discoveries

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

Stories 1241 - 1260 | << Prev   Next >>

Mutant Enzyme Munches Plastic
Mutant Enzyme 
Munches Plastic
Apr 17, 2018 5:52 AM CDT

Mutant Enzyme Munches Plastic

This could massively reduce waste, scientists say

(Newser) - Some rare good news in the fight against plastic pollution: Scientists working with a plastic-eating microbe discovered in Japan two years ago accidentally created a mutant enzyme that sounds like an environmentalist's dream, the Guardian reports. The enzyme breaks down the PET—polyethylene terephthalate—used in plastic bottles even...

The Bacteria Eats Through Skin, Is Causing Mystery in Australia

Study quantifies the spread of Buruli ulcers in Victoria

(Newser) - "It is difficult to prevent a disease when it is not known how infection is acquired," reads a study published Monday that tracks the spread of a flesh-eating ulcer in Australia, and that's not the only mystery surrounding the rise in Buruli ulcers. The disease has historically...

Nazis&#39; Effort to Hide Ship Affected Norway&#39;s Trees
Nazis' Attempt to Cloak Its
Ship Affected Norway's Trees
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 15, 2018 8:21 AM CDT

Nazis' Attempt to Cloak Its Ship Affected Norway's Trees

The Tirptiz tried to create a 'chemical fog'

(Newser) - A German dendrochronologist stumbled on something puzzling while gathering wood cores on the Norwegian coast in 2016: some trees were missing rings. "We got back to the lab and measured the tree rings, and saw that they were very narrow—in some cases nearly absent—for 1945," Claudia...

FBI Solves the Mystery of an Ancient Severed Head
FBI Solves the Mystery
of an Ancient Severed Head
In Case You Missed It
Apr 7, 2018 2:09 PM CDT

FBI Solves the Mystery of an Ancient Severed Head

In an Egyptian tomb belonging to Djehutynakht and his wife, there was just one head

(Newser) - It has to rank among the less usual undertakings doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital had attempted: In 2009 they removed a molar from a severed Egyptian mummy's head via an endoscope with grasping forceps they inserted through the neck. The tooth was a hopeful clue in a nearly...

There's a Natural, Cheaper Alternative to Sports Drinks

Peel a banana

(Newser) - During an Australian Open match in January, tennis star CoCo Vandeweghe refused to continue play until someone gave her a banana. She was mocked, reports Deadspin , but the snack was probably worth the scorn. Like sports drinks, bananas are packed with sugars—14.43 grams in a medium-size one—proven...

Study: Those Who Saw Wealth Vanish More Likely to Die
A Midlife 'Wealth Shock'
May Lead to Your Death
new study
Apr 4, 2018 6:58 AM CDT

A Midlife 'Wealth Shock' May Lead to Your Death

Study finds Americans who suffered a financial blow were more likely to die

(Newser) - A big financial loss may shorten your life, a new study suggests. Middle-aged Americans who experienced a sudden, large economic blow were more likely to die during the following years than those who didn't. The heightened danger of death after a devastating loss, which researchers called a "wealth...

Tire-Sized Footprints Found on Scottish Coast

They were left by sauropods some 170M years ago

(Newser) - Some imprints are so big, they look like tidal pools. Perhaps that's why the footprints were able to hide in plain sight for years before observant paleontologists spotted the tell-tale signs of dinosaur toes. They're now celebrating the discovery of some 50 rare footprints left by long-necked sauropods...

Key to Longer Life May Be Smaller Portions
Restricting Calories 
May Mean a Longer Life
new study
Apr 2, 2018 6:30 PM CDT

Restricting Calories May Mean a Longer Life

Study suggests smaller meals can pay off for humans in longevity

(Newser) - A new study suggests that those who hope to live long lives should start reducing the portions on their plates. The study in Cell Metabolism followed 53 non-obese men and women over the course of two years, some of whom reduced the amount of calories they ate by 15%, reports...

Newly Identified Human Organ Serves as &#39;Shock Absorber&#39;
Newfound Human Organ Holds
a 5th of Body's Fluid
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 1, 2018 7:11 AM CDT

Newfound Human Organ Holds a 5th of Body's Fluid

The interstitium serves as a 'shock absorber'

(Newser) - A pathologist investigating strange patterns spotted in routine endoscopies found a previously undiscovered human organ lurking right inside his nose. The interstitium, a network of fluid-filled spaces, is found in tissues throughout the body, including below the surface of the skin and surrounding the digestive tract. The organ, described by...

In a Medieval Woman&#39;s Grave, a &#39;Coffin Birth&#39;
In a Medieval Woman's
Grave, a 'Coffin Birth'
in case you missed it
Mar 31, 2018 7:30 AM CDT

In a Medieval Woman's Grave, a 'Coffin Birth'

Italian researchers report on case of partially delivered fetus

(Newser) - A female found buried near Bologna, Italy, in an early Medieval grave got a much deeper examination thanks to the discovery of a second set of bones in the grave: those of what has been determined to be a 38-week-old fetus. Forbes picks up the study, published in the journal...

Lots of Numbers Crunched to Solve Knuckle- Cracking Mystery
Bubble Burst on Mystery
of Knuckle-Cracking Pop
NEW STUDY
Mar 30, 2018 12:33 PM CDT

Bubble Burst on Mystery of Knuckle-Cracking Pop

Mathematical model points to collapse of gas bubble in finger joint

(Newser) - Nearly everyone has been annoyed by (or indulged in) articular release of the metacarpophalangeal joint—aka, knuckle cracking. Now, per the New York Times , one theory has risen over a competing one in the decades-long mystery of what creates the popping sound. In a study in Scientific Reports , journal researchers...

Research on 'Alien' Skeleton Causes Outrage in Chile

Body of stillborn girl was dug up near church

(Newser) - A tiny skeleton long rumored to be some kind of alien-human hybrid is actually the body of a stillborn baby girl , researchers say—and the finding has caused outrage in Chile, where the body was dug up near an abandoned Catholic church in 2003. Chilean scientists say it appears that...

Yucky Ducky? Kids&#39; Bath Toy Has a Dirty Secret
Rubber Ducky, You're
the (Really Gross) One
NEW STUDY
Mar 28, 2018 9:30 AM CDT

Rubber Ducky, You're the (Really Gross) One

New study finds that yellow hallmark of childhood is a bastion of bacteria

(Newser) - Scientists now have the dirt on the rubber ducky: Those cute yellow bath toys are—as some parents have long suspected—a haven for nasty bugs, reports the AP . Swiss and American researchers counted microbes inside the toys and say the murky liquid released when ducks were squeezed contained "...

81 Lost Amazon Settlements Are Found
81 Lost Amazon
Settlements Are Found
NEW STUDY
Mar 28, 2018 7:30 AM CDT

81 Lost Amazon Settlements Are Found

Sites suggest millions might've lived in pre-Columbian rainforest: study

(Newser) - Once it was thought hardly anyone ventured into the Amazon before Europeans arrived in South America, instead keeping close to major rivers. But that was before satellites combed the region. Archaeologists at the University of Exeter who surveyed satellite images in areas of deforestation have uncovered 81 previously unknown Amazon...

3 Boys Make Ancient Find on Spring Break

They discovered mastodon jawbone on family land

(Newser) - Three boys have found a part of a mastodon jawbone while exploring family property in Mississippi. The Vicksburg Post reports that two brothers and a cousin made the discovery on plowed land near Bovina, a small community east of the Mississippi River. The three were on spring break from school...

Egyptian Coffin Is 'Dowdy,' but the Inside Is 'Astonishing'

An Egyptian sarcophagus is found to contain mummified remains

(Newser) - An archaeologist a continent away from Egypt made what he calls an "unbelievably astonishing" discovery: a 2,500-year-old coffin that had always been assumed to be empty actually wasn't. Australian scientists led by Dr. Jamie Fraser of the University of Sydney's Nicholson Museum tells the BBC the...

Girl&#39;s &#39;Moana Rock&#39; Actually Something More
Bored by Soccer Game, Girl
Digs in Dirt, Makes Wild Find
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 25, 2018 7:43 AM CDT

Bored by Soccer Game, Girl Digs in Dirt, Makes Wild Find

7-year-old 'delighted' with ammonite fossil found in Oregon

(Newser) - At 7 years old, Naomi Vaughan probably has a hard time wrapping her head around a 65 million-year span. But that's the minimum amount of time elapsed between the death of a tiny sea creature and when Naomi picked up its remains. Bored with her sister's soccer game...

Zoo Unravels Mystery of Lioness Who Sprouted a Mane

Tests reveal what's up with Bridget

(Newser) - Lab results have revealed the answer to a mystery at an Oklahoma zoo: Just what caused a female lion to sprout a mane. The Oklahoma City Zoo says in its March newsletter that testing at the University of Tennessee found the African lioness named Bridget has an elevated level of...

Your Fingerprint Might Have Cocaine in It
Your Fingerprint Might Have
Cocaine in It
study says
Mar 22, 2018 10:24 AM CDT

Your Fingerprint Might Have Cocaine in It

Even if you don't do drugs

(Newser) - Even if you don't do drugs, there's a surprisingly decent chance your fingerprints have traces of cocaine and even heroin. Researchers from the University of Surrey in Britain found that slightly more than 1 in 10 drug-free study participants had cocaine in their prints and 1% had heroin,...

These Stone Tools Are Smashing Theories on Africa
These Stone Tools
Are Smashing
Theories on Africa
NEW STUDIES
Mar 20, 2018 7:14 PM CDT

These Stone Tools Are Smashing Theories on Africa

At 320K years old, they push back date of Middle Stone Age

(Newser) - For decades, the human story was one told through signs of modernity—art, tools, burials—found only after Homo sapiens left Africa. Recent discoveries pushing back the date of departure are helping to change that narrative, as are three new studies in Science. Together, they describe the earliest stone tools...

Stories 1241 - 1260 | << Prev   Next >>