discoveries

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

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Source of Cosmic Radio Bursts Is Finally Discovered

They come from 'magnestars'

(Newser) - A flash of luck helped astronomers solve a cosmic mystery: What causes powerful but fleeting radio bursts that zip and zigzag through the universe? Scientists have known about these energetic pulses—called fast radio bursts—for about 13 years and have seen them coming from outside our galaxy, which makes...

Young Woman Made Mark as Early Big-Game Hunter
New Find Upends Thinking
on Early Big-Game Hunters
NEW STUDY
Nov 5, 2020 11:43 AM CST

New Find Upends Thinking on Early Big-Game Hunters

Researchers think up to 50% of such hunters in the Americas were female

(Newser) - Think the women of the ancient Americas were stuck crushing grain into flour while the men went hunting for big game? Researchers say you're wrong. "Early big-game hunting was likely gender neutral," reads a new study in Science Advances . The conclusion stems from a 9,000-year-old burial...

Researchers Say This Is How to Cook Rice for Your Kids

New method removes the majority of the naturally occurring arsenic

(Newser) - There's naturally occurring arsenic in rice, and researchers have identified a method of cooking it that will get rid of the majority of it. In a paper published in Science of the Total Environment , researchers with the University of Sheffield's Institute for Sustainable Food tested a number of...

There Hasn&#39;t Been an Ocean Find Like This in 120 Years
There Hasn't Been an Ocean
Find Like This in 120 Years
in case you missed it
Nov 1, 2020 1:30 PM CST

There Hasn't Been an Ocean Find Like This in 120 Years

Huge section of coral reef found at Great Barrier Reef is taller than Empire State Building

(Newser) - During the past year, the Schmidt Ocean Institute's Falkor ship has been trolling the waters off the coast of Australia, where it's found dozens of new species, including what may be the longest animal on Earth . Its latest surprise discovery is no less impressive: a section of coral...

Lizard Finally Turns Up, 100 Years Later

Living specimens of Voeltzkow's chameleon are found in Madagascar

(Newser) - Talk about good camouflage! Scientists say they have found an elusive chameleon species that was last spotted in Madagascar 100 years ago. Researchers from Madagascar and Germany said Friday that they discovered several living specimens of Voeltzkow's chameleon during an expedition to the northwest of the African island nation....

Asteroid Thought to Be Worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000

16 Psyche thought to be massive chunk of iron and nickel

(Newser) - Somewhere between Mars and Jupiter is a potato-shaped space rock possibly worth way more than the entire economy of Earth. Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis discovered the Massachusetts-sized asteroid known as 16 Psyche lurking in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in 1852, per Fox News . New observations...

Study: China's Forests Have Been Underestimated

New forests are a major 'carbon sink'

(Newser) - China is the world's biggest polluter—but a massive tree-planting program has helped absorb more of its carbon dioxide emissions than researchers expected. In a new study in the journal Nature , researchers say that according to ground and satellite observations, the rapid afforestation of areas of northeast and southwest...

COVID Antibodies Are &#39;Rapidly&#39; Waning
COVID Antibodies
Are 'Rapidly' Waning
NEW STUDY
Oct 27, 2020 9:25 AM CDT

COVID Antibodies Are 'Rapidly' Waning

Study finds 26.5% decline in antibodies in English participants over 3 months

(Newser) - Widespread, long-term herd immunity to COVID-19 will be difficult to achieve if the results of a new study are confirmed. The survey of 365,000 people in England showed the proportion of those testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies fell 26.5% between June 20 and Sept. 28, suggesting "immunity...

NASA Confirms Major Moon Find
NASA Confirms
Major Moon Find
Oct 26, 2020 1:12 PM CDT

NASA Confirms Major Moon Find

Water exists outside incredibly cold craters

(Newser) - Good news for thirsty lunar explorers: NASA says it has detected water on the sunlit surface of the moon for the first time. Researchers using the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy—a Boeing 747 that makes observations from 45,000 feet—confirmed that the chemical signature of H20 was spotted...

Doctors May Have Found New Organ Hidden in Head

These could be first major salivary glands found in 300 years

(Newser) - For the past three centuries, doctors have been under the impression that humans have three major types of salivary glands, found near the ears, below the jaw, and under the tongue. "Now, we think there is a fourth," Dr. Matthijs Valstar of the Netherlands Cancer Institute tells the...

This Type of Athlete Wows at Conquering Pain
This Type of Athlete
Wows at Conquering Pain
NEW STUDY
Oct 22, 2020 1:57 PM CDT

This Type of Athlete Wows at Conquering Pain

High-level endurance athletes beat soccer players in pain tolerance, thresholds

(Newser) - Want to fell less pain? You may want to try long-distance running. Research published in July comparing pain perception in endurance athletes, soccer players, and nonathletes suggests elite athletes overall have increased pain tolerance, higher pain thresholds, and lower pain intensity—but also that endurance athletes manage the best. In...

Engineers Have a New Inspiration: This Beetle
'Super Tough' Beetle Could
Inspire Us to Do Better
new study
Oct 21, 2020 5:13 PM CDT

'Super Tough' Beetle Could Inspire Us to Do Better

Researchers say the bug's crush-resistant shell can be a model for planes and buildings

(Newser) - It's a beetle that can withstand bird pecks, animal stomps and even being rolled over by a Toyota Camry. Now scientists are studying what the bug's crush-resistant shell could teach them about designing stronger planes and buildings, the AP reports. "This beetle is super tough," said...

Factors That May Put You at Risk for &#39;Long COVID&#39;
Factors That May
Put You at Risk
for 'Long COVID'
new study
Oct 21, 2020 8:34 AM CDT

Factors That May Put You at Risk for 'Long COVID'

Being female is one of them

(Newser) - There's COVID and there's "long COVID"—the kind whose symptoms don't go away within four weeks, as they do for most people. The BBC reports researchers with King's College London estimate that 1 in 45 people end up being sick for at least 12...

White Noise May Actually Make Sleep Worse
Researchers Skeptical 
About White-Noise Sleep Apps
new study
Oct 19, 2020 10:40 AM CDT

Researchers Skeptical About White-Noise Sleep Apps

They might actually make things worse, concludes a new study

(Newser) - Apps or devices that simulate white noise to help people sleep are popular these days, but a new study raises doubts about their effectiveness. In fact, they might even degrade the quality of sleep, warns one of the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania. "I would just be careful,...

You Might Have an Extra Artery in Your Arm
Fast-Evolving Human Trait:
An Extra Artery in Our Arms
in case you missed it
Oct 17, 2020 1:30 PM CDT

Fast-Evolving Human Trait: An Extra Artery in Our Arms

Researchers say having 3 is becoming more common

(Newser) - A study out of Australia suggests that textbooks on human anatomy will have to reflect a fundamental change by the end of this century: Most of us will have three blood vessels running down our arm, instead of two. Researchers studying adult cadavers report a sharp increase in this third...

Your Blood Type Could Signal Your COVID Risk
People With This Blood Type
May Have Lower COVID Risk
NEW STUDIES
Oct 15, 2020 9:55 AM CDT

People With This Blood Type May Have Lower COVID Risk

Scientists say those with Type O blood also may suffer less if they do get the virus

(Newser) - What makes some people more vulnerable to the coronavirus? Scientists are still wrangling with that, but new research sheds light on the role a person's blood may play. CNN cites two new studies published in the journal Blood Advances—one out of Denmark , the other Canada —that suggest...

Study Busts a Myth About Couples&#39; Appearances
Study Busts a Myth About
Couples' Appearances
new study
Oct 13, 2020 2:24 PM CDT

Study Busts a Myth About Couples' Appearances

No, two people don't start to look alike over time, say researchers

(Newser) - The idea that two people in a long relationship begin to look alike is an enduring one, but new research suggests it's simply not true. A team at Stanford used photos of 517 couples in their study at Scientific Reports , comparing images from when they first got together with...

Think Fish Don&#39;t Stink? You May Have This Mutation
Why Some People Think
Rotten Fish Smells Great
NEW STUDY
Oct 9, 2020 12:30 PM CDT

Why Some People Think Rotten Fish Smells Great

They aren't crazy but may have a rare gene mutation

(Newser) - If you don't mind the smell of rotting fish, you might be one of the rare people to possess a just-discovered gene mutation that hints at just how different people's smell and taste senses can be. Researchers in Iceland set out to learn more about the variants that...

It'll Feel Like Eating Pop Rocks, but Your Tinnitus May Improve

Researchers say bimodal neuromodulation device shocks tongue to reduce ringing in ears

(Newser) - Scientists say they've come up with a noninvasive device that can help alleviate the symptoms of tinnitus , a perception of noise or ringing in the ears. In the study in the Science Translational Medicine journal cited by Scientific American , the researchers say the bimodal neuromodulation contraption achieves this by...

Opening More Bottles Than Usual? You&#39;re Not Alone
Opening More Bottles Than
Usual? You're Not Alone
NEW STUDY
Oct 6, 2020 9:04 AM CDT

Opening More Bottles Than Usual? You're Not Alone

Study finds Americans 30 and older are drinking booze 14% more during pandemic than last year

(Newser) - If you've been throwing back more vino than you used to, join the stuck-at-home crowd. A new study conducted by the Rand Corporation has found that Americans are drinking alcohol 14% more often during the pandemic than they used to, with NPR citing everything from Zoom happy hours to...

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