discoveries

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

Stories 881 - 900 | << Prev   Next >>

Staying at Home May Have Kept Virus at Bay for 60M Americans

In China, that number is estimated at 285M, per new research

(Newser) - It's been a frustrating time for millions around the world during stay-at-home orders as a result of COVID-19. But a new study suggests this wasn't all for naught, offering "fresh evidence that aggressive and unprecedented shutdowns ... were necessary to halt the exponential spread" of the virus, despite...

This Is the Oldest, Largest Mayan Structure Ever Found
In Mexico, an
Unprecedented
Find, Thanks to
Laser Mapping
in case you missed it
Jun 7, 2020 2:05 PM CDT

In Mexico, an Unprecedented Find, Thanks to Laser Mapping

3K-year-old platform is oldest, largest Mayan structure ever discovered

(Newser) - Archaeologists have just discovered the oldest and largest known Mayan structure, which easily tops the Great Pyramid of Giza in volume. The elevated platform made from 3.8 million cubic meters of earth and clay—discovered at Aguada Fenix in Mexico's Tabasco state, near the Guatemalan border—was constructed...

We&#39;ve Never Seen a Dino Stomach Preserved Like This
Dinosaur's Last Meal
Preserved Down to the Cells
NEW STUDY
Jun 3, 2020 10:40 AM CDT

Dinosaur's Last Meal Preserved Down to the Cells

Researchers 'could see the different layers of cells in a leaf fragment'

(Newser) - Scientists say they've uncovered the "best-preserved dinosaur stomach ever found to date," offering an unprecedented look at a 110-million-year-old chewed salad. It's extremely rare to find a preserved dinosaur stomach, and even rarer to find one with much evidence of diet. But the soccer-ball-size stomach of...

6th Mass Extinction Is Speeding Along. It's 'Entirely Our Fault'

Humanity is 'sawing off the limb on which it is sitting'

(Newser) - Biodiversity is critical for human life, which makes the latest study on it especially troubling. In research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the sixth mass extinction we're currently undergoing, scientists looked at threatened-species data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature,...

A 'Duet' in the Forest Is Great News for Rarest Primate

A male Hainan Gibbon was heard singing with a female, and that's good news

(Newser) - Villagers heard it first: A male gibbon singing a duet with a female on tropical Hainan island off the coast of China. It means that love is in the air, or at least the gibbon version of it, and in this case, it's big news, reports the BBC . That'...

Surprise Find: Ancient Israelites Got High on Weed
Ancient Israelites
Got High at Church
new study
May 29, 2020 10:27 AM CDT

Ancient Israelites Got High at Church

Cannabis residue turns up on altar going back 2,700 years

(Newser) - Scientists studying residue on an ancient Israeli altar found something they didn't expect: cannabis. And it appears those present knew exactly what they were doing. They figured out a way to keep it burning at a low temperature to get worshipers high, reports Haaretz . The sample was found on...

Some Dinosaurs Resorted to Cannibalism
Rare Paleo Find Suggests
Gruesome Dino Dinners
NEW STUDY
May 28, 2020 10:20 AM CDT

Rare Paleo Find Suggests Gruesome Dino Dinners

Researchers say bite marks on carnivore bones in Colorado indicate dinosaur cannibalism

(Newser) - Bite marks on dinosaur bones aren't often found—but they recently turned up in multitudes at the Mygatt-Moore Quarry in Colorado, and researchers say the find could indicate certain carnivorous dinos were cannibals. According to a study published in PLOS One Wednesday, scientists found that, of the 2,368...

Mystery Solved: Why These Frogs Have See-Through Skin

Glass frog's translucent legs help it hide from predators

(Newser) - Scientists say they finally understand why the glass frog has see-through skin: it's camouflage—just not in the way most other tree frogs do it. An international team of scientists wondered why the glass frogs found in Central and South America have partially translucent skin—with intestines and a...

Writing Discovered on 'Blank' Dead Sea Scroll Fragments

'They are like missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle you find under a sofa'

(Newser) - In the 1950s, Dead Sea Scroll fragments thought to be blank were given to a British leather expert so he could study their chemical composition. Almost 70 years later, a professor has discovered they had writing on them all along. King's College London professor Joan Taylor says she spotted...

Scientists Suggest &#39;50/30&#39; Approach to Reopening
Scientists Suggest '50/30'
Approach to Reopening
new study
May 20, 2020 10:15 AM CDT

Scientists Suggest '50/30' Approach to Reopening

As in 50 days of lockdown, followed by 30 days of easing, in a continuous cycle

(Newser) - As the world tries to figure out the right balance of safety vs. normalcy in reopening after the pandemic, a team of international researchers is suggesting a model: 50 days of strict lockdown, followed by 30 days of easing, in a continuous loop. This turned out to be the best...

Scientists Discover Source of The Scream's Big Problem

Humidity is causing low-quality paint to fade, flake

(Newser) - If The Scream could scream a message, it might be "Stop breathing on me!" Scientists say Edvard Munch's 1910 version of the iconic painting, one of four he created, has been deteriorating because the Norwegian used a low-quality tube of paint, the Guardian reports. In a study...

Docs on Man&#39;s CT Scan: We&#39;d &#39;Never Seen Anything Like This&#39;
In Man With Back Pain,
'One of the Rarest' Conditions
in case you missed it
May 16, 2020 10:30 AM CDT

In Man With Back Pain, 'One of the Rarest' Conditions

Patient in Sao Paulo, Brazil, had a slipped disk—and 3 kidneys

(Newser) - Doctors examining a man with back pain discovered the cause of that particular malady—and also stumbled across an odd bonus find. IFLScience reports on a case study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine that details how a 38-year-old man in Sao Paulo, Brazil, showed up...

Why Living With an 8-Month-Old Dog Can Be Rough
Why Living With an
8-Month-Old Dog
Can Be Rough
new study
May 13, 2020 1:00 PM CDT

Why Living With an 8-Month-Old Dog Can Be Rough

In a word: puberty

(Newser) - It turns out living with a dog that's going through puberty might not be much fun, either. Research out of England has found parallels between human teens and their parents and adolescent dogs and their owners when it comes to an uptick in conflict. It's potentially something dog...

Discovery Alters Notions About Early Humans&#39; Travel
Discovery Alters Notions
About Early Humans' Travel
new study
May 11, 2020 12:02 PM CDT

Discovery Alters Notions About Early Humans' Travel

It appears they reached Europe earlier than thought, hung out with Neanderthals

(Newser) - Human bones from a Bulgarian cave suggest our species arrived in Europe thousands of years earlier than previously thought and shared the continent longer than realized with Neanderthals, per the AP . Scientists found four bone fragments and a tooth that detailed radiocarbon and DNA tests show are from four Homo...

Scientists Just Found Closest Black Hole to Earth

'Washington, DC, would quite easily fit into the black hole'

(Newser) - Meet your new but shy galactic neighbor: A black hole left over from the death of a fleeting young star, per the AP . European astronomers have found the closest black hole to Earth yet, so near that the two stars dancing with it can be seen by the naked eye....

Frogs Hopped Around Ancient Antarctica
A Supercontinent Split.
The Frogs Ended Up Here
NEW STUDY
May 6, 2020 10:00 AM CDT

A Supercontinent Split. The Frogs Ended Up Here

Fossils in Antarctica are evidence of the breakup of Gondwana

(Newser) - "Frogs, nowadays, are known on all six other continents. Now we know they were also present on the seventh." That's according to Swedish scientist Thomas Mors, whose discovery of 40-million-year-old ancient horned frog fossils in Antarctica suggests frogs were transported around the globe by the breakup of...

This Dinosaur Could Move Like No Other
This Dinosaur Had
a Unique Skill
in case you missed it
May 3, 2020 6:42 AM CDT

This Dinosaur Had a Unique Skill

Spinosaurus spent a lot of time swimming, say researchers

(Newser) - When Nizar Ibrahim suggested in 2014 that Spinosaurus was the first known dinosaur built to swim, not everyone was convinced. Skeptics wanted a better explanation of how the giant creature would have propelled itself through the water, notes Live Science . Now, Ibrahim and other researchers say they have the answer:...

Skeletons May Be First African Slaves in Americas
Skeletons
Found in
Mass Grave
Depict 'Grim
Period'
NEW STUDY
May 1, 2020 10:14 AM CDT

Skeletons Found in Mass Grave Depict 'Grim Period'

Remains found in Mexico City were likely those among first group of slaves from Africa

(Newser) - In the late 1980s, archaeologists unearthed three skeletons in a mass grave in Mexico City, at the former site of a 16th-century hospital that served indigenous people. What made these skeletons stand out was their teeth, which were filed into shapes much like those found in people from parts of...

Too Much Rain May Have Triggered Kilauea Eruption
Scientists: We Know Why
Kilauea Got Triggered
in case you missed it
Apr 26, 2020 10:23 AM CDT

Scientists: We Know Why Kilauea Got Triggered

Theory suggests heavy rain increased pore pressure, but other scientists are doubtful

(Newser) - Climate change could usher in more volcanic eruptions, according to new research focusing on the 2018 Kilauea eruptions in Hawaii. The research published Wednesday in Nature suggests the Kilauea eruptions were triggered by months of extreme rainfall, which included a 24-hour period that set a US record. The idea is...

Love Your French Press? Your Heart Might Not
Don't Make Coffee This Way
if You Have High Cholesterol
in case you missed it
Apr 26, 2020 7:11 AM CDT

Don't Make Coffee This Way if You Have High Cholesterol

Researchers say filtered coffee fares better for longevity than boiled or press-style varieties

(Newser) - A Swedish study billing itself as the first to look at the tie between the way we brew our coffee and the risk of heart attacks and premature death says one type of brewing method appears healthier than the rest. The research published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology ...

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