discoveries

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

Stories 1281 - 1300 | << Prev   Next >>

Small Inscription, Big Consequence for Ancient Pompeii

Newly found writing on wall suggests Vesuvius eruption came 2 months later than thought

(Newser) - A construction worker's ancient jotting on a wall might rewrite the history books. The wall scrawl suggests that the Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in October of AD79, two months later than historians have long believed, reports the BBC . Uncovered by archaeologists...

Two Tiny Bones Tell Tale of Child Eaten by Bird

It happened about 115,000 years ago

(Newser) - Two tiny finger bones found in a cave in Poland tell a pretty grim story: Sometime about 115,000 years ago, a "large bird" ate a Neanderthal child, Live Science reports. According to CNN , scientists determined the fate of the child based on the bones' porous surface, which, per...

Scientists Surprised at How Good Our 'Facial Vocabulary' Is

Researchers say human brain can hold an impressive number of faces

(Newser) - Humans have historically lived in groups of about 100, yet our facial recognition skills easily adapt to a modern world where we see endless faces each day, whether in person or on TV. A new study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B , the first to give an evidence-based estimate...

Pot's THC Levels: Relatively the Same, No Matter the Strain

Scientists: Levels of tetrahydrocannabinol and CBD don't vary much among different pot strains

(Newser) - For those who spend time at the dispensary agonizing over whether to go with the Acapulco Gold, Granddaddy Purple, or Chemdawg, know this: Their THC levels are likely pretty much the same, no matter which strain you pick, researchers out of UBC Okanagan say. "It is estimated that there...

Case of Babies With Missing Limbs Closed Without Answer

3 clusters have been studied in France

(Newser) - "The absence of a hypothesis of a possible common cause does not make it possible to hold further investigations." Such is the pronouncement of France's public health agency after investigating a rash of cases of babies born without arms, forearms, or hands. The Guardian reports the focus...

This Might Not Be a Great Idea for Women in Soccer

Study suggests female players suffer more brain damage than men after headers

(Newser) - A new study suggests that girls and women who play soccer should think twice about going up for that next header. Research out of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that females were five times more likely than men to suffer damage to the brain, reports Scientific American . The...

Museum: We're Pretty Sure It's Lake Erie's Oldest Wreck

Lake Serpent schooner that sank in 1829 believed to have been found

(Newser) - Shipwreck hunters who spent eight days this summer unearthing and examining the remains of a schooner in Lake Erie in Ohio think it's most likely a sailing ship that sank nearly two centuries ago, per the AP . That would make the wreckage the oldest ever found in the shallowest...

A Rock That Held Open a Shed Door Is Worth $100K

Turns out it's the 6th-largest meteorite ever found in the state

(Newser) - The Smithsonian confirmed it: What one man in Grand Rapids, Mich., man used as a doorstop for years is a meteorite thought to be worth $100,000. That it was a meteorite was apparently known to him: The Detroit Free Press reports the unnamed man bought an Edmore-area farm in...

Girl Finds Ancient Sword in Lake, Is Now Sweden's 'True Queen'

Saga Vanecek, 8, dug up the 1,500-year-old Iron Age weapon in Lake Vidostern

(Newser) - What a museum worker calls an "amazing story" has emerged out of the south of Sweden, where a 1,500-year-old sword from the Iron Age was found in a lake—not by archaeologists or maritime researchers, but by an 8-year-old from Minneapolis. NPR reports on Saga Vanecek's discovery...

Scientists Say 'The Goblin' Could Prove Planet X

Scientists find dwarf planet that points to unknown gravitational object

(Newser) - Scientists call it The Goblin—a far-off dwarf planet that's adding to evidence of a mystery planet way, way out there. First seen in October 2015, the icy world seems to be orbiting something big in a distant region of the solar system called the Oort Cloud, Space.com...

A Shift in Alzheimer's Strategy: Prevention

2 new studies aim to prevent early plaque formation

(Newser) - It may be too late to stop Alzheimer's in people who already have some mental decline. But what if a treatment could target the earliest brain changes while memory and thinking skills are still intact, in hope of preventing the disease? Two big studies are going to try, per...

Discovery of Bronze Hand Sparks a Mystery
Ancient Bronze Hand Leaves
Archaeologists Perplexed
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 30, 2018 10:10 AM CDT

Ancient Bronze Hand Leaves Archaeologists Perplexed

And leads to a criminal investigation

(Newser) - The hand is a bit smaller than that of an adult and made from roughly a pound of bronze. What it was used for has perplexed archaeologists since it was found in Switzerland last October. At an estimated 3,500 years old, National Geographic calls it "Europe's earliest...

Chemical Banned Decades Ago Could Take Down Killer Whales
Study Gives Bleakest of
Outlooks for Killer Whales
new study
Sep 28, 2018 9:31 AM CDT

Study Gives Bleakest of Outlooks for Killer Whales

Study finds extremely high levels of PCBs in some orcas

(Newser) - It's less killer whale and more killed whales, at least according to a new study that found at least half the world's orcas could be taken down by ocean pollution in just a few decades. The culprit: highly toxic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. "Despite a near-global ban...

Scientists Make 'Critical' Find on Honeybees, Herbicide

Glyphosate, used in Monsanto's Roundup, may kill off insects' essential gut bacteria

(Newser) - Animals don't seem to be harmed by the world's most widely used weedkiller, but bees apparently don't fall under that protective umbrella. "This is really critical," one entomologist tells Science of a new study showing the digestive system of honeybees (and possibly other bees as...

They Spent Millions on a Hat That Could Be Worth Nothing

FBI, Smithsonian reports find no conclusive evidence hat was ever Abraham Lincoln's

(Newser) - It could be a $6.5 million hat—but it might also not be. WBEZ reports that the crown jewel of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum's collection, Lincoln's stovepipe hat, one of just three thought to still exist, may not have belonged to the 16th president...

One of History&#39;s Most Famous Ships May Have Been Found
One of History's Most Famous
Ships May Have Been Found
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 23, 2018 10:10 AM CDT

One of History's Most Famous Ships May Have Been Found

The wreckage of the Endeavour has possibly been pinpointed

(Newser) - Americans know the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria; in Australia, the Endeavour is the ship that's burned into memory. It set sail from Plymouth, England, in 1768 with Captain James Cook at the helm and was in 1770 the first European ship to chart parts of Australia...

Self-Centered? Scientists Say There&#39;s Hope
Scientists Pinpoint
4 Personality Types
in case you missed it
Sep 22, 2018 6:30 AM CDT

Scientists Pinpoint 4 Personality Types

Study refers to reserved, self-centered, role model, and average categories

(Newser) - Northwestern University psychology professor William Revelle spent years trying to show there are no real personality types. His latest research published Monday in Nature Human Behavior points to the opposite conclusion. Using data from 1.5 million survey respondents, it identifies four clear personality types—average, reserved, self-centered, and role...

Fat From This Fossil Solved Decades-Old Mystery
Fat From This Fossil
Solved Decades-Old Mystery
NEW STUDY
Sep 21, 2018 8:56 AM CDT

Fat From This Fossil Solved Decades-Old Mystery

Study says Dickinsonia is earliest confirmed animal in geological record

(Newser) - A researcher calls it "a decades-old mystery that has been the Holy Grail of paleontology": What, exactly, Dickinsonia was. It's one of a group of lifeforms called the Ediacaran biota, which the BBC describes as the "first complex multi-cellular organisms to appear on Earth." But for...

17th-Century Sailor Admits Rape in Concealed Diary Entry

'I did not enter her body, all though I did attempt something in that nature'

(Newser) - The elegant script and color illustrations of Edward Barlow's 225,000-word diary documenting the 17th-century sailor's life at sea have been admired for some 300 years. Hidden beneath was his darkest secret: a note providing what the Guardian calls an "excruciatingly frank account" of his rape of...

This Could Be a Novel Way to Conquer Cocaine Addiction

Scientists devise a genetically engineered skin graft that works in mice

(Newser) - Could a skin graft help cocaine addicts get clean? Scientists at the University of Chicago say their novel approach has worked in mice, reports New Scientist . And if this translates to humans, it could be a game changer, though the remedy is specific to cocaine addiction. In a new study...

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