discoveries

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STD Makes Crickets Mate Like Crazy

Highly contagious iridovirus also causes infertility, death

(Newser) - A newly discovered virus boosts the libido, encouraging those infected—that would be crickets, not humans—to have sex more often and with more partners. The highly contagious iridovirus transmits itself via close contact while mating, but not via insemination; it apparently passes from one's antennae to another's...

Tsunami Wiped Out Ancient 'Paradise' in North Sea

Huge wave eliminated last settlers on 'Doggerland,' says new research

(Newser) - So where did the inhabitants of an ancient "paradise" in the North Sea known as Doggerland go? Under the waves of a giant tsunami about 8,000 years ago, according to a new study. UK researchers say an enormous landslide off the coast of Norway triggered a 16-foot tsunami...

New Smallpox-Like Virus Discovered

Two herdsmen in country of Georgia infected, says CDC

(Newser) - The virus is so newly discovered that it hasn't yet been named, and what's known about it is scant. But the CDC today revealed that the virus, which has saddled two herdsmen in the country of Georgia with blisters on their arms and hands, is what NPR calls...

Modern Humans No Brainier Than Neanderthals
Modern Humans No
Brainier Than Neanderthals
new study
May 1, 2014 10:40 AM CDT

Modern Humans No Brainier Than Neanderthals

Study: Archaeology doesn't support idea of Neanderthals as dimwitted

(Newser) - It's a well-ingrained stereotype: That Neanderthals grunted their way through life as less than brilliant "club-wielding brutes." A new study published in Plos One says that just isn't so. Scientists have long theorized that early modern humans had a cognitive advantage (which translated, they posited, into...

Thanks, Humanity: Ocean Floor Is a Garbage Dump

Study of 32 ocean sites finds not one free of human litter

(Newser) - In the depths of European oceans, you'll find coral, sand—and old Heineken cans. Yup, human litter can be found even in the most far-reaching places on the planet, according to one of the biggest scientific surveys ever done of the seafloor. Using video and trawling surveys between 1999...

Discovered: Secret of Pyramids' Construction

In a word, water

(Newser) - When you picture Egypt's pyramids rising over the country's sands, your vision likely doesn't include water. It should, according to a new study published online Tuesday. University of Amsterdam researchers found that ancient Egyptians employed what Phys.org calls a "clever trick" to facilitate the pyramids'...

Ancient Image of Jesus Found in Egypt Tomb

Painting of curly-haired figure thought to date to 6th or 7th century

(Newser) - Archaeologists exploring the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchu believe they have uncovered one of the earliest images of Jesus ever found. The figure painted on the wall of a hidden room deep in an ancient tomb shows "a young man with curly hair, dressed in a short tunic and...

Nail Salon Lamps Linked to Skin Cancer Risk

But it takes many uses to damage skin, study finds

(Newser) - Frequent users of the lamp dryers in nail salons should consider using sunscreen or wearing gloves to minimize the risk of skin cancer, according to a new study. Researchers say the machines, which use ultraviolet light to dry nail polishes, emit enough radiation to cause the kind of skin damage...

Astronomers Find Planet With 8-Hour Day

Beta Pictoris b is a milestone discovery for scientists

(Newser) - If the 9-to-5 grind leaves you feeling like your day is shot, be thankful you're not living on the planet Beta Pictoris b. Scientists have calculated that its entire day is only eight hours long, reports the Los Angeles Times . The reason is that the gas giant's equator...

'Shipwreck' Turns Out to Be Rare Tar Volcanoes

Underwater find is first in northern Gulf of Mexico

(Newser) - Scientists searching for shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico found something a lot stranger last week: a pair of rare "tar volcanoes" spouting asphalt. The formations, the first of their kind to be found in the northern Gulf, left behind solidified eruptions that scientists nicknamed tar lilies because the...

Scientists Find Old Hunting Zone Under Lake Huron

Prehistoric hunters used it to round up caribou

(Newser) - Researchers have made a rare find that demonstrates how clever prehistoric hunters in North America could be—and it's at the bottom of Lake Huron of all places. Researchers at the University of Michigan found evidence of a network of hunting blinds they say was used to kill caribou...

World's Fastest Animal Is Very, Very Small

When speed is measured in body lengths per second, that is

(Newser) - Watch your back, Usain Bolt: A California physics major has found that a tiny mite is (sort of) the fastest land animal on Earth, keeping a pace equivalent to that of a human running 1,300 miles per hour, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Why "sort of"? As...

Dark Matter May Hurl Comets at Planet Earth

 How Dark Matter 
 Could End Life 
 on Earth 
study says
Apr 28, 2014 6:15 PM CDT

How Dark Matter Could End Life on Earth

By hurling comets at our planet: Harvard study

(Newser) - Dark matter seems to hold galaxies snugly together across the universe—but it could also hurl comets at Earth and threaten our entire species, according to a new study . This is based on a theory that there's a huge disk of dark matter lying on the central plane of...

Gold Miners Discover 'Unique' Mineral

Putnisite has a unique composition and structure, study says

(Newser) - Miners prospecting for nickel and gold in Western Australia have stumbled on a rare find: a mineral that's unique among the world's 4,000 discovered mineral species, LiveScience reports. Called putnisite, it ranges from dark to light purple, has a pink streak, and is found on volcanic rock,...

Tsetse Fly&#39;s Strange New Vulnerability&mdash;Its Breast Milk
Deadly Fly's Strange Vulnerability: Its Breast Milk
in case you missed it
Apr 27, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

Deadly Fly's Strange Vulnerability: Its Breast Milk

Scientists decode insect's genome, may try to stifle mom's production

(Newser) - Scientists have unraveled the genome of the tsetse fly after a 10-year effort, and the development could save Africa from the devastating effects of the fatal infection it carries known as sleeping sickness, reports LiveScience . While the disease—one that drives its victims crazy in rabies-like fashion and is fatal...

Scientists Pry Open Coffin of King Murdered in 1160
Scientists Pry Open Coffin
of King Murdered in 1160
in case you missed it
Apr 27, 2014 9:51 AM CDT

Scientists Pry Open Coffin of King Murdered in 1160

Swedish scientists test DNA of King Erik the Holy

(Newser) - A cathedral chaplain calls it "a very special occasion," though it sounds rather grisly: Swedish researchers yesterday opened an 850-year-old coffin containing the remains of the country's King Erik IX, who was murdered in 1160 and later made a saint, the AP reports. Scientists plan to study...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including the decoding of the tsetse fly's genome

(Newser) - A perk of higher education you probably never knew existed and some talkative whales are on the list:
  • Education Helps You Recover From Brain Injury : College degrees may have an unexpected benefit: helping people recover from serious traumatic brain injury. A study of 769 adults found that a year after
...

Sorry, Blood in Gourd Isn&#39;t from Louis XVI
 Sorry, Blood in Gourd 
 Isn't from Louis XVI 
study says
Apr 25, 2014 10:06 AM CDT

Sorry, Blood in Gourd Isn't from Louis XVI

Researchers map out genome

(Newser) - A famous gourd was believed to contain the blood of Louis XVI after he was beheaded: It said as much in an inscription, and some research has appeared to confirm it. Now, however, experts have sequenced the blood's genome, and they're saying the opposite, the BBC reports. Their...

Education Helps You Recover From Brain Injury

People with college degrees recover at higher rate in study

(Newser) - College degrees may have an unexpected benefit: helping people recover from serious traumatic brain injury, NPR reports. A study of 769 adults found that a year after injury, 10% without a high school education had fully recovered, compared to 39% with a college degree. Those with advanced degrees fared even...

Iron Curtain Still Exists&mdash; for Deer
 Iron Curtain 
 Still Exists— 
 for Deer 
study says
Apr 24, 2014 10:36 AM CDT

Iron Curtain Still Exists— for Deer

Czech, German animals stay on their own sides of the border

(Newser) - Czech and German deer are way behind when it comes to international politics. The creatures won't cross the Czech border with what used to be West Germany, despite the fall of the Iron Curtain, a study of 300 red deer finds. Researchers used GPS collars to track the deer...

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