discoveries

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

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Jaws Drop at NASA: The Moon Is Rusty
Jaws Drop
at NASA:
The Moon
Is Rusty
in case you missed it
Sep 12, 2020 11:00 AM CDT

Jaws Drop at NASA: The Moon Is Rusty

'At first, I totally didn't believe it'

(Newser) - Rust, on the moon? Scientists say they were shocked to find it lurking on the moon's polar surfaces, Space.com reports. "At first, I totally didn't believe it. It shouldn't exist based on the conditions present on the moon," says NASA scientist Abigail Fraeman, co-author...

We&#39;ve Got Cadaver Dogs. Next Up: Cadaver Plants?
In Search for Human
Bodies, Plants May Be Key
NEW STUDY
Sep 8, 2020 10:35 AM CDT

In Search for Human Bodies, Plants May Be Key

Chemicals from decomposing remains may trigger visible changes in vegetation

(Newser) - Researchers are toying with a new idea that could transform grueling and expensive body-recovery missions, and it involves what you might call cadaver plants. Yes, plants. Neal Stewart, a biologist at the University of Tennessee, has long been interested in the ways plants sense and respond to stresses. Now, he...

Scientists' Understanding of Black Holes Is Rattled

2 black holes merged into never-before-seen size

(Newser) - Black holes are getting stranger—even to astronomers, who've now detected the signal from a long-ago violent collision of two black holes that created a new one of a size that had never been seen before. "It's the biggest bang since the Big Bang observed by humanity,...

COVID-19 Antibodies Hold Tight for 4 Months
COVID-19 Antibodies
Hold Tight for 4 Months
new study
Sep 2, 2020 11:00 AM CDT

COVID-19 Antibodies Hold Tight for 4 Months

Levels were found to rise in months 1 and 2 and then hold steady

(Newser) - A new study out of Iceland has some new answers about COVID-19 antibodies—but also raises new questions. The upshot is that antibodies were found to persist in some people for at least four months after they contracted the coronavirus, per the study published Tuesday in the New England Journal ...

Stomach Rebelling Over Stress? 'Love' Hormone May Help

Scientists find that oxytocin plays bigger role in stress reduction, digestion than previously thought

(Newser) - When you're cuddling with someone special, you may feel butterflies in your stomach—but scientists now say the feel-good hormone that's released when you're in love may also be playing another part when it comes to your GI tract. Researchers have long known that when people are...

Caffeine Limits for Pregnant Women Need 'Radical Revision'

Health authorities disagree; 200mg daily limit remains

(Newser) - Pregnant women who've limited their caffeine consumption to one or two cups of coffee per day, in accordance with official US guidance, aren't going far enough, according to a new peer-reviewed study that finds there's no safe level of caffeine for moms-to-be. Researchers say health recommendations in...

First Case of COVID Reinfection Is Confirmed

Man in Hong Kong had 2 different strains, months apart

(Newser) - A 33-year-old IT worker in Hong Kong came down with COVID-19 in March but recovered after experiencing mild symptoms. More than four months later, he returned from a trip to Europe and was diagnosed again, this time with a different strain of the virus. Researchers say his case is the...

It Took Months to Get Their Mining Permit. It Was Worth the Wait

Family members find 2 gold nuggets worth at least $250K in Australia

(Newser) - It was an exciting episode Thursday of Aussie Gold Hunters on Discovery, with a family find that could soon make them several hundred thousand dollars richer. Prospector Brent Shannon searches for gold in Australia with his brother-in-law Ethan West as the "Poseidon Crew," and West says he has...

Alaska Salmon Are Shrinking, and Scientists Have a Theory

The fish aren't spending as long in the ocean as they used to before returning to spawn

(Newser) - It won't be a revelation to locals, but researchers have determined that Alaska salmon are shrinking. For example, Chinook salmon are 8% smaller today than they were before 1990, say researchers in Nature Communications . Sockeye, coho, and chum salmon have also shrunk, though to a lesser extent, reports Reuters...

COVID-19 Smell Loss Study Supports an Infection Theory

The theory being that the coronavirus infects the brain and central nervous system

(Newser) - A small study out of Europe is the first to look at how smell loss associated with COVID-19 differs from that caused by a severe cold or the flu—and the findings bolster the theory that the coronavirus infects the brain and central nervous system, per a press release . A...

Tiny 'Lost Species' Is Alive and Well

Elephant shrew spotted for first time since 1968

(Newser) - A tiny "lost species" has been rediscovered, thriving far from human activity in the Horn of Africa. Researchers say they set out to find the Somali sengi, one of 20 species of elephant shrew, in Djibouti and lucked out with the first of 1,000 traps they set in...

Penguins&#39; First Home: Not Antarctica
Penguins' First Home
Isn't What We Thought
NEW STUDY
Aug 18, 2020 10:55 AM CDT

Penguins' First Home Isn't What We Thought

Researchers trace origin to Australia, New Zealand, not Antarctica, some 22M years ago

(Newser) - Penguins have had quite the journey, from Australia some 22 million years ago to modern-day Antarctica, according to a new study. With help from institutions around the world, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, analyzed blood and tissue samples from 18 species of penguins, finding that the animals originated...

Amateur Treasure Hunter Hits It Big in Scotland

'I've just discovered a big part of Scottish history'

(Newser) - A man and his metal detector have uncovered a 3,000-year-old hoard of Bronze Age goods, including a complete sword and horse harness, its leather and wood still preserved. "[I] felt from the very beginning that this might be something spectacular and I've just discovered a big part...

How Monkeys Act After Fires May Be Clue to Our Own Past

Study suggests they recognize its benefits, are drawn to burnt grasslands

(Newser) - The ability to control fire changed the game for early humans, and scientists suggest they may have just gained insight into how the process came about. In a new study in the Journal of Evolution , researchers watched how monkeys behaved after grass fires—and how the primates seemed to realize...

Cats, Dogs Frolicked Near $9M Emperor&#39;s Vase
'Next to Miraculous' $9M Vase
Found in Old Woman's Cupboard
in case you missed it
Aug 8, 2020 11:31 AM CDT

'Next to Miraculous' $9M Vase Found in Old Woman's Cupboard

Rediscovered Chinese porcelain dating back 275 years kept in open cupboard near cats, dogs

(Newser) - A delicate Chinese porcelain vase believed to have been crafted for an emperor 275 years ago has sold for more than $9 million after turning up in a cupboard in a country home in central Europe. The rare find—actually two vases in one, with a pierced outer layer of...

Dingo Poisoning Has Unintended Effect
Dingo Poisoning Has
Unintended Effect
new study
Aug 6, 2020 2:25 PM CDT

Dingo Poisoning Has Unintended Effect

The animals are getting bigger, say Australian researchers

(Newser) - Australian researchers have made an odd discovery: Dingoes are getting bigger—but only in areas where long-term poison campaigns against them have been in place. It seems the bait traps have the unintended consequence of making the surviving animals larger, reports Science Daily . "The most likely theory is that...

Beetle Has Brilliant, Gross Method of Escape
Beetle Has an Amazing
Way of Escaping Death
new study
Aug 4, 2020 1:59 PM CDT

Beetle Has an Amazing Way of Escaping Death

After being swallowed, insect tricks frog into pooping and, voila, freedom

(Newser) - Once upon a time, a water beetle was swallowed by a frog. The intrepid insect survived the journey through the frog's mouth, esophagus, stomach, and intestines, then found itself at what scientists call the frog's "vent"—in other words, its anus. So close to freedom. The...

Scientists: 'Smallest Dinosaur' Wasn't Really a Dinosaur

They now believe Oculudentavis was a lizard

(Newser) - Oculudentavis khaungraawas was a strange and fascinating creature, scientists say—but it probably wasn't a dinosaur. Researchers who identified the hummingbird-sized animal as the smallest known dinosaur in a study published earlier this year have retracted their claim following new research and the discovery of another Oculudentavis fossil, NBC...

Fool&#39;s Gold May Not Be Worthless After All
Fool's Gold May Not
Be Worthless After All
in case you missed it
Aug 2, 2020 6:44 AM CDT

Fool's Gold May Not Be Worthless After All

Researchers find novel way to make it magnetic

(Newser) - Pyrite has the look of gold but, historically, none of the value—hence the nickname fool's gold. But researchers have now come up with a way to make the commonly found mineral much more appealing—and in the process, they induced magnetism electrically in a non-magnetic material for the...

He Was Clamming With His Grandpa. Then: 'Holy Moly'

The mollusk that Cooper Monaco, 11, found in RI weighs almost 2.5 pounds

(Newser) - An 11-year-old Rhode Island boy clamming with his grandfather found a giant quahog that's thought to be one of the largest ever harvested in state waters. Cooper Monaco, of Wakefield, found the massive mollusk Monday in the Weekapaug section of Westerly and donated it to the University of Rhode...

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