discoveries

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

Stories 941 - 960 | << Prev   Next >>

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 ...

Mystery of Missing Exoplanet May Be Solved
Mystery of Missing
Exoplanet May Be Solved
in case you missed it
Apr 25, 2020 7:00 AM CDT

Mystery of Missing Exoplanet May Be Solved

Turns out, Fomalhaut b may not have been an exoplanet after all

(Newser) - Anyone seen Fomalhaut b? In 2008 we learned the exoplanet had been spotted in groundbreaking fashion by the Hubble Telescope, but nobody's caught a glimpse of it for quite a while. Now astronomers think they know why. Turns out, Fomalhaut b may not have been an exoplanet at all,...

World&#39;s Insect Population Is &#39;Awfully Alarming&#39;
World's Insect Population
Is 'Awfully Alarming'
new study
Apr 24, 2020 12:43 PM CDT

World's Insect Population Is 'Awfully Alarming'

Number of land-dwelling bugs is down 27% in last 30 years

(Newser) - The world has lost more than one quarter of its land-dwelling insects in the past 30 years, according to researchers whose big picture study of global bug decline paints a disturbing but more nuanced problem than earlier research. From bees and other pollinators crucial to the world’s food supply...

She Was Shot in the Chest. A Surprising Thing Saved Her

Bullet traveled through both of a woman's breast implants in rare case

(Newser) - A Canadian woman can credibly say that her breast implants saved her life. The unnamed 30-year-old had been walking in Toronto in 2018 when she felt pain on the left side of her chest, looked down, and saw blood, per Gizmodo . She went to the emergency room, where she learned...

Sexy Male Lemurs Have Natural Perfume


Lemurs Are
Masters of
'Stink Flirting'
NEW STUDY
Apr 17, 2020 12:11 PM CDT

Lemurs Are Masters of 'Stink Flirting'

Males secrete a natural scent, possibly the first sex pheromone found in a primate

(Newser) - The act of dabbing fragrance on your wrist in the hope of attracting a potential partner isn't strictly human, apparently. Ring-tailed lemurs attract mates in much the same way, only naturally, according to Japanese researchers, reports the Guardian . The lemurs have scent glands on their wrists and shoulders, used...

Pioneers Ate These Apples. They Were Just Rediscovered

2 retirees scour abandoned orchards in the Northwest, find 10 'extinct' varieties

(Newser) - Two retirees who scour the remote ravines and windswept plains of the Pacific Northwest for long-forgotten orchards have rediscovered 10 apple varieties that were believed to be extinct—the largest number ever unearthed in a single season by the nonprofit Lost Apple Project, per the AP . Botanists at the Temperate...

In Australia's Deep: 'We Couldn't Believe What We Were Seeing'

Apolemia, a Silly String-like marine creature, could be longest animal ever seen

(Newser) - Scientists exploring underwater canyons in Western Australia say they've discovered up to 30 new marine species, including what's thought to be the longest animal ever seen. The Apolemia, belonging to the siphonophore family of marine organisms related to jellyfish, is made up of millions of tiny clones that...

Scientists Found Teeth in Peru That Shouldn't Be There

Extinct monkeys in South America apparently arrived there by raft from Africa

(Newser) - Archaeologists in the Amazon found four small teeth that had no business being in South America. The teeth are from an extinct species of monkeys from the family of primates known as parapithecids—which once roamed in North Africa. In a new paper in Science , researchers lay out what they...

50K Years Ago, Neanderthals Were Making String

Find hints at other abilities

(Newser) - It looked like a white splotch on the underside of a Neanderthal stone tool. But a microscope showed it was a bunch of fibers twisted around each other. Further examination revealed it was the first direct evidence that Neanderthals could make string, and the oldest known direct evidence for string-making...

Stories 941 - 960 | << Prev   Next >>