discoveries

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

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Sahara Desert Reveals 'Holy Grail' of Dino Discoveries

African dinosaur suggests link to Europe in late Cretaceous Period

(Newser) - Researcher Matt Lamanna calls it "the Holy Grail" of dinosaur discoveries. After decades of digging had left a 44-million-year gap in the fossil record for dinos in Africa, Lamanna says his jaw "hit the floor" when he saw photos of skull fragments, a lower jaw, neck and back...

Forensic Linguist Solves a Jack the Ripper Mystery

Confirms 2 iconic early letters were written by same person

(Newser) - It's a Jack the Ripper mystery solved. Unfortunately that's "a" mystery, not "the" mystery. A forensic linguist with the UK's University of Manchester says that after learning no forensic linguistic analysis had been carried out on any of the letters purportedly written by the infamous...

Wreck of Ship Carrying Rich Southerners Possibly Found

Boiler explosion caused Pulaski to sink in 1838

(Newser) - It was "the Titanic of its time." A luxury steamboat carrying some of the wealthiest and most high-profile families in the Southeast exploded while traveling from Savannah, Ga., to Baltimore, Md. on June 13, 1838. Half of the roughly 200 people aboard the Pulaski died—including whole families...

In Collapsed Cave, Remarkably Old Human Fossil Discovered

2002 find suggests modern humans may have left Africa 100K years earlier than thought

(Newser) - A fossil found in Israel indicates modern humans may have left Africa as much as 100,000 years earlier than previously thought. Scientists say that an ancient upper jawbone and associated stone tools could also mean that Homo sapiens—modern humans—arose in Africa far earlier than fossils now show....

One of Dead Sea Scrolls' Last Puzzles Is Cracked

Researchers decipher fragments of ancient coded text

(Newser) - Israeli researchers say they have deciphered one of the last remaining puzzles of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It turns out the ancient authors of this particular section were writing about the changing of the seasons and the calendar they used to mark and celebrate such occasions, reports the Catholic News...

Dogs Eat Poop, and You Might Not Be Able to Stop Them

Scientific name for this habit: canine conspecific coprophagy

(Newser) - Before you freak out that your dog may be suffering from canine conspecific coprophagy, know that it's probably not that serious—though you will likely be grossed out. Scientific American reports on a study in the Veterinary Medicine and Science journal that looked at the result of two web-based...

Has a Centuries-Old Aztec Mystery Been Solved?
Has a Centuries-Old
Aztec Mystery Been Solved?
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 21, 2018 12:40 PM CST

Has a Centuries-Old Aztec Mystery Been Solved?

An epidemic that killed millions could have been due to salmonella, per a new study

(Newser) - Can the teeth of 10 people solve a centuries-old mystery? According to a study published Monday in Nature Ecology and Evolution , perhaps. Its authors suggest that an epidemic that killed as many as 17 million people over the course of two outbreaks in the 16th century and had a hand...

Ancient Greek Monument Just Got Even More Impressive

It houses one of the world's oldest plumbing networks: scientists

(Newser) - The Greek island of Keros surely impressed ancient visitors, with terraces and buildings made of gleaming white stone jutting out of the Aegean Sea. As it turns out, what couldn't be seen may have been even more impressive, reports the Guardian . An international team has uncovered a sophisticated plumbing...

Scientists 'Enormously Excited' About Cancer Blood Test

'Liquid biopsy' shows promising early results in detecting 8 cancers—but much work is still needed

(Newser) - Scientists are "very, very excited" about what they see as a positive "first step" in developing a blood test that could detect a variety of cancers, the Washington Post reports. In a study published in the journal Science , researchers used the CancerSEEK test, which looks for cancer-tied proteins...

200K Antelopes Died Suddenly. Now Scientists Know Why

High heat and humidity altered bacteria in their bodies: study

(Newser) - Saiga antelopes have been roaming Central Asia since the time of the woolly mammoth, an achievement only a resilient species could pull off. But now, "total extinction" may be on the horizon. That's according to researchers studying the deaths of more than 200,000 endangered saigas in Kazakhstan...

In Case of Black Death, Rats May Be Innocent
Don't Blame Rats for
Europe's Black Death
NEW STUDY
Jan 16, 2018 10:45 AM CST

Don't Blame Rats for Europe's Black Death

Human-carried parasites might be true culprits: study

(Newser) - Those poor, misjudged rats? According to infectious disease experts in Norway and Italy, rats aren't to blame for the spread of the Black Death, which has previously been referred to as the species' most infamous crime. In fact, humans might've been directly involved, reports the CBC . While studying...

Why Stopping a 150mph Sneeze Isn&#39;t Smart
Why Stopping a
150mph Sneeze
Isn't Smart
NEW STUDY
Jan 16, 2018 8:05 AM CST

Why Stopping a 150mph Sneeze Isn't Smart

UK patient ruptures throat, researchers warn about other possible damage that could result

(Newser) - It's said to be "exceedingly rare," but a study in the BMJ Case Reports journal documents the case of a 34-year-old UK man who showed up at a Leicester hospital complaining he was having a hard time swallowing, and that he felt a "popping sensation" in...

Found in China: Dino With a &#39;Rainbow Glimmer&#39;
Found in China: Dino
With a 'Rainbow Glimmer'
NEW STUDY
Jan 15, 2018 9:01 AM CST

Found in China: Dino With a 'Rainbow Glimmer'

Jurassic Period's 'Caihong juji' had shimmering feathers like those found on hummingbirds

(Newser) - Scientists are now saying there may have been "a more colorful Jurassic World than we previously imagined," thanks to the recent discovery of a fossil in China's Hebei province. Reuters reports that a closer look at the "exquisitely preserved," almost completely intact fossil of a...

Huge Glaciers Found Hiding Beneath Mars Surface
Huge Glaciers Found Hiding
Beneath Mars Surface
NEW STUDY
Jan 12, 2018 9:54 AM CST

Huge Glaciers Found Hiding Beneath Mars Surface

Scientists already knew they were there, but they've just seen them in a whole new light

(Newser) - Scientists already knew that water ice lurked below Mars' surface. But a new study published in the journal Science sheds new light on what Space.com calls "apparent glaciers," seen anew thanks to high-res imagery from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Using this data,...

Surprising Find in Blackbeard's Cannon: Reading Material

Researchers find scraps of paper, figure out book they came from

(Newser) - Pirates of yore plundered, but they also read books, apparently. While cleaning sludge out of a cannon recovered from Blackbeard's flagship, scientists discovered bits of paper and were able to figure out the name of a book kept on board. The 16 fragments, each no bigger than a quarter,...

Rock Art Dating Back Millennia May Be More Than Just Art

Painting found in India could be one of the oldest (if not the oldest) sky charts ever found

(Newser) - We can't exactly chat with ancient humans about their lives, but their art gives us glimpses, and a new find in India sheds literal light on a cosmic event they may have witnessed. Quartz cites a new study in the Indian Journal of History of Science in which scientists...

That Bonobo That Likes You? It Really Thinks You're a Jerk

Scientists say this ape species appears to prefer 'hinderers' to 'helpers'

(Newser) - Scientists have long wondered about the "prosocial" activity of bonobos, noting how the apes appear to be more sharing and cooperative than other primates such as chimps, per the Los Angeles Times . But humans may still have them beat after a new study out of Duke University suggests bonobos...

No One Alive Had Ever Seen These Navy Artifacts ... Until Now

Dozens of 'vibrant' old flags captured by US Navy uncovered at Annapolis facility

(Newser) - The curator of the US Naval Academy Museum wasn't exactly sure what would be found: Records indicated five display boxes long used to exhibit captured British flags from the War of 1812 actually concealed more banners underneath. But not until all 61 banners were painstakingly removed in December for...

Student Discovers Sneaky New Octopus Species

'Frilled giant Pacific octopus' has avoided detection until now

(Newser) - The world has a new octopus: Meet the "frilled giant Pacific octopus," newly detected by a student at Alaska Pacific University working on his senior thesis, reports Earther . The creature resembles the familiar giant Pacific octopus, but Nathan Hollenback not only laid out some distinctive visual differences but...

Scientists Document Monkeys Trying to Have Sex With Deer

Behavior was documented in Minoo, Japan

(Newser) - It was a "single anecdotal event" that surprised scientists and the internet: A male snow monkey was documented trying to have sexual relations with a sika deer in Japan. It turns out it wasn't so singular. A study published Dec. 11 in the Archives of Sexual Behavior establishes...

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