discoveries

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

Stories 421 - 440 | << Prev   Next >>

Apes Love to Spin, and the Reason May Surprise You
Apes Love to Spin, and
the Reason May Surprise You
new study

Apes Love to Spin, and the Reason May Surprise You

Research suggests that, like humans, they like the feeling of getting dizzy

(Newser) - Researchers in the United Kingdom have discovered that, just like kids with too much sugar and free space to play, great apes—including gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans—intentionally spin in circles to get dizzy. By analyzing videos of these apes in action, scientists concluded that it's possible this trait...

70% of New Type 2 Diabetes Cases Are Linked to This
70% of New Type 2 Diabetes
Cases Are Linked to This
in case you missed it

70% of New Type 2 Diabetes Cases Are Linked to This

Poor diet, including those made up of refined carbs and red meat, largely to blame

(Newser) - The CDC expects to see a 700% increase in the number of young Americans diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes by 2060. It's both a national and global problem and, according to new research, poor diet is largely to blame. Researchers from Tufts University created a model based on dietary...

Health Studies on Ice Cream Are &#39;Pretty Bonkers&#39;
Health Studies on Ice Cream
Are 'Pretty Bonkers'
longform

Health Studies on Ice Cream Are 'Pretty Bonkers'

'Atlantic' explores how researchers keep finding health benefits but don't believe it

(Newser) - The headline of David Merritt Johns' story in the Atlantic refers to it as "nutrition science's most preposterous result." And in the story itself, Merritt Johns calls it "pretty bonkers." It seems that nutritional studies over the years keep suggesting an unexpected result: Eating ice...

These Guys Get by on 2 Hours of Sleep a Day
These Guys Get by on
2 Hours of Sleep a Day
New Study

These Guys Get by on 2 Hours of Sleep a Day

Researchers matched northern elephant seal brain waves with diving patterns to monitor how they sleep

(Newser) - If you're still drinking coffee and blinking sleep out of your eyes, you might feel sympathy for the northern elephant seal. NPR reports that in a newly-published study, researchers found the huge mammals—known for the way the males' noses resemble elephant trunks—sleep less than just about any...

Factor in Water Problems: Rich Peoples&#39; Pools
Factor in Water Problems:
Rich Peoples' Pools
New Study

Factor in Water Problems: Rich Peoples' Pools

Researchers found the wealthy use up to 12 times more water than people with lower incomes

(Newser) - Socioeconomic disparity is a major factor in water crises plaguing cities, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Sustainability . NPR reports that the study, conducted by an international research team, found that wealthy city dwellers who can afford swimming pools, flower gardens, and fountains use more...

Video Captures Rare Wolverine Sighting in Oregon

Luckily, it made it across the highway ahead of a passing truck

(Newser) - Wildlife officials in western Oregon are pretty enthused —it appears that at least one wolverine is attempting to settle in the area for the first time in 30 years, reports the Salem Statesman Journal . At least five sightings have been reported since March 20 in the Central Cascades region,...

It Was Something Mankind Had Never Seen. Now It's Clearer

The first-ever image of a black hole gets sharpened with help from AI

(Newser) - It was something mankind had never seen before—and now we're seeing it like never before. The first-ever image of a black hole captured in 2019 revealed a fuzzy, fiery doughnut-shaped object. Now, researchers have used artificial intelligence to give that cosmic beauty shot a touch-up. The updated picture,...

True Masterpiece Hung in Family&#39;s TV Room as a Joke
True Masterpiece Hung in
Family's TV Room as a Joke
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

True Masterpiece Hung in Family's TV Room as a Joke

400-year-old work by Pieter Bruegel the Younger surfaces, sells for $845K

(Newser) - An auctioneer was assessing the value of art and artifacts at a home in northern France last fall when a canvas caked in dust caught his eye. Partially concealed by a door in a darkened TV room, the painting looked to be a masterpiece but was in fact a fake,...

Injection Restores COVID Patient&#39;s Loss of Smell
Coffee Aroma
Made Her Cry,
for Good
Reason
video

Coffee Aroma Made Her Cry, for Good Reason

Ohio woman who had COVID has sense of smell restored at Cleveland Clinic

(Newser) - Lots of people love the smell of coffee. Few have been as overjoyed with it as Ohio's Jennifer Henderson, and for good reason. A video released by the Cleveland Clinic shows the 54-year-old bursting into tears as she is handed a cup and is able to detect the aroma,...

One Hip Bone Differed From the Other Shipwreck Victims'

DNA shows a woman went down with Swedish warship the Vasa in 1628

(Newser) - A US military lab has helped Swedes confirm what was suspected for years: A woman was among those who died on a 17th-century warship that sank on its maiden voyage, the museum that displays the ship said Tuesday. The wreck of the royal warship Vasa was raised in 1961 and...

We May Never Find a Fish Deeper Than This

Snailfish filmed just above suspected death zone in Pacific Ocean's Izu-Ogasawara trench

(Newser) - Scientists have filmed the deepest fish ever observed, an incredible 27,349 feet, or 8,336 meters, deep in the Izu-Ogasawara trench southeast of Japan. The young snailfish was spotted calmly swimming by sea robots exploring the depths last September. The deepest fish observed previously was a snailfish at 8,...

T. Rex Had Lizard Lips Concealing Its Fangs
We May Have to Rethink
Our Image of T. Rex's Face
in case you missed it

We May Have to Rethink Our Image of T. Rex's Face

Study suggests the dinosaur had lizard lips, not bare fangs

(Newser) - Movies like Jurassic Park have given us a bare-fanged image of the Tyrannosaurus Rex that only enhanced its fearsome legacy. Now researchers believe the dinosaurs' predator king might have had more in common appearance-wise with modern lizards, namely lizard-like lips covering its teeth. The Wall Street Journal reports that a...

Native Americans Had Horses Long Before Europeans Came
Narrative of Early Horses
in America Just Changed
new study

Narrative of Early Horses in America Just Changed

Study suggests they were here with Native Americans much earlier than thought

(Newser) - Horses evolved then went extinct in the Americas 4 million years ago, but not before they crossed the Bering Land Bridge to Eurasia, were they were domesticated. Then in 1519 the Spanish brought them to Mexico—and from there, a new study suggests horses arrived in North America earlier than...

Old Masters' Paint Contained Protein—Likely Intentionally

Researchers evaluate the benefits of adding egg yolk to oil paint

(Newser) - If Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt were alive today, they'd likely be wringing their hands over egg prices with the rest of us. That's because they may have intentionally added egg yolk to their oil paints, and a new study published Tuesday in Nature Communications tries to get...

There&#39;s Water All Over the Moon
There's Water
All Over the Moon
NEW STUDY

There's Water All Over the Moon

Researchers in China find H2O can be pulled from heated impact beads

(Newser) - New research suggests trillions of gallons of water are spread across the moon—which should be great news for those planning a lunar colony. Though NASA plans to search for water ice at the lunar south pole, there are signs that water isn't restricted to the poles but is...

With Locks of Hair, Scientists Solve a Beethoven Mystery
With Locks of Hair, Scientists
Solve a Beethoven Mystery
in case you missed it

With Locks of Hair, Scientists Solve a Beethoven Mystery

DNA indicates the contributing factors of the liver disease thought to have killed him

(Newser) - With one Ludwig van Beethoven mystery likely solved , it's on to another one: why he spent his life in so much pain. It's a quest that led scientists to sequence his genome in a search for answers as to what may have caused his hearing loss, days-long bouts...

Otter-Killing Parasite Also Possible Human Threat

After four sea otters died from a rare form of toxoplasmosis, scientists are warning of a threat to humans

(Newser) - After discovering four sea otters died due to infection by what a UC Davis press release termed an "unusually severe" form of toxoplasmosis, scientists are sounding an alarm. Science reports that veterinary pathologist Melissa Miller first noted the infection in a dead otter in 2020. It wasn't that...

Walking-and-Talking Gets Harder in Middle Age
Walking-and-Talking
Gets Harder in Middle Age
new study

Walking-and-Talking Gets Harder in Middle Age

Researchers spot 'subtle' changes in gait if people are multitasking starting at age 55

(Newser) - For those 55 and over who have discovered that sometimes things just don't click like they used to, researchers have news: It's not just you. A new study suggests the feeling that it's not as easy to multitask while walking once you reach your mid-50s is real...

Scientists Do 180 Away From 'Weird' Theories on 'Oumuamua

They're going back to positing that interstellar visitor was a comet, albeit with gas, dust trapped

(Newser) - Was it an asteroid , a comet , a chunk of a distant planet , or an alien artifact ? All of these possibilities have been floated since the mysterious 'Oumuamua, our first known interstellar visitor, sped through our solar system in 2017. A 2021 study suggested what was previously thought to...

Endangered Tortoise Fathers Triplets at Age 90

In a surprise, Houston Zoo now has a family of 5 radiated tortoises

(Newser) - The Houston Zoo has revealed a happy surprise: three baby tortoises that belong to a critically endangered species. As NPR reports, the triplets' arrival is particularly noteworthy because the father is the zoo's oldest resident—90-year-old Mr. Pickles. He has been partnered with 53-year-old Mrs. Pickles since 1996. Radiated...

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