discoveries

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

Stories 901 - 920 | << Prev   Next >>

World&#39;s Insect Population Is &#39;Awfully Alarming&#39;
World's Insect Population
Is 'Awfully Alarming'
new study
Apr 24, 2020 12:43 PM CDT

World's Insect Population Is 'Awfully Alarming'

Number of land-dwelling bugs is down 27% in last 30 years

(Newser) - The world has lost more than one quarter of its land-dwelling insects in the past 30 years, according to researchers whose big picture study of global bug decline paints a disturbing but more nuanced problem than earlier research. From bees and other pollinators crucial to the world’s food supply...

She Was Shot in the Chest. A Surprising Thing Saved Her

Bullet traveled through both of a woman's breast implants in rare case

(Newser) - A Canadian woman can credibly say that her breast implants saved her life. The unnamed 30-year-old had been walking in Toronto in 2018 when she felt pain on the left side of her chest, looked down, and saw blood, per Gizmodo . She went to the emergency room, where she learned...

Sexy Male Lemurs Have Natural Perfume


Lemurs Are
Masters of
'Stink Flirting'
NEW STUDY
Apr 17, 2020 12:11 PM CDT

Lemurs Are Masters of 'Stink Flirting'

Males secrete a natural scent, possibly the first sex pheromone found in a primate

(Newser) - The act of dabbing fragrance on your wrist in the hope of attracting a potential partner isn't strictly human, apparently. Ring-tailed lemurs attract mates in much the same way, only naturally, according to Japanese researchers, reports the Guardian . The lemurs have scent glands on their wrists and shoulders, used...

Pioneers Ate These Apples. They Were Just Rediscovered

2 retirees scour abandoned orchards in the Northwest, find 10 'extinct' varieties

(Newser) - Two retirees who scour the remote ravines and windswept plains of the Pacific Northwest for long-forgotten orchards have rediscovered 10 apple varieties that were believed to be extinct—the largest number ever unearthed in a single season by the nonprofit Lost Apple Project, per the AP . Botanists at the Temperate...

In Australia's Deep: 'We Couldn't Believe What We Were Seeing'

Apolemia, a Silly String-like marine creature, could be longest animal ever seen

(Newser) - Scientists exploring underwater canyons in Western Australia say they've discovered up to 30 new marine species, including what's thought to be the longest animal ever seen. The Apolemia, belonging to the siphonophore family of marine organisms related to jellyfish, is made up of millions of tiny clones that...

Scientists Found Teeth in Peru That Shouldn't Be There

Extinct monkeys in South America apparently arrived there by raft from Africa

(Newser) - Archaeologists in the Amazon found four small teeth that had no business being in South America. The teeth are from an extinct species of monkeys from the family of primates known as parapithecids—which once roamed in North Africa. In a new paper in Science , researchers lay out what they...

50K Years Ago, Neanderthals Were Making String

Find hints at other abilities

(Newser) - It looked like a white splotch on the underside of a Neanderthal stone tool. But a microscope showed it was a bunch of fibers twisted around each other. Further examination revealed it was the first direct evidence that Neanderthals could make string, and the oldest known direct evidence for string-making...

Whale Sharks&#39; Age Revealed Thanks to Atomic Blasts
Whale Sharks' Age Revealed
Thanks to Atomic Blasts
new study
Apr 7, 2020 12:38 PM CDT

Whale Sharks' Age Revealed Thanks to Atomic Blasts

World's biggest fish might live a century or more, as carbon-14 dating suggests

(Newser) - Scientists have figured out that the world's biggest fish lives for a surprisingly long time, and the discovery comes courtesy of atomic bomb tests from decades ago. The fish is the enormous whale shark, and the study in Frontiers in Marine Science suggests they can live a century or...

Ancient Ice Tells of a Murderous King&#39;s Struggles
Ancient Ice Tells
of a Murderous
King's Struggles
in case you missed it
Apr 4, 2020 11:15 AM CDT

Ancient Ice Tells of a Murderous King's Struggles

Lead pollution sheds light on British turmoil in 12th century

(Newser) - Scientists say they've found evidence of key moments in British medieval history, including the assassination of an archbishop, nearly 1,000 miles away in the Swiss Alps. There was no sword buried in the snow. Rather, scientists analyzed lead pollution in laser-carved slivers of ice, each representing a period...

Another Potential Vaccine Surfaces in Pittsburgh
Another Potential Vaccine
Surfaces in Pittsburgh
new study
Apr 3, 2020 2:15 PM CDT

Another Potential Vaccine Surfaces in Pittsburgh

It shows promise in mice, and researchers are seeking permission to start clinical trials

(Newser) - The world is thought to be a year or so away from a coronavirus vaccine, but another potential candidate has entered the race. This one is out of the University of Pittsburgh, where researchers report that their vaccine created antibodies in mice, reports TribLive . The researchers are now appealing to...

This Place Once Had a Rainforest
Antarctica Once
Had a Rainforest
NEW STUDY
Apr 2, 2020 12:25 PM CDT

Antarctica Once Had a Rainforest

Researchers find evidence of a much warmer era

(Newser) - Little else but ice, snow, and penguins likely pops into your head when you can spare a thought for Antarctic. But there's much more to the continent than meets the eye, as scientists describe in Nature . Analyzing a sediment core taken from the seafloor of West Antarctica's Amundsen...

New Theory Floated on Origins of Coronavirus
New Theory Floated on
Origins of Coronavirus
new study
Mar 31, 2020 8:03 AM CDT

New Theory Floated on Origins of Coronavirus

Study suggests it could have been spreading in humans for years

(Newser) - Scientists studying the origins of the coronavirus have found similar strains in bats and pangolins , leading to speculation that it jumped from one or perhaps both of those animals to humans earlier this year. But a new study floats a different idea: that the virus was spreading in humans for...

Astronauts&#39; Urine May Be Handy on the Moon
Astronauts' Urine May Be
Handy on the Moon
new study
Mar 30, 2020 9:50 AM CDT

Astronauts' Urine May Be Handy on the Moon

Scientists say it could be mixed with lunar soil to help build shelters

(Newser) - In the fictional world, Matt Damon used his own poop to grow potatoes on Mars. In the real world, scientists just figured out another way human waste—in this case, urine—could benefit future astronauts. Their new study suggests astronauts could build shelters with lunar soil and human urine, reports...

Guys, Have an Older Brother? It May Play a Part in Your Sexuality
Guys, Have an Older
Brother? It May Play a
Part in Your Sexuality
in case you missed it
Mar 28, 2020 10:00 AM CDT

Guys, Have an Older Brother? It May Play a Part in Your Sexuality

Researchers find men with older brother have 38% higher chance of being gay than those without

(Newser) - Past research has suggested that men with at least one older brother are more likely to be gay—a phenomenon called the fraternal birth order effect. Now, a new study by Canadian and German scientists adds more evidence to that theory, and it points to possible antibodies produced by the...

In This Wild Battle of Sexes, the Females Prevail
In Phenomenon
Seen Across Species,
the Ladies Have It
in case you missed it
Mar 28, 2020 7:00 AM CDT

In Phenomenon Seen Across Species, the Ladies Have It

Female mammals typically live longer, likely owing to genetics

(Newser) - It's not just in human populations that females tend to live longer than males. The same trend has been seen in mammals such as elephants, lions, and orcas, according to a new study. Indeed, demographic data for 134 populations of 101 mammalian species shows females outlive males in 60%...

This Scaly Creature Implicated in Virus Spread
This Scaly Creature 
Implicated in Virus Spread
the rundown
Mar 27, 2020 11:16 AM CDT

This Scaly Creature Implicated in Virus Spread

But don't be too quick to blame pangolins just yet

(Newser) - A scaly anteater known as the pangolin is suddenly getting a lot of attention as scientists around the world try to figure out how the coronavirus jumped to humans. The takeaway from coverage seems to boil down to this: The animals do carry coronaviruses similar to the one responsible for...

Hidden in Plain View, an Ancient Sword

5K-year-old blade was initially labeled as medieval sword on display at monastery

(Newser) - A PhD student had a hunch that a monastery's sword, labeled as medieval, was actually much, much older. After two years of study, "it all came full circle," Italian archaeologist Vittoria Dall'Armellina, who's now completed her schooling at Venice's Ca' Foscari University, tells CNN...

Worst COVID-19 Patients May Want to Lie Facedown
Worst COVID-19 Patients
May Want to Lie Facedown
new study
Mar 25, 2020 11:50 AM CDT

Worst COVID-19 Patients May Want to Lie Facedown

Per a research letter out of Wuhan, China

(Newser) - An interesting finding out of Wuhan: A small six-day study in February of Chinese COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized and on ventilators found that their lungs benefited from them lying facedown. In a research letter published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine , the researchers share the...

World's Highest-Dwelling Mammal Has Been Found

Mouse discovered living atop volcano at 22,110 feet

(Newser) - In February, scientists found a mouse living at the 22,110 foot high summit of Llullaillaco, the highest historically active volcano in the world. And a study published this week reports that mouse is the highest-dwelling mammal in the world. The record comes less than a year after it was...

Structure Made of Mammoth Bones Baffles Scientists
Structure Made of Mammoth
Bones Baffles Scientists
in case you missed it
Mar 22, 2020 6:42 AM CDT

Structure Made of Mammoth Bones Baffles Scientists

It was built 25K years ago in what is now Russia, and 'it does boggle my mind,' says researcher

(Newser) - Archaeologists have found plenty of structures made of mammoth bones across Eastern Europe over the years, but none quite like this one. Previously discovered ones were fairly small, suggesting they were used as dwellings. But this is not only older than the rest—figure about 25,000 years old—it'...

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