discoveries

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

Stories 1281 - 1300 | << Prev   Next >>

Searching for a Foundation, They Found a Treasure Trove Instead
Searching for a Foundation,
They Found Treasure Instead
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nov 19, 2017 3:00 PM CST

Searching for a Foundation, They Found Treasure Instead

'I thought how I'd never again see something like it'

(Newser) - They were searching for an old infirmary. What they uncovered was an "exceptional and extremely rare treasure": 2,200 silver coins, 21 gold coins, a gold signet ring, gold foil, and a circular object also made of gold. It's a collection unlike any ever found, according to French...

Doctors Thought He Had CTE. His Death Gave Confirmation
First CTE Diagnosis in
Living Patient Confirmed
NEW STUDY
Nov 16, 2017 9:29 AM CST

First CTE Diagnosis in Living Patient Confirmed

Fred McNeill's brain showed clumps of tau proteins before 2015 death

(Newser) - In a potentially groundbreaking first, doctors say they detected chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head injuries, in a living patient. Just weeks after Boston University researchers announced CCL11 proteins in the brain could indicate CTE in living patients, researchers in Chicago say they identified CTE...

Scientists 'Toy With Mother Nature' in 'Bold' Genetic First

For first time, scientists attempted gene editing inside a live human to try to cure genetic disease

(Newser) - Scientists for the first time have tried editing a gene inside the body in a bold attempt to permanently change a person's DNA to cure a disease. The experiment was done Monday in California on 44-year-old Brian Madeux, the AP reports. Through an IV, Madeux, who has a metabolic...

More than 2K Pieces of the 'Buddha' Found in Box in China

Also 260 statues and pieces of an ancient temple

(Newser) - When Siddhartha Gautama, aka the Buddha, died 2,600 years ago, legend has it that he was cremated and his remains split up among eight royal families, then eventually dispersed to several different countries. Now scientists in Jingchuan County, China, say they've found a box with thousands of pieces...

On 8K-Year-Old Shards, Proof of Ancient 'Social Lubricant'

Scientists believe they've found proof of production of 'world's oldest' grape wine in nation of Georgia

(Newser) - Wine has been used as a "social lubricant, mind-altering substance, and highly valued commodity" throughout the ages. Now, a discovery just south of Tbilisi details just how far back through the ages the beverage has existed, the BBC reports. Per a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy ...

A Heatwave Can Kill You in 27 Ways
A Heatwave
Can Kill You
in 27 Ways
new study
Nov 12, 2017 12:45 PM CST

A Heatwave Can Kill You in 27 Ways

Your organs can be screwed in more ways than one

(Newser) - "Dying during a heatwave is like a terror movie with 27 bad endings to choose from," says Camilo Mora in a press release— and the Hawaiian researcher has detailed exactly what those 27 ways are. The 21st century has already experienced a rash of deadly heatwaves, from the...

There&#39;s a Dead Body Hiding in 1889 Van Gogh
There's a Dead Body
Hiding in 1889 Van Gogh
In Case You Missed It
Nov 11, 2017 9:24 AM CST

There's a Dead Body Hiding in 1889 Van Gogh

It belongs to an unlucky grasshopper

(Newser) - Painting outdoors allowed Vincent Van Gogh a firsthand look at the landscapes that would become the subjects of his masterpieces. But the routine wasn't without, well, pests. As part of a study of 104 paintings from France, conservator Mary Schafer at Kansas City's Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art recently...

Crab Is Seen Hunting a Bird in 'Gruesome' First

Coconut crabs were previously thought to be scavengers

(Newser) - Seabirds apparently have a surprising new predator to worry about. A researcher who worked on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean in 2016 says he witnessed a large coconut crab attack a sleeping seabird, which then became dinner. Mark Laidre of Dartmouth College says he first spotted a crab...

It Was a Wolf-Sized Otter, but With Jaws Like a Bear

Modern otters wouldn't stand a chance against Siamogale melilutra

(Newser) - Modern-day sea otters would prove no match for their 6-million-year-old, wolf-sized ancestors , who didn't need rocks to smash open mollusks. They could do that, and perhaps rip into tougher and larger prey, with a single bite from surprisingly powerful jaws, according to new research. In the latest study of...

Alarming Trend Among Teens: &#39;Digital Self-Harm&#39;
Alarming Trend Among Teens:
'Digital Self-Harm'
NEW STUDY
Nov 9, 2017 12:48 PM CST

Alarming Trend Among Teens: 'Digital Self-Harm'

6% of children surveyed said they'd engaged in 'self-cyberbullying'

(Newser) - Cyberbullying is a huge problem among teens—and an alarming new study finds that sometimes, kids inflict the bullying on themselves. Researchers surveyed almost 5,600 US students between the ages of 12 and 17, and around 6% reported they had engaged in what researchers are calling "self-cyberbullying" or...

No More Amnios for Down Syndrome? Scientists Hope So

They say new test results in a 100-fold reduction in false positives

(Newser) - Doctors have discovered a more accurate way to prenatally test for chromosome disorders like Down syndrome, and it's less stressful for the mother to boot. Normally, if an ultrasound and blood test show a woman's risk of an affected pregnancy is high, doctors can perform additional tests to...

80% of His Skin Had Been Lost. Doctors Grew Him a Replacement

Genetic treatment saved 7-year-old's life

(Newser) - A child who was expected to die from a devastating skin disease is alive today thanks to an experimental treatment that grew him a whole new skin. Hassan, a 7-year-old Syrian boy living in Germany, was born with a condition called epidermolysis bullosa that prevented the outer layer of skin...

Too Little Sleep Is Same for Brain as Too Much Booze

UCLA study zeros in on how individual cells slow down during sleep deprivation

(Newser) - When you don't get enough sleep, parts of your brain are going to take catnaps the next day, even while you're ostensibly up and awake, a new study suggests. The results can have real-world consequences, says lead researcher Itzhak Fried of UCLA, who uses the example of a...

Chopin's Pickled Heart Explains His Death

Scientists say they've been able to determine cause 'with high probability'

(Newser) - Frederic Chopin is buried in Paris' famed Père Lachaise Cemetery. His heart is not. The composer asked, on his deathbed in 1849 at age 39, that his heart be buried not in France, but in his native Poland ( Nature reports that he feared being buried alive). And so...

Tiny T. Rex Arms We Laugh At May Have Been 'Vicious'

Scientist thinks they may have been used for powerful slashing

(Newser) - It's a physical mismatch that's long puzzled paleontologists: Tyrannosaurus rex, terror of the Cretaceous Period, empowered with a giant head and ferocious jaws, yet also stuck with tiny, seemingly useless arms. Per National Geographic , scientists' speculation on the arms has included using them to hang onto prey, as...

There&#39;s a Reason Afternoon Heart Surgery Is Best


There's a Reason
Afternoon Heart
Surgery Is Best
NEW STUDY
Nov 2, 2017 11:35 AM CDT

There's a Reason Afternoon Heart Surgery Is Best

Heart genes aren't in top form in the morning: scientists

(Newser) - Should you ever need heart surgery, it might be worth pressing for an afternoon appointment. New research in the Lancet finds patients who undergo morning heart surgery are twice as likely to suffer heart issues and other complications as patients who have surgery in the afternoon, per the BBC . It'...

First Major Find in Great Pyramid Since 19th Century

It's a huge cavity, and it's raising a lot of questions

(Newser) - It's not every day that what is essentially nothingness would be major news, but today is that day: Scientists announced in Nature that after two years of study, they've identified a roughly 100-foot-long void in Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza—built around 2500 BC, it's the...

In Lithuania, 'Most Important Find Since Dead Sea Scrolls'

Inside the incredible discovery of 170K pages of Jewish documents

(Newser) - A professor of Jewish history doesn't mince words: "It's the most important find since the Dead Sea Scrolls," David Fishman tells Fox News . He's referring to a trove of Jewish documents that were long assumed to have been destroyed in Lithuania during the Holocaust—but...

Google Earth Reveals Ancient Mystery in Saudi Arabia
Google Earth Reveals Ancient
Mystery in Saudi Arabia
in case you missed it
Oct 28, 2017 11:24 AM CDT

Google Earth Reveals Ancient Mystery in Saudi Arabia

Hundreds of unexplained stone 'gates' are spotted from above

(Newser) - Google Earth has revealed an archaeological mystery from on high. Satellite images show the existence of ancient stone structures built thousands of years ago in what is now an inhospitable part of Saudi Arabia, reports LiveScience . Archaeologists led by David Kennedy of the University of Western Australia call them "...

500-Year-Old Navigational Tool Discovered in Shipwreck

Mariners used astrolabes to determine position of sun, stars

(Newser) - The world's earliest known navigational tool used by Vasco da Gama's fleet was discovered in a shipwreck off the Oman coast, NPR reports. Called a marine astrolabe, it's believed to date from 1495 to 1500. Unlike the Game of Thrones intro astrolabe, sailors used this one to...

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