discoveries

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

Stories 981 - 1000 | << Prev   Next >>

Scientists Suggest Novel Idea for More Efficient Toilets

Penn State researchers develop slippery spray that could dramatically reduce water use

(Newser) - To build a better toilet. Researchers at Penn State are making headlines for their new contribution to the idea, though it has nothing do with the design of the toilet itself. Instead, they've come up with a slippery spray that could dramatically reduce the amount of water needed for...

More Ancient Nazca Lines Were Just Spotted

Including the first one ever discovered with artificial intelligence

(Newser) - Large ancient drawings etched into the desert in southern Peru have fascinated researchers for years. Now they've got 143 more of the figures—known as Nazca lines—to ponder. Researchers from Japan's Yamagata University announced the discovery of the geoglyphs in a news release . As with the previously...

Art World's 'Indiana Jones' Tracks Down a Famous Ring

Oscar Wilde gave the ring to a friend at Oxford; it was stolen in 2002

(Newser) - In 1876, Oscar Wilde and another friend gave a "friendship ring" to a fellow student at Magdalen College Oxford, where the Irish writer was studying at the time. The 18-karat gold ring, shaped like a belt and buckle, became part of the college's collection of Wilde memorabilia, but...

Incredibly Rare Species Seen for First Time in 30 Years
Incredibly Rare Species Seen
for First Time in 30 Years
in case you missed it
Nov 16, 2019 12:25 PM CST

Incredibly Rare Species Seen for First Time in 30 Years

Trap cameras in Vietnam spotted 'mouse deer'

(Newser) - A tiny deer-like species not seen by scientists for nearly 30 years has been photographed in a forest in southern Vietnam, a conservation group says. Images of the silver-backed chevrotain, commonly called the Vietnamese mouse deer, were captured in the wild by trap cameras, Global Wildlife Conservation says. The group...

Star Will 'Die All Alone' After Being 'Evicted' by Black Hole

Launched from Milky Way center, S5-HVS1 is going so fast it won't ever be able to get back to our galaxy

(Newser) - A "serendipitous discovery" has been made, and it's an exciting but bittersweet one. Five million years ago, a star got too close to what Space.com calls the Milky Way's "heart of darkness"—a supermassive black hole named Sagittarius A* — and got hurled away...

With Each Hiccup, Your Baby Is Learning
This Is Why We Hiccup
NEW STUDY
Nov 13, 2019 11:25 AM CST

This Is Why We Hiccup

Involuntary movement may help infants learn to breathe: researchers

(Newser) - There's no known advantage to an adult hiccup. An infant one, however, could play a key role in brain development. That's according to University College London researchers who previously conjectured that a baby discovers its body via kicks in the womb. In this study, they used electrodes on...

Nile River May Shed Light on Earth&#39;s Inner Workings
Nile River's Origins
Are Truly Ancient
new study
Nov 12, 2019 2:48 PM CST

Nile River's Origins Are Truly Ancient

Study suggests river is 30M years old, may follow flow of planet's mantle

(Newser) - One school of thought among archaeologists is that the Nile River is 6 million years old. Not even close, according to a new study in Nature Geoscience . The international research team behind the study is siding with those who think the river has been largely in place for much longer:...

This Is the Deepest Shipwreck Ever Found
More Than 20K Feet
Deep, a Major Find
in case you missed it
Nov 9, 2019 12:14 PM CST

More Than 20K Feet Deep, a Major Find

WWII destroyer believed to be USS Johnston found in Philippine Sea, the deepest shipwreck ever

(Newser) - It's the deepest shipwreck ever found—one caked in US history. Experts aboard the Research Vessel Petrel believe they've found the wreck of the USS Johnston some 20,400 feet, or nearly 4 miles, below the waves of the Philippine Sea, where it came to rest in the...

It Was Set to Be a Dump. Then, 'Largest Find of Its Kind'

Human-built pits in Mexico believed to be first known woolly mammoth traps

(Newser) - Humans were hunting woolly mammoths with traps some 15,000 years ago, according to a first-of-its-kind discovery. Archaeologists working the site of a planned garbage dump in Tultepec, Mexico, say they've found two pits used to capture the animals, as well as 824 bones from at least 14 mammoths—...

A Late President, a Sword, and a Mystery

Cops says weapon used by William Henry Harrison was recovered; historian says no

(Newser) - A sword believed to have seen action in the American Revolution, been wielded by eventual President William Henry Harrison in the War of 1812, and gone missing from a Cincinnati museum is now said to be recovered after 40 years, though one historian refutes the claim. Fox News reports on...

The 'Most Complicated' Gene Engineering Yet

Doctors safely used CRISPR technology on 3 cancer patients in the US for first time

(Newser) - The first attempt in the United States to use a gene editing tool called CRISPR against cancer seems safe in three patients who've had it so far, but it's too soon to know if it will improve survival, doctors reported Wednesday. The doctors were able to take immune...

A Major Scourge in Our Oceans: &#39;Ghost Gear&#39;
There's a 'Zombie'
in Our Oceans
new report
Nov 6, 2019 9:25 AM CST

There's a 'Zombie' in Our Oceans

Greenpeace report finds dumped fishing gear is a leading plastic polluter

(Newser) - Try to comprehend just how much 55,000 double-decker buses weigh. It's a whole heck of a lot—more than a billion pounds. That's how much commercial fishing gear is abandoned in our oceans each year, according to a new report from Greenpeace on "ghost gear."...

After Her Trail Run, a Gross Medical Rarity
After Her Trail Run,
a Gross Medical Rarity
new study
Nov 4, 2019 8:57 AM CST

After Her Trail Run, a Gross Medical Rarity

Woman is 2nd person to have parasitic worms show up in her eyes

(Newser) - A 68-year-old US woman has earned a very unwanted distinction: She is just the second human on record to show up at the doctor's office with parasitic eye worms more common to cows, reports Live Science . The unidentified woman splits her time between Nebraska and California, and researchers explain...

After Death of Fecal Transplant Patient, a &#39;Cautionary Tale&#39;
After Death of Fecal Transplant
Patient, a 'Cautionary Tale'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nov 3, 2019 1:34 PM CST

After Death of Fecal Transplant Patient, a 'Cautionary Tale'

Journal article details how patient died due to E. coli-contaminated stool

(Newser) - What the New York Times calls "a frank and public act of self-examination" has emerged from a Boston medical center following the death of a fecal transplant patient after receiving contaminated stool. In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine , doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital document...

Researchers Make Bold Claim About Human Origins
Researchers Make Bold Claim
About Human Origins
in case you missed it
Nov 2, 2019 3:00 PM CDT

Researchers Make Bold Claim About Human Origins

Controversial study argues all modern humans originated in Botswana

(Newser) - Where you from? If the authors of a controversial new study are correct, everyone on the planet has the same answer: Botswana, Africa. More specifically, a northern swath of the country, along with small parts of Namibia and Zimbabwe. Researchers led by geneticist Vanessa Hayes of the Garvan Institute of...

This May Be &#39;Watershed Moment&#39; in TB Fight
This May Be 'Watershed
Moment' in TB Fight
in case you missed it
Nov 2, 2019 11:00 AM CDT

This May Be 'Watershed Moment' in TB Fight

New vaccine could save millions of lives

(Newser) - The current vaccine for TB has been around nearly a century and has one giant flaw: The BCG vaccine helps infants but not adults. That's a big reason why tuberculosis is now the world's deadliest infectious disease, claiming 1.6 million lives a year. Now, however, comes news...

Hate Blind Spots While Driving? This Teen Has a Solution

14-year-old Alaina Gassler created innovative workaround

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania teen has won $25,000 and, perhaps soon, the gratitude of every driver in America with what Mashable calls a "simple but innovative" invention that gets rid of blind spots. A release from the Society for Science & the Public announced that the "girls shine" in...

Measles Has a Dangerous Secondary Effect
Measles Has a Dangerous
Secondary Effect
new studies
Nov 1, 2019 9:10 AM CDT

Measles Has a Dangerous Secondary Effect

It can wipe out the immune system of patients, making them vulnerable to other diseases

(Newser) - Rash, fever, coughing. The effects of measles are rough, and they can be deadly in some cases. But two new companion studies suggest that the worst part of measles may not actually be measles itself. Instead, researchers have detailed how the disease can wipe out patients' immune systems and make...

Doctor's Clever Plan to Free Boy's Stuck Tongue: a Wine Hack

Anesthesiologist recalled long-ago method to free 7-year-old's tongue from grape juice bottle

(Newser) - A 7-year-old boy too eager to suck down all of his grape juice is lucky Dr. Christoph Eich drinks wine—or at least knows how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew. NBC News reports on this odd injury out of Germany, a case documented this week in the...

You&#39;re Going to Die. Good Luck Telling Your Brain
Your Brain Is Awesome
at Avoiding One Big Thing
in case you missed it
Oct 26, 2019 11:05 AM CDT

Your Brain Is Awesome at Avoiding One Big Thing

Recognition that you're going to die

(Newser) - Researchers say they've discovered a nifty little trick of the brain—it tries really hard to present the illusion that death is something that happens to that other guy, not you. It seems to be a defense mechanism of sorts, say researchers at Israel's Bar Ilan University, per...

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