discoveries

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Pelvic Bones Give Whales 'Crazy Control' During Sex

Mammal's pelvis is key to tricky reproductive maneuvers, scientists say

(Newser) - All this time, scientists thought a whale's pelvis was useless—but it turns out that it may actually help the marine mammal make its moves when it's time to get it on. A study published in the journal Evolution finds that bigger actually is better when it comes...

Animal Fur May Cut Babies&#39; Asthma Risk
Animal Fur May Cut
Babies' Asthma Risk
study says
Sep 9, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Animal Fur May Cut Babies' Asthma Risk

Newborns who sleep on it have fewer problems, says study

(Newser) - Newborns who sleep on animal fur in the first months of life aren't as likely to come down with asthma and allergies later in life, a new study suggests. Researchers aren't talking about snuggling up with a dog or cat—they mean, for example, a sheepskin rug or...

Macho Men Have So-So Sperm

 Macho Men  
 Have So-So Sperm 
study says
Sep 9, 2014 4:19 PM CDT

Macho Men Have So-So Sperm

Tradeoff between looks and virility might be at play, says study

(Newser) - Macho guys may attract more women, but the quality of their sperm might not be of he-man standards, a new study suggests. Oddly, the sperm of good-looking guys—but not necessarily macho ones with square jaws and distinct cheekbones—is just fine, reports Medical Daily . The link was found when...

Explorer Ship Missing Since 1845 Found in Arctic

Vessel that vanished during Franklin Expedition is in Northwest Passage: Canada

(Newser) - In 1845, British explorer Sir John Franklin set off with 128 men on the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus to explore the Arctic's Northwest Passage. Both ships apparently got stuck in the ice and then vanished, earning their place in the annals of Canada's greatest adventure mysteries—until...

Man Wakes From Coma Speaking Fluent Mandarin

He lost his English-speaking skills but remembered Chinese from high school

(Newser) - When Ben McMahon went into a coma after a car crash, he spoke English; when he woke up, he spoke only fluent Mandarin. Although the Australian man had taken Mandarin in high school, he was never fluent, and doctors are still trying to figure out exactly why he completely lost...

Health Damage From Sitting Can Be Walked Back

Short breaks to walk can improve blood flow

(Newser) - Scientists have long warned that spending too much time sitting can put you in an early grave through heart disease , obesity , cancer , or other health problems—but a new study says at least some of the damage can be reversed by simply getting up and walking every so often. Researchers...

Why It's So Hard to Get Rid of Your Accent

Tip: Try being under 5 years old

(Newser) - Even after we've become well-versed in a second language, that native accent can be tough to shake. In short, an expert tells LiveScience , that's because you probably are older than age five. Between birth and that age, our flexible minds are good at picking up different sounds. But...

Pits Prove It: We've Been Eating Peaches for Millennia

They were domesticated some 7.5K years ago in China: study

(Newser) - When you savor a juicy peach, you're joining a tradition that goes back some 7,500 years. That long ago, Chinese farmers started domesticating the sweet fruit, researchers find. Peaches eaten all over the planet have roots—no pun intended—near Shanghai, in the lower Yangtze River Valley, according...

Messages Sent From Brain to Brain Over 5K Miles
Messages Sent From Brain
to Brain Over 5K Miles
in case you missed it
Sep 7, 2014 7:27 AM CDT

Messages Sent From Brain to Brain Over 5K Miles

First-of-its kind experiment relays 'hola' and 'ciao' from India to France

(Newser) - A team of neuroscientists tapped into brain-wave-reading gear, binary code, and the Internet to transmit thoughts from a subject in India to three human "receivers" in France—about 5,000 miles away, reports Popular Science . The four participants, ages 28-50, were hooked up to equipment that looked like it...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including why you might want to take a nap after a cup of joe

(Newser) - A strange crater in an irrigation pond and a Neanderthal cave carving make the list:
  • Mystery Crater Surfaces on Utah Farm : Gary Dalton was draining the irrigation pond on his farmland in Circleville, Utah, when he made a startling discovery: a giant crater staring back up at him from the
...

Meet Dreadnoughtus, Biggest Dinosaur Yet

One in Patagonia weighed 65 tons, was still growing

(Newser) - Introducing the new king of the dinosaurs, at least in terms of size. Researchers in the Patagonia region of Argentina found a brute they've named Dreadnoughtus, and they're laying claim to it being the largest land animal whose size can be accurately measured—thanks mainly to the fact...

Mushroom-Shaped Critter in Deep Sea Vexes Biologists

Animal found in 1986, only now being scientifically described

(Newser) - From afar, the deep-sea animal species Dendrogramma enigmatica resembles a chanterelle mushroom. Upon closer inspection, though, the creatures seem to belong to the animal, not fungi, kingdom. And yet they cannot be classified under any existing animal group, perhaps necessitating an entire rewriting of the early tree of life, not...

Mystery Crater Surfaces on Utah Farm

Theories include collapsed soil, earthquakes, or 'Martian art'

(Newser) - Gary Dalton was draining the irrigation pond on his farmland in Circleville, Utah, when he made a startling discovery: a giant crater staring back up at him from the bottom of the basin. "The sun was just right, so I saw this blasted thing that no one had ever...

By 6 or 7, Kids Learn How to Lie and Distrust
By 6 or 7, Kids Learn How
to Lie and Distrust
study says
Sep 3, 2014 10:26 AM CDT

By 6 or 7, Kids Learn How to Lie and Distrust

Lying comes before distrust, researchers find

(Newser) - Kids are capable of thinking strategically, including using competitiveness and lies to their own benefit, by the time they're 7. So report researchers out of the University of Minnesota who studied 69 kids ages 3 to 9 playing two games. Kids typically figure out how to infer what others...

This Carving May Prove Neanderthals Were Artists

Carving dates to 39K years ago; Neanderthals disappeared around that time

(Newser) - An ancient etching inside a cave in Gibraltar may mean that Neanderthals' knuckles weren't dragging quite as much as we believed, reports the BBC . The design suggests Neanderthals were capable of symbolic thinking, a trait once believed to be unique to modern humans, anthropologist Clive Finlayson of the Gibraltar...

Want to Lose Weight? Keep Eating Fats

Carbs, not fats, mess with our metabolism

(Newser) - If you're trying to lose weight on a low-fat diet and it's not working, here's why. Refined carbohydrates—found in processed foods like white breads, white rice, and pastas—tend to be loaded with sugar, which messes with our metabolisms, making it harder to burn calories. Eating...

Freshwater Fueling Antarctic Sea Rise

Coastal waters rising faster than rest of ocean

(Newser) - Around 61% of the world's freshwater is locked up in Antarctic ice—but a new study warns that accelerating melting on the continent is helping push up the sea levels around it. Researchers found that between 1992 and 2011, sea levels rose more around Antarctica than in the Southern...

Patchy Grass Offers a Big Stonehenge Clue

Areas of poor growth suggest stones once made a full circle

(Newser) - A layperson's simple observation may help solve a Stonehenge mystery that scientific expertise couldn't. A historic preservation worker noticed that the grass didn't grow so well in certain areas near the ancient monument, the BBC reports. It's possible that giant stones were once placed there, suggesting...

Couples Who Smoke Pot Together Stay ... Chill
 Couples Who 
 Smoke Pot 
 Together 
 Stay ... Chill 
in case you missed it
Aug 31, 2014 3:18 PM CDT

Couples Who Smoke Pot Together Stay ... Chill

Researchers say it's especially true when both spouses partake

(Newser) - It isn't called a peace pipe for nothing. New research backs up what most people would have probably guessed—that married couples who smoke pot tend to be less violent than those who don't, and that this is especially true when both partners toke up. In a study...

We Understand Probability as Toddlers
 We Understand 
 Probability as 
 Toddlers 
study says
Aug 31, 2014 10:27 AM CDT

We Understand Probability as Toddlers

Experiment shows their quick learning skills

(Newser) - Don't understand probability? Try asking a 2-year-old. A study suggests they have an instinctive understanding of the ideas involved, and that a little observation goes a long way. Researchers at the University of Washington showed 32 toddlers a machine featuring a pair of blocks and a platform, Quartz reports....

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