discoveries

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

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Bermuda Triangle &#39;Victim&#39; May Have Been Found
Bermuda Triangle 'Victim'
May Have Been Found
in case you missed it
Feb 1, 2020 2:00 PM CST

Bermuda Triangle 'Victim' May Have Been Found

Michael Barnette believes SS Cotopaxi rests off Florida coast

(Newser) - A ship thought to have disappeared a century ago in an area known as the Bermuda Triangle turned up in the Gobi Desert in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Now it has reportedly been found for real. The SS Cotopaxi set out to carry coal from...

Study Suggests Surprising Reason to Quit Smoking
Study Suggests
Surprising
Reason to Quit
Smoking
new study
Jan 30, 2020 10:05 AM CST

Study Suggests Surprising Reason to Quit Smoking

Researchers say the lungs of ex-smokers can repair some of the damage

(Newser) - A new study presents this not-so-surprising fact: Nine out of every 10 cells in the lungs of smokers show some degree of mutation, reports the AFP . But then came the surprise: The lungs of former smokers seem to be able to repair some of the damage, according to the study...

Psilocybin May Ease Anxiety for a Surprisingly Long Time

Cancer patients still feeling positive effects almost 5 years later

(Newser) - About five years ago, a study found that cancer patients who took one dose of the compound found in magic mushrooms had much less anxiety. A followup study suggests the psilocybin's effect is still in place, reports NBC News . The study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests that psilocybin...

Archaeologists May Have Found Rare 'Witch Bottle'

Could be a talisman used by Union troops in Virginia to ward off evil spirits

(Newser) - On the one hand, it might just be an old bottle that was used to store nails. But archaeologists who found it suspect something far more intriguing: They think Union soldiers used it as a "witch bottle" during the Civil War to fend off evil spirits, per a news...

Vesuvius May Have Turned Victim&#39;s Brain to Glass
Study of Vesuvius Victim's
Skull Reveals a Surprise
in case you missed it
Jan 26, 2020 2:45 PM CST

Study of Vesuvius Victim's Skull Reveals a Surprise

Researchers say his brain turned to glass

(Newser) - The eruption of Mount Vesuvius may have most famously destroyed Pompeii, but the nearby town of Herculaneum endured a similar fate. Now a new study suggests that at least one of the town's residents suffered a remarkable, if grisly, fate: His brain essentially turned to glass, reports Live Science...

What Did the 3K-Year-Old Mummy Say? 'Eeuuughhh'

Sound emerges from reconstructed vocal tract of ancient Egyptian priest Nesyamun

(Newser) - "Every Egyptian hoped that after death their soul would be able to speak," says University of York Egyptologist Joann Fletcher—who just sort of made that happen, at least for one 3,000-year-old Egyptian. But the priest who served under Rameses XI didn't confess of a good...

Missing for 30-Plus Years, $1.3M Columbus Letter Found

Copy of note sent to Spain's King Ferdinand was stolen from Italy in the '80s

(Newser) - In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue; in 1493, he wrote a letter about his trip across the sea to Spain's King Ferdinand, and two editions of it were printed to spread across Europe. Only about 30 copies of the first edition of the Plannck I letter still exist,...

Restored Masterpiece Has a Startling New Sheep

Not everyone is pleased with the 'new' Ghent Altarpiece

(Newser) - A renowned work of art looks noticeably different following a yearslong, $2.4 million restoration. And that's not necessarily a good thing in the eyes of critics. A sheep featured prominently in the 12-panel Ghent Altarpiece, completed by Flemish brothers Hubert and Jan Van Eyck in 1432, now has...

98.6 Isn&#39;t Our Normal Temperature Any More
98.6 Isn't 
Our Normal
Temperature
Any More
in case you missed it
Jan 19, 2020 10:10 AM CST

98.6 Isn't Our Normal Temperature Any More

Study suggests the new average is 97.5 degrees as humans have changed

(Newser) - Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich may not be a household name, but everyone knows the figure associated with him: 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which he determined in the mid-1800s to be the average human body temperature. A slew of studies has since threatened to upend Wunderlick's work, with research suggesting...

Biggest Mass Die-Off of Seabirds Blamed on 'the Blob'

Huge mass of warm water killed 1M along US West Coast, says study

(Newser) - The name is a little jokey, but the consequences were not: Scientists are blaming the deaths of an estimated 1 million seabirds on the US West Coast on a giant patch of warm water they call "the Blob." Researchers think that amounts to the biggest mass die-off of...

New Machine Helps Livers Survive, Regenerate Outside Body

This could be a huge breakthrough in transplant technology

(Newser) - The liver is an amazing organ—the only internal one capable of regenerating itself—and researchers in Switzerland have come up with an invention almost as impressive. A machine they've been working on since 2015 keeps livers alive outside the human body for up to a week, instead of...

Study Finds Surprising Trait of Parrots: Kindness
A Parrot Experiment
Surprises Researchers
NEW STUDY
Jan 10, 2020 10:13 AM CST

A Parrot Experiment Surprises Researchers

African greys selflessly help other birds

(Newser) - Parrots help their friends, even when there's no chance of personal benefit, according to a study suggesting altruism is more common than thought in the animal kingdom. Indeed, African grey parrots were found to voluntarily help a neighbor get a food reward even as they went without. The behavior...

E-Scooters Are Everywhere. With That, a Disturbing Trend

Number of injury cases has tripled over 5-year period

(Newser) - An "explosion" of electric scooter riders has led to a more disturbing (but maybe not surprising) spike. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the number of injuries caused by the two- or three-wheeled vehicles tripled in five years' time, per a study published in the JAMA Surgery journal. Researchers...

Study of Auto Plant Closures Finds a Double Whammy

Researchers found an association between closure, increased opioid death rate

(Newser) - The closure of an auto plant may do more than just depress an area's economy. A study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine surfaces an association between such closures and a rise in opioid deaths. Specifically, in counties where assembly plants had shuttered five years prior, the opioid overdose...

A Consequence of Empty Buildings? Bigger Mosquitoes
Poor Neighborhoods Have
an Unusual Health Threat
new study
Dec 30, 2019 10:30 AM CST

Poor Neighborhoods Have an Unusual Health Threat

Study finds they have bigger mosquitoes

(Newser) - A new study out of Baltimore highlights an unusual health threat: Low-income neighborhoods with abandoned buildings have bigger mosquitoes. Researchers found this to be the case after an extensive block-by-block comparison in Baltimore, they report in the Journal of Medical Entomology . Bigger mosquitoes breed more, bite more, and live longer,...

Exercise May Cut Risk of 7 Cancers
Study Suggests Big Benefit
of Regular Exercise
new study
Dec 27, 2019 10:44 AM CST

Study Suggests Big Benefit of Regular Exercise

Researchers see a reduced risk of 7 types of cancer

(Newser) - A new study might provide an extra nudge to get off the couch after the holidays: Researchers found that regular exercise reduces the risk of seven cancers, reports NBC News . The study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that people who follow general exercise guidelines of 2.5 to...

Want to Live Longer? Go to a Concert or Art Gallery
New Proof of 'How
Powerful the Arts Are'
NEW STUDY
Dec 24, 2019 10:25 AM CST

New Proof of 'How Powerful the Arts Are'

Researchers say engaging in art, music, theater can lower risk of dying early

(Newser) - It doesn't seem like a stretch to say most people feel pretty good after a stimulating afternoon at the museum or rousing Broadway production. Now, research out of University College London suggests that exposing oneself to the arts—be it going to museums, art galleries, concerts, the opera, or...

Scientists Stumble On World&#39;s Oldest Forest
Scientists Stumble On
World's Oldest Forest
new study
Dec 21, 2019 4:30 PM CST

Scientists Stumble On World's Oldest Forest

Scientists find ancient trees just north of Manhattan

(Newser) - Earth's three trillion trees do a lot for us—make life possible, really—but how did they ever get started? Well, look no further than New York state. Scientists say they've found the world's oldest known forest in an abandoned quarry a couple hours north of Manhattan,...

Mexico May Have Found 2 More of Conquistador's Anchors

They were buried in sediment near the spot where Hernan Cortes scuttled his ships

(Newser) - Two more 16th-century anchors have been found at the spot where conquistador Hernan Cortes is believed to have scuttled his ships, experts said Monday. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said that while the anchors can't be positively IDed as belonging to Cortes' fleet, they appear to...

This Cave Art May Be a Game Changer
This Cave
Art May Be
a Game Changer
new study
Dec 12, 2019 11:21 AM CST

This Cave Art May Be a Game Changer

Depiction of hunt in Indonesia could date back 44K years, the oldest one yet

(Newser) - The history of art just got an update. A large cave drawing in Indonesia has been dated back 44,000 years, which would make it the oldest known cave art in existence. But that date would also make it "the oldest pictorial record of storytelling and the earliest figurative...

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