discoveries

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

Stories 1981 - 2000 | << Prev   Next >>

Deep in a Cave, Neanderthals Did Something Remarkable

Two stone rings up to 16 inches high that were intentionally made

(Newser) - For tens of thousands of years, the secrets of France's Bruniquel Cave went unknown, its mouth closed off by a rock slide. That began to change in the late '80s, the Atlantic reports, when a boy named Bruno Kowalsczewski started clearing away what obstructed the opening; three years...

Surprise Ocean News: The Octopus Is Booming

Cephalopods increasing in changing waters

(Newser) - You don't have to look far to find bad news about the world's oceans— overfishing , unhealthy coral reefs , you name it—but one group of sea creatures seems to be doing quite well in this changing world: cephalopods. A study in Cell Biology finds that octopuses, squid, and...

Shipwreck Found in Desert Diamond Field Solves 'Maritime Mystery'

Portuguese ship lost in 1500s yields 2K gold coins

(Newser) - Miners have been pulling diamonds from a vast area of Namibia's Namib Desert called the Sperrgebiet (or "forbidden territory") for more than a century. But in 2008, workers hunting for diamonds where the desert meets the Atlantic Ocean found something even more precious: the likely remains of...

New Orleans Is Sinking Faster Than Previously Thought

Up to 2 inches annually in some areas

(Newser) - Scientist already knew that New Orleans was sinking. But a new study finds that the Big Easy and its environs are losing elevation (a process called subsidence) at a faster rate than previously thought—some two inches per year near the Mississippi River and in industrial areas, and more than...

Man-Eating Crocodiles Have Invaded Florida
 Man-Eating 
 Crocodiles Have 
 Invaded Florida 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 22, 2016 10:01 AM CDT

Man-Eating Crocodiles Have Invaded Florida

The huge Nile crocodile is bad news for people, livestock, and other crocodiles

(Newser) - Huge, man-eating crocodiles may be hiding throughout the Florida wilderness, according to a study published last month in Herpetological Conservation and Biology. The Orlando Sentinel reports that DNA testing on three young crocodiles caught between 2009 and 2014 confirmed them to be Nile crocodiles native to Africa. Nile crocodiles can...

Long-Hidden Ring: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including ... grape-less wine?

(Newser) - A mug that fooled the Nazis and an intriguing find from a Florida sinkhole were among the notable discoveries of the week:
  • Ring Was Hidden at Auschwitz for 70 Years : The owner of a gold ring and necklace found at Auschwitz was almost certainly murdered by the Nazis, but she
...

Walk Quietly in the Woods, Trees Might Be Sleeping

Researchers find trees 'droop' at night

(Newser) - Well this gives the phrase "sleeping like a log" a whole new meaning. New research shows trees might sleep like any other living organism, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Scientists used lasers to make models of silver birch trees in Finland and Australia and discovered the trees' branches "...

German Man Claims 'Fantastical' Find: Nazi Nukes

Peter Lohr warns his alleged find will eventually decay

(Newser) - A Nazi gold train . The Amber Room . Claims of legendary Nazi-era finds have been surfacing of late—and, it's worth noting, not panning out —and Nazi nukes now join that list. In what it describes as a "fantastical" claim, the Local reports retired mechanical engineer and amateur...

Is the Movie Funny? Test of the Air Might Reveal All

Chemical we exhale may correspond to fear, humor, say researchers

(Newser) - Ever wondered if dogs can actually smell when you are afraid? New research published in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that humans emit certain chemical signatures that might be predictive of our emotions "by broadcasting scene specific emissions on breath." To test this, they studied the air in...

Ring Was Hidden at Auschwitz for More Than 70 Years

Once, it was somebody's 'ray of hope'

(Newser) - The owner of a gold ring and necklace found at Auschwitz was almost certainly murdered by the Nazis, but she hid her valuables so well that they weren't found by her killers—or by anybody else for another 70 years. The Auschwitz Museum says curators discovered the items in...

Science Creates Cheap Dom Pérignon —Without the Grapes

'We can turn water into wine in 15 minutes'

(Newser) - Wine lovers may scoff, but a San Francisco start-up claims it can reproduce classic vintages without "grapes, yeast, or fermentation," City A.M. reports. "We can turn water into wine in 15 minutes," New Scientist quotes as saying Ava Winery . Mardonn Chua and Alex Lee got...

Drinking Too Much? Consider Marriage
What Marriage Can Do
to Your Drinking Habits
study says
May 17, 2016 5:15 PM CDT

What Marriage Can Do to Your Drinking Habits

Marriage lowers risk of alcoholism, study says

(Newser) - While some people complain their spouse drives them to drink, scientists now say the opposite is true. A study published Monday in the American Journal of Psychiatry finds a powerful link between marriage and a reduced risk of developing problems with alcohol. "With this study, we were trying to...

Mom&#39;s Voice Really Fires Up a Kid&#39;s Brain
Mom's Voice Really
Fires Up a Kid's Brain
NEW STUDY
May 17, 2016 10:04 AM CDT

Mom's Voice Really Fires Up a Kid's Brain

Researchers use MRI scans to observe the impact a mother's voice has

(Newser) - Newborns can pick out their mother's voice in their first days of life, and while the stimulating sound of mom's voice has long been connected to the early emotional and social development of children, little is understood neurologically. Now researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy ...

Divers Find Roman-Era 'Trash' Saved by Shipwreck

Merchant ship sank off Israel 1.6K years ago

(Newser) - A Roman-era treasure trove has been retrieved thanks to two strokes of luck. The first happened 1,600 years ago when a merchant ship carrying the statues and coins to be recycled sank in the ancient port of Caesarea in Israel. The second came last month when two divers discovered...

Florida Divers Bring Up Signs of People 14K Years Ago

'Bering Strait theory' takes another knock

(Newser) - What divers found in a Florida sinkhole may help overturn a long-held theory—that people first colonized the Americas thousands of years ago by crossing the Bering Strait, the Guardian reports. Scientists say that fossilized dung, mastodon bones, and a stone knife discovered at the site near Tallahassee suggest people...

New Photos Show Bush&#39;s 9/11 Reaction

 New Photos 
 Show Bush's 
 9/11 Reaction 
in case you missed it
May 14, 2016 11:54 AM CDT

New Photos Show Bush's 9/11 Reaction

'I was documenting a nightmare,' photographer says

(Newser) - George W. Bush appears anguished but determined in newly released photos of his reaction to the 9/11 attacks. The photos, released under a Freedom of Information Act request, document the president's reaction throughout the day, from an elementary school in Sarasota, Fla., where he first heard about the attacks,...

Monroe's Humble Home Maybe Not So Humble

What we thought was his home may have been merely a guest house

(Newser) - History doesn't change. But our depth of knowledge and understanding of it certainly does. Case in point: the Virginia home of founding father James Monroe. People have long believed that the fifth US president lived in a modest, two-bedroom house at Highland, his homestead from 1799 to 1823 located...

Slipping Away: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a surprise inside an ancient coffin in Egypt

(Newser) - Disappearing islands and a historic ax make the list:
  • 5 Pacific Islands Have Vanished : Five uninhabited reef islands in the Solomon Islands chain in the Pacific have vanished thanks to rising sea levels, say Australian researchers. The news for inhabited islands in the chain isn't so great, either.
  • Preserved
...

How Driving Could Lead to Skin Cancer

 How Driving Could 
 Lead to Skin Cancer 
NEW STUDY
May 13, 2016 12:16 PM CDT

How Driving Could Lead to Skin Cancer

Side windows may block only 44% of UV-A rays: study

(Newser) - Ever gotten a sunburn while driving with the windows up? A new study explains why. Most vehicle windshields block harmful UV-A rays—the kind that raise the risk of everything from cataracts to skin cancer—but your side windows might not, says Brian Boxer Wachler of California's Boxer Wachler...

Ingenious Robot Retrieves Swallowed Batteries

Thanks to origami

(Newser) - The stat is remarkable: Every three hours in the US, a child swallows a battery and risks potentially lethal consequences, per the Washington Post . Now, however, a clever fix is in sight, thanks to origami. MIT researchers have unveiled a tiny robot that, once ingested, unfolds inside the body to...

Stories 1981 - 2000 | << Prev   Next >>