discoveries

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

Stories 1321 - 1340 | << Prev   Next >>

Rare Copy of Forbidden Text on Jesus Found

Written centuries after the First Apocalypse of James was excluded from New Testament

(Newser) - A complete copy of a heretical biblical text that purports to describe conversations between Jesus and his brother James has been discovered in its earliest known form. The forbidden writing, dubbed the First Apocalypse of James, wasn't included in the 27-book New Testament established in 367. It was one...

Think Rowers Have Nice Arms? Ancient Women Had Them Beat
Prehistoric Women Had
Muscular Arms to Die For
NEW STUDY
Nov 30, 2017 10:49 AM CST

Prehistoric Women Had Muscular Arms to Die For

Stronger than those of today's elite female rowers

(Newser) - Pummeling grains for up to five hours a day gave prehistoric women the kind of muscular arms a girl only dreams of today. That's according to researchers at Cambridge University, who used CT scans to compare the upper arm and shinbones of 83 modern women with those of 94...

Key Site Described by Julius Caesar May Finally Be Found

British invasion point believed to be Pegwell Bay in Kent

(Newser) - The Roman invasion of Britain signified an empire at its peak. Now, archaeologists believe they've identified the very spot where the Romans began their assault more than 2,000 years ago and more than a century before Britain was won. For millennia, historians have had little more than Julius...

Tests Back Up Claims About Purported Tomb of Jesus

Old mortar at Church of the Holy Sepulchre goes back to AD 345

(Newser) - Millions of people flock to Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre each year. Many believe it to house the tomb of Jesus Christ, though scientists have thus far been unable to date the tomb to the time when the Romans built a church around it. Now, however, a new...

You&#39;re Stopping at Traffic Lights Wrong
You're Stopping at
Traffic Lights Wrong
NEW STUDY
Nov 28, 2017 11:20 AM CST

You're Stopping at Traffic Lights Wrong

Drivers who stop bumper-to-bumper don't get through light any faster: study

(Newser) - Do you line up bumper-to-bumper when approaching a traffic light? Though driver training groups say it's a no-no likely to increase one's risk of a collision, researchers at the Virginia Tech College of Engineering say it's a "widely accepted" practice based on the idea that "...

Geologists Spot a Pattern, Predict Big Quakes in 2018
Geologists Spot a Pattern,
Predict Big Quakes in 2018
in case you missed it
Nov 25, 2017 6:14 PM CST

Geologists Spot a Pattern, Predict Big Quakes in 2018

Whenever the Earth's rotation slows, as it is now, an increase in major quakes follows

(Newser) - Two geologists may have spotted a surprisingly simple correlation that can help predict earthquakes—and if they're correct, the Earth is on track for an uptick in major quakes next year. The pair pored over a century's worth of a data on earthquakes and detected a pattern: When...

Meet 'Oumuamua, Our First Guest From Another Solar System

And scientists think there could be thousands more just like it passing through

(Newser) - Houston, we have a visitor—and astronomers think there could be 10,000 more just like it "lurking" in wait, as the Guardian puts it. Meet 1I/2017 U1, or 'Oumuamua (Hawaiian for "messenger" or "scout"), which scientists say is an asteroid from another solar system—...

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...

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