discoveries

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

Stories 401 - 420 | << Prev   Next >>

Scientists Figure Out the Naked Mole-Rat's Wild Fertility

They aren't like other mammals

(Newser) - Naked mole-rats are an anomaly in more ways than one, and the author of a new study on the creature, which manages to outlive all other rodents, explains why: "They almost never get cancer, they don't feel pain like other mammals, they live in underground colonies, and only...

George Washington Letter Sees Him Pressed for Cash

Previously unknown 1787 letter about land for sale expected to fetch $50K at auction

(Newser) - A previously unknown letter from George Washington in which the first US president hints at financial troubles is ironically expected to fetch $50,000 at auction, CNN reports. Raab Collection, an auction house with a focus on historical documents, revealed the discovery of the 1787 letter "unknown to scholars"...

Highest-Paid Aren&#39;t Necessarily the Smartest
Highest-Paid Aren't
Necessarily the Smartest
new study
Feb 21, 2023 1:28 PM CST

Highest-Paid Aren't Necessarily the Smartest

Study suggests that highest earners aren't as bright as those below them

(Newser) - In the debate over income inequality, one view is that people who make the most earn it by being the smartest people in the room. A new study out of Sweden, however, casts doubt on that, reports Fortune . Researchers looked at about 60,000 men who took standardized intelligence tests...

His HIV Was Cured. That Makes Him No. 5

The 'Dusseldorf patient' was cured thanks to a stem cell transplant

(Newser) - The "Dusseldorf patient," as a 53-year-old German man is being identified, has been confirmed as the fifth person to have been cured of HIV. "It’s really cure, and not just, you know, long-term remission," says Dr. Bjorn-Erik Ole Jensen, who detailed the case in Nature ...

There's a Reason Why You May Need to Sleep Longer in Winter

Scientists say people get more REM sleep in colder months, might need to adjust sleep habits

(Newser) - If you're annoyed at how much sleep you seem to need in the winter, you're not alone—and scientists think they're closer to understanding why. The Guardian cites new research out of a sleep clinic in Berlin, where scientists examined nearly 190 patients who were there for...

Possums Provide Way to Catch Pythons. The Hard Way
Possums Provide Way to Catch
Pythons. The Hard Way
new study
Feb 13, 2023 11:03 AM CST

Possums Provide Way to Catch Pythons. The Hard Way

Snake ate one with a GPS collar, and researchers were able to track and kill it

(Newser) - Researchers didn't set out to turn possums into python meals, but their study nevertheless suggests a novel way to curb the invasive snake population in Florida. As the Tampa Bay Times explains, wildlife researchers fitted possums and raccoons with GPS collars to study their populations near the Crocodile Lake...

They Were Looking for Coded Letters, Found the Extraordinary
They Were Looking for Coded
Letters, Found the Extraordinary
in case you missed it
Feb 12, 2023 7:20 AM CST

They Were Looking for Coded Letters, Found the Extraordinary

Researchers find 57 coded letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots

(Newser) - Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded on this day in 1587 after 19 years of imprisonment ordered by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, and experts say a new discovery concerning her is the most significant we've had in at least a century: a secret correspondence that was thought to...

Mysterious Ring Spotted Around Minor Planet

Ring around Quaoar 'should not be possible'

(Newser) - Astronomers have made a puzzling discovery in the deep reaches of the solar system, far beyond Neptune. Quaoar, a minor planet in the Kuiper belt, has a ring like those around Saturn, but it is further from the planet than the zone where current models say rings are possible. The...

Male Orcas Need Their Moms Well Into Adulthood
Orca Moms Pay Steep
Price for Their Adult Sons
new study
Feb 9, 2023 12:08 PM CST

Orca Moms Pay Steep Price for Their Adult Sons

They continue to provide food all through life, and the behavior takes a toll on the mothers

(Newser) - Researchers studying orcas have made a remarkable discovery about the relationship between females and their male offspring. It seems that mother orcas continue to feed their sons well into adulthood to help them survive, and the mothers do this at great sacrifice to themselves, reports the BBC . The study in...

Piece of Ancient Object Found, but Romans Left No Clues

Experts still are trying to learn the purpose of dodecahedrons

(Newser) - Experts are certain that an amateur archaeologist and his metal detector found a piece of a dodecahedron in northern Belgium, but no one is quite sure what that means. A dodecahedron is a 12-sided Roman object, and this one is probably more than 1,600 years old, Smithsonian Magazine reports....

Finding Puts 'Extra Nail in the Coffin' on Neanderthal Theory

Prehistoric humans loved a good roasted crab, dispelling notion they didn't enjoy seafood

(Newser) - Prehistoric humans may not have had Red Lobster or Long John Silver's, but that doesn't mean they didn't enjoy a good seafood sit-down as much as their modern-day relatives. In fact, scientists have determined that Neanderthals quite enjoyed crab, which they caught by the shore, then roasted...

Having a Partner May Help Your Blood Sugar

One Quirk in
Couples Health
Study Is a Surprise
new study
Feb 7, 2023 8:50 AM CST

One Quirk in Couples Health Study Is a Surprise

Cohabitating pairs have lower blood sugar levels, whether they get along or not

(Newser) - Living with a partner might help you maintain healthy blood sugar levels, a new study suggests. But the more surprising part of the research is that it doesn't seem to matter if you and your partner get along, reports the Guardian . The study in BMJ Open Diabetes Research &...

Research Won&#39;t Please Believers in Bigfoot
'If Bigfoot
Is There, It
May Be
Many Bears'
new study
Feb 5, 2023 9:05 AM CST

'If Bigfoot Is There, It May Be Many Bears'

Study sees a correlation in sightings with black bear populations

(Newser) - Either Bigfoot likes hanging around black bears or lots of people tend to mistake the latter for the former. A new study picks its side, suggesting that sightings of the legendary creature are almost surely cases of mistaken identity. In a paper published at the preprint stie bioRxiv , data scientist...

Flirting With Fake Bartender Could Fend Off Real Temptation

Virtual reality has entered the realm of relationship therapy

(Newser) - Staying monogamous has been one of humankind's most persistent partnership problems. Now, scientists in the virtual reality world think they may have a remedy of sorts to keep couples honest and cheating at bay. Futurism reports on some "strange research" out of Reichman University in Israel that suggests...

5K-Year-Old Tavern Still Holds Food
5K-Year-Old Tavern
Still Holds Food
Feb 2, 2023 12:55 PM CST

5K-Year-Old Tavern Still Holds Food

Fish stew, anyone?

(Newser) - With the exception of beer, the tavern has everything a tavern should: an open-air dining area, benches, a kitchen complete with a refrigerator and oven, even food. The catch: all of it is more than 5,000 years old. Archaeologists have announced the discovery of the buried pub in the...

'Time Machine' Unearthed on Ancient Egypt's Mummies

Embalming workshop found in 2016 offers hints on the mummification process

(Newser) - For thousands of years, ancient Egyptians mummified their dead in the search for eternal life. Now, researchers have used chemistry and an unusual collection of jars to figure out how they did it. Their study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature , is based on a rare archaeological find: an embalming...

He Spent 5 Years Solving a Grizzly Mystery

Clayton Lamb was perplexed after coming upon 4 bears who were all missing toes

(Newser) - "Part of what makes a grizzly bear a grizzly bear is their very long claws. It’s just something essential." So explains Canadian biologist Clayton Lamb, and in a piece for the Washington Post , Dino Grandoni elaborates. Those paws and claws are key to a bear's ability...

Little-Known Syndrome More Common Than Realized
Little-Known Syndrome
More Common Than Realized
new study
Jan 29, 2023 9:10 AM CST

Little-Known Syndrome More Common Than Realized

VEXAS is an inflammatory ailment with a high mortality rate that affects older men most often

(Newser) - If you've never heard of VEXAS syndrome, it's little wonder: Scientists didn't recognize and describe the inflammatory ailment until 2020, reports CNN . Now, a follow-up study suggests the syndrome is not as rare as first believed. Researchers estimate that 15,500 people in the US over age...

Earth&#39;s Spinning Inner Core May Come to a Standstill
There May Be Something Big
Going On in Earth's Center
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 28, 2023 4:15 PM CST

There May Be Something Big Going On in Earth's Center

Scientists think inner core may come to standstill every 35 years, then start spinning other way

(Newser) - If you were born before 2009, you lived through a time when the center of the Earth stopped spinning. So say seismologists, who believe they've discovered a mysterious cycle that sees the inner metal core of the planet speed up, then decelerate and ultimately come to a standstill before...

In Egypt, an 'Increasingly Rare' Find

First complete papyrus to be found in a century will be displayed at Cairo's new museum

(Newser) - From one of 250 wooden sarcophagi uncovered last year at Egypt's famed necropolis of Saqqara comes the first complete papyrus scroll discovered in a century. And it's a long one. The scroll containing sections of the Book of the Dead stretches 52 feet long, per Live Science . The...

Stories 401 - 420 | << Prev   Next >>