discoveries

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

Stories 1701 - 1720 | << Prev   Next >>

Woman Found Buried With Husband's Heart on Her Coffin

In a 'phenomenon that had until now not been noted'

(Newser) - Love never fails, and now researchers say they've discovered a burial ritual ostensibly designed to allow a couple's love to persist forever. Reporting in the journal PLOS One , they say that French noblewoman Louise de Quengo, who died at the age of 65 in 1656, was buried in...

Researchers Tracked Wild Elephants' Sleep. It Was Awful

Average of 2 hours a night, and periods as long as 46 hours with no sleep

(Newser) - The sample size was small—and so were the findings. Researchers asked the question "Does large body size make elephants the shortest mammalian sleepers?" and sought to answer it in the wild, in a departure from most previous related research, which involved elephants in captivity. After tracking two wild...

Scientists Claim Discovery of World's Oldest Life

But not everyone is convinced

(Newser) - Researchers say they've found fossilized bacteria that may date back to shortly after the formation of the Earth (geologically speaking, anyway), the New York Times reports. They published their findings Wednesday in Nature . The rocks were collected in 2008 from the Nuvvuagittuq geological formation in Canada. The rocks are...

Scientists Confirm Worst Fears About Pee in Pools

The amount of urine in most pools can be measured in gallons

(Newser) - About one in five Americans say they've peed in the pool. Even the world's most famous pool-user, Michael Phelps, says " everybody " does it. Now scientists have finally figured out a way to quantify just how much urine is in our pools, and the results in Environmental ...

Early Walt: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a potential warning sign for seniors who like to sleep late

(Newser) - Sure, NASA found seven Earth-size planets that could theoretically harbor life, but that wasn't the only discovery to make headlines this week:
  • Grad Student Finds Early Walt Whitman Novel : A University of Houston grad student poking around in the Library of Congress' archives stumbled across an 1850s novel by
...

Men Who Exercise Strenuously Have Lower Libidos
Men Who Exercise Strenuously
Have Lower Libidos
new study
Feb 23, 2017 11:35 AM CST

Men Who Exercise Strenuously Have Lower Libidos

Moderate and light exercise are linked to higher libido

(Newser) - All right guys, if you're working on a beer belly and wish you hit the pavement more, fear not: at least your libido might be stronger than the guy who spends hours at the gym every day. Noting a distinct lack of data on the relationship between exercise and...

Like to Sleep Late? It Could be a Sign of Alzheimer&#39;s
Sleeping Late
May Be Early
Warning of
Dementia
new study
Feb 23, 2017 10:25 AM CST

Sleeping Late May Be Early Warning of Dementia

Study found seniors who begin sleeping later were at double the risk

(Newser) - Seniors who indulge in a morning lie-in may want to take note. A new study found that older adults who slept more than nine hours a night were at double the risk of developing Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders, the New York Times reports. The red flag was limited...

There's a New Recommended Daily Quota for Fruits, Veggies

Study says eating 10 servings could slash risk of premature death, disease

(Newser) - If you've struggled to meet the World Health Organization's five-a-day fruits and veggies recommendation , you may want to reassess your consumption strategy. An Imperial College London study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology has found that doubling the current suggestion to 10 servings a day could stave...

Chimp With Down Syndrome Is Only 2nd Ever Documented

Kanako has stunted growth, heart disease, and blindness

(Newser) - Researchers in Japan have discovered only the second known chimpanzee born with what is, essentially, Down syndrome, according to a study published in Primates . Kanako, a 24-year-old female chimp, was born with trisomy 22. Her symptoms largely align with the symptoms seen in humans with Down syndrome, also known as...

NASA: 7 Earth-esque Planets Could Potentially Hold Life
NASA Finds 7
Earth-Size Planets
Feb 22, 2017 12:25 PM CST

NASA Finds 7 Earth-Size Planets

40 light-years away, orbiting dwarf star Trappist-1

(Newser) - For the first time, astronomers have discovered seven Earth-size planets orbiting a nearby star—and these new worlds could hold life, reports the AP . NASA and the Belgian-led research team announced the news Wednesday. This cluster of planets is 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. They circle tightly around...

Huge-Jawed Worm Species Terrorized Fish 400M Years Ago

The new species was discovered in storage at a Canadian museum

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a giant worm—no, not this guy —that terrorized fish, octopuses, and squids with its comparatively massive jaws 400 million years ago. UPI reports the fossil was dug up at Canada's Kwataboahegan Formation back in the mid-1990s and had been in storage at the Royal...

Grad Student Keeps Finding Lost Whitman Works

This time Zachary Turpin tracked down novel originally printed in a NY newspaper

(Newser) - A University of Houston grad student poking around in the Library of Congress' archives stumbled across a long-lost novel from the mid-19th century—and it's a discovery the editor of the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review tells the Houston Chronicle is "going to change everything we thought we knew"...

People Who Saw This Fish Fear a Quake Is Coming

Multiple specimens of rarely seen sea creature turn up in Philippines

(Newser) - Every couple of years, a mysterious rare fish that resembles a serpent washes up on some beach , generating buzz about the bony sea creature and worries about earthquakes until it fades from memory again. In what National Geographic pegs as a "poorly understood phenomenon," it's happened again,...

Did Salmonella Cause Outbreaks Behind Aztec Collapse?
Did Salmonella Bring
Down the Aztecs?
NEW STUDY
Feb 20, 2017 2:33 AM CST

Did Salmonella Bring Down the Aztecs?

Scientists present the first genetic evidence of the pathogen

(Newser) - In modern times, a strain of salmonella called Paratyphi C. causes a typhus-like outbreak called enteric fever that can kill as many as 15% of those it infects, mostly in developing countries. Now, evolutionary geneticists think this strain of salmonella could be what sickened and killed millions of natives in...

Could This Grain Feed the Planet?
This 'Super Food'
Could Feed
the Planet
 
in case you missed it
Feb 18, 2017 1:16 PM CST

This 'Super Food' Could Feed the Planet

Scientists unlock genome for foodie favorite quinoa

(Newser) - It has been hailed as a super food, a nutrient-packed , gluten-free dish that even carb counters can get behind. But could quinoa feed a hungry planet? That's the hope behind a new effort by scientists who've unlocked the humble grain's genome. "Quinoa has great potential to...

8 Continents? 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a possible way to detect autism in infants

(Newser) - A finding that might require geography textbooks to be rewritten and a potential way to spot autism much earlier than is currently possible were among the big discoveries this week:
  • Scientists Say They Found an 8th Continent : Every elementary school student knows there are seven continents. Or are there? After
...

Risk of Opioid Addiction May Hinge on Your ER Doctor
ER Docs All Over the Map
on Doling Out Opioids
new study
Feb 17, 2017 10:45 AM CST

ER Docs All Over the Map on Doling Out Opioids

Patients of 'high-intensity' prescribers might pay the price, says study

(Newser) - Scientists trying to better understand the nation's rising opioid addictions have uncovered an interesting wrinkle: A patient's risk of getting hooked might depend on which ER doctor they happen to get. In a New England Journal of Medicine study, researchers found that patients whose ER doctors are more...

Scientists May Be Able to Spot Autism in Infants

Research could lead to new therapies to treat the disorder earlier in children

(Newser) - Promising new research may make it possible to detect autism in babies before symptoms appear. Researchers scanned the brains of infants with autistic siblings considered at high risk of developing the disorder themselves. They report in the journal Nature that brain changes identified in MRIs of infants allowed them to...

'Fierce' Carnivore Documented in Iowa After 150-Year Absence

The fisher probably wandered over from Minnesota

(Newser) - It's no Bigfoot sighting, but it'll do. KCCI reports a fisher has been documented in Iowa for the first time in 150 years. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources , fishers are carnivores related to the weasel and otter and are "known for their fierceness."...

Genetic Test Could Predict Your Risk of Going Bald
We're One Step
Closer to Test
Predicting
Baldness
NEW STUDY
Feb 15, 2017 7:47 PM CST

We're One Step Closer to Test Predicting Baldness

Researchers indentify 287 genes linked to hair loss

(Newser) - Guys, if you've ever wished you could look into a crystal ball and see if hair plugs are in your future, scientists have good news. Using data from 53,000 men in the UK, they've come up with a DNA-based algorithm that could someday predict whether one is...

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