discoveries

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

Stories 1021 - 1040 | << Prev   Next >>

In the World of Orcas, Grandmothers Are Key
In the World of Orcas,
Grandmothers Are Key
new study
Dec 10, 2019 8:37 AM CST

In the World of Orcas, Grandmothers Are Key

They help calves survive, especially when food is scarce, says new study

(Newser) - Researchers studying killer whales have made a discovery unusual in the animal kingdom: Grandmothers rock. That is, older female orcas make a big difference when it comes to the survival of their grandchild calves, according to the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . Orcas are one...

Long-Sought WWI Wreck Is Found, Guns at the Ready

German ship SMS Scharnhorst was sunk off Falkland Islands in 1914

(Newser) - It was an "extraordinary" moment as the long-sought shipwreck appeared a mile beneath the waves, says the search team's leader. "Suddenly she just came out of the gloom with great guns poking in every direction," Mensun Bound says of the discovery of SMS Scharnhorst, a German...

Hair Dye-Cancer Link: 'The Results Do Not Surprise Me'

Government study finds tie between permanent hair dye, chemical straighteners and breast cancer

(Newser) - A government study involving nearly 50,000 US women has found a link between those who use permanent hair dyes and chemical straighteners and an increased risk of breast cancer, Fox News reports. Research by scientists with the National Institutes of Health, published in the International Journal of Cancer , involved...

Mountain Lions May Have Unusual Enemy&mdash;Fog
Mountain Lions May Have
Unusual Enemy—Fog
new study
Dec 3, 2019 10:30 AM CST

Mountain Lions May Have Unusual Enemy—Fog

Scientists say mercury-laden fog results in dangerously high levels in California pumas

(Newser) - It's not the type of predator that turns up in nature shows. But researchers in California say fog—yes, fog—poses a threat to mountain lions, reports Smithsonian . The reason? The marine fog in the Santa Cruz Mountains carries mercury, and that neurotoxin settles on the ground and works...

This Pup Is 18K Years Old
This Pup Is 18K Years Old
new study
Dec 2, 2019 12:12 PM CST

This Pup Is 18K Years Old

But it's not clear whether it's a dog or wolf that was found in Siberian permafrost

(Newser) - Daww. Melting permafrost in Siberia has revealed a well-preserved pup who was born about 18,000 years ago. In fact, the little guy still has his teeth, limbs, nose, whiskers, and eyelashes, reports the Siberian Times . The big question still unanswered: whether he's a dog or a wolf. The...

Centuries-Old Manuscript Has a Surprising Author

Queen Elizabeth I's messy handwriting was the big giveaway, historian says

(Newser) - In what the Daily Express is calling a "royal bombshell," a centuries-old manuscript recently unearthed in a UK library turns out to have been penned by someone rather unexpected. The 42-page text, a translation of a book by the Roman historian Tacitus, has taken up residence at London'...

Alarm Over Jupiter&#39;s Great Red Spot? Unnecessary
Alarm Over Jupiter's
Great Red Spot? Unnecessary
new research
Nov 27, 2019 10:20 AM CST

Alarm Over Jupiter's Great Red Spot? Unnecessary

Researchers say it's not going anywhere

(Newser) - "We feel confident that the sky is not falling"—quite literally. So says Philip Marcus, a professor of fluid mechanics at the University of California, Berkeley. He's part of a team that looked into the potential fate of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and determined it's...

Oysters Only in 'R' Months? Advice May Go Back 4K Years

Researchers say the practice was in play off Georgia's coast long ago

(Newser) - Anyone who indulges in wild oysters has surely heard the advice: Eat them only in months with an R. In other words, skip them during the summer. Now, researchers from the Florida Museum of National History have found evidence that the practice was in play more than 4,000 years...

Discovery Points to Invisible 'Fifth Force' of Nature

Researchers in Hungary spot a mysterious proton

(Newser) - They're calling it X17—and it might help solve a great mystery of nature. Scientists in Hungary say they've twice stumbled on the previously unknown particle while seeking evidence of a "fifth force" guiding our visible universe, CNN reports. "X17 could be a particle, which connects...

Cancer That Plagued a &#39;Housewife&#39; Is on the Rise
'Often Neglected'
Cancer Is on
the Rise
in case you missed it
Nov 24, 2019 10:01 AM CST

'Often Neglected' Cancer Is on the Rise

Rates of anal cancer, as well as deaths from it, increased over 15-year period, researchers say

(Newser) - The cancer that struck a Desperate Housewives star and killed Farrah Fawcett is on the rise, and certain demographics seem especially vulnerable. CNN reports on a new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that discovered rates of anal cancer—specifically, squamous cell carcinoma in that region—increased...

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...

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