreck Canada Most Wanted to Find Is Found

Sir John Franklin's body may still be on HMS Erebus

(Newser) - One of two ships from Sir John Franklin's doomed 1845 Arctic expedition was discovered last month —and Canadian authorities have now confirmed that it was the one they most wanted to find. The well-preserved ship is the HMS Erebus, which was the explorer's flagship and may contain...

Scientist Unlocks a da Vinci Secret

 Scientist Unlocks 
 a da Vinci Secret 
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Oct 4, 2014 2:37 PM CDT

Scientist Unlocks a da Vinci Secret

'The Lady with an Ermine' has 2 previous versions hidden beneath it

(Newser) - Among Leonardo da Vinci's most famous paintings is a portrait of a woman holding an ermine, but a new analysis shows there's a lot more to it than that. The portrait features Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of the "white ermine," as da Vinci patron the Duke...

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