discoveries

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

Stories 1521 - 1540 | << Prev   Next >>

In Australia's 'Jurassic Park,' World's Largest Dino Prints

21 different types of tracks found Down Under—some 6 feet long

(Newser) - Twenty-one is the lucky number for paleontologists in Australia: That's the "globally unparalleled" number of different varieties of dinosaur prints they appear to have found in a "magical place" they call the country's own "Jurassic Park," per Phys.org . In a study published in...

Looks Like an Asteroid Once Triggered a Tsunami on Mars

And that means water, and lots of it

(Newser) - A new study suggests that ancient Mars not only had an ocean, it experienced a tsunami unlike anything we've seen on Earth, reports Cosmos . The study in the Journal of Geophysical Research—Planets identifies a 75-mile-wide crater in the north as the likely source, reports the BBC . The scientists...

&#39;Catastrophic&#39; Prediction for Christ&#39;s Tomb
Scientists Issue Dire
Warning on Christ's Tomb
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 26, 2017 10:41 AM CDT

Scientists Issue Dire Warning on Christ's Tomb

There could be a 'catastrophic' collapse if structural issues aren't remedied

(Newser) - Few places are more holy to Christians than what's thought to be Christ's tomb in Jerusalem, but scientists are now warning that there's a "very real risk" of collapse at the site. Researchers from the National Technical University of Athens say the Edicule, a shrine that...

Science&#39;s Surprising Discovery: Lungs Aren&#39;t Just for Breathing
Science's Surprising Discovery:
Lungs Aren't Just for Breathing
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 26, 2017 7:10 AM CDT

Science's Surprising Discovery: Lungs Aren't Just for Breathing

They're a key part of blood formation, too: study

(Newser) - All this time we thought lungs were just for breathing. It turns out they also play a key role in how blood is formed, suggests a study in Nature out of the University of California-San Francisco. Scientists studying the lungs of mice discovered to their surprise that the lungs produced...

This Man Lived 700 Years Ago
This Man Lived 700 Years Ago
in case you missed it
Mar 25, 2017 2:11 PM CDT

This Man Lived 700 Years Ago

His name is Context 958, and studying him sheds light on UK's poor in medieval times

(Newser) - Gizmodo calls his face "haunting," but to UK researchers, seeing the mug of the man known as Context 958 is nothing short of astounding. His visage was revealed at the two-week-long Cambridge Science Festival this month, as were details about who he was: in short, a 13th-century...

How the Brains of Those Blinded at a Young Age Differ

Some areas show increased connectivity

(Newser) - Ever wonder whether being blind was in some way an advantage for pianists like Ray Charles, George Shearing, Art Tatum, and Stevie Wonder? New research published in the journal PLOS ONE finds that the brains of people blind from a young age are dramatically different than the brains of normally...

For the First Time in 3 Decades, We Have New Clouds

World Meteorological Organization cloud atlas updated for first time since 1987

(Newser) - Look up in the sky: It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a … volutus, or is that an asperitas? If you're not sure what kind of cloud you're seeing above your head, consult the World Meteorological Organization's International Cloud Atlas , newly updated just...

Scientists Rethink T. Rex's Place on Dino Family Tree

Study puts T. rex and other theropods on a whole new branch

(Newser) - Tyrannosaurus Rex and his buddies could be on the move as a new study proposes a massive shake-up of the dinosaur family tree, the AP reports. Scientists who took a deeper look at dinosaur fossils suggest a different evolutionary history for dinosaurs, moving theropods such as T. Rex to a...

The Amazon River Just Aged Millions of Years
The Amazon
River Just Aged
Millions of Years
STUDY SAYS
Mar 22, 2017 12:49 PM CDT

The Amazon River Just Aged Millions of Years

Scientists say waterway is closer to 9M years old, not the mere 1M they thought

(Newser) - Looks like the Amazon River may be able to cash in on some senior discounts after all. A new study carried out by scientists from the University of Amsterdam and Brazil's University of Brasilia, published in the Global and Planetary Change journal, upends previous speculation of how old the...

Spider Venom Could Stave Off Brain Damage From Stroke
Scientists Find Potential
New Use for Spider Venom
new study
Mar 21, 2017 11:17 AM CDT

Scientists Find Potential New Use for Spider Venom

Poison from funnel web spider reduced brain damage in rats after strokes

(Newser) - Almost 6 million people die from a stroke each year, and although scientists aren't recommending spider bites to remedy that, the poison contained in one particular arachnid may fend off stroke-related brain damage, the Guardian reports. In a study published in the PNAS journal , Australian scientists discovered that just...

Little-Known 'Detective X' Helped Crack Lindbergh Case

Wilmer Souder was an early pioneer in forensic science

(Newser) - He was a mild-mannered physicist with a specialty analyzing dental fillings, toiling anonymously at the National Bureau of Standards. (It's now the National Institute of Standards and Technology.) But Wilmer Souder led a double life of sorts and would be unmasked decades later as "Detective X,"...

Scientists Unravel Secrets of How Sperm Swim
Scientists Unravel Secrets
of How Sperm Swim
new study
Mar 20, 2017 10:03 AM CDT

Scientists Unravel Secrets of How Sperm Swim

It's similar to the magnetic fields that form around magnets

(Newser) - So how does one sperm manage to best tens of millions of competitors to fertilize the egg? It may have the best rhythm, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzing how sperm cells move have come up with what they call a "simple mathematical formula" to explain what's happening,...

Part of Earth's Original Crust Found in Canada

4.3B years of history lie in new discovery

(Newser) - Remnants of the planet’s original crust have been unearthed in Quebec, according to a study in Science . The remnants date back about 4.3 billion years and were found embedded in younger granite near Hudson Bay, reports Live Science . While the granite itself is only 2.7 billion years...

Literary Clue: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a puzzling habit of humpback whales

(Newser) - The week's discoveries feature surprises about penguins, spiders, and humpback whales:
  • What Killed Jane Austen? New Clue Emerges : The cause of Jane Austen's death at age 41 in 1817 has been an enduring mystery of the literary world. Now, a trio of eyeglasses found in Austen's desk
...

How Climate May Have Changed Our Noses

Narrower noses appear to be better at dealing with cold, dry air

(Newser) - Don't like your nose? You can blame the weather. Kinda. Researchers have found a correlation between one aspect of nose shape and climate, according to a study published Thursday in PLOS Genetics . The New York Times explains that in addition to helping people smell, noses warm and moisten air...

Whole-Body Vibration Could Affect Body Like Exercise

The jury is still out on whether it works in humans

(Newser) - Remember last year's exciting finding that just a few minutes of high-intensity interval training can reap similar health benefits as 45 minutes of moderate exercise? Well, there's a chance that just sitting on a vibrating platform might also reap similar benefits, especially for those with type 2 diabetes—...

Cystic Fibrosis Patients Live Longer in Canada
Cystic Fibrosis Patients
Have a Big Edge in Canada
new study
Mar 16, 2017 12:28 PM CDT

Cystic Fibrosis Patients Have a Big Edge in Canada

They live about 10 years longer than in the US

(Newser) - Canadians with cystic fibrosis live 10 years longer than their US counterparts, and health insurance is likely a big reason, new research suggests. The death rate in Canada was 44% lower than among Americans on Medicare and Medicaid, and 77% lower than Americans with no insurance, the New York Times...

Spiders Eat More Meat Than All the Planet's Humans Do

As much as 800M tons, compared to 400M

(Newser) - When it comes to eating meat, spiders do their share—and then some. Zoologists at the University of Basel in Switzerland and Lund University in Sweden report in the journal the Science of Nature that, according to their calculations, spiders kill between 400 million and 800 million tons of prey...

Experiment Still (Literally) Shocking 50 Years Later

Re-creation of famous Milgram trial shows subjects will still shock people when told

(Newser) - The Milgram experiment was a famous '60s study in which researchers tested subjects' obedience to authority by ostensibly having them administer electric shocks to unseen partners at the researchers' encouragement—a way to see why atrocities were carried out by Germans "just following orders" during the Holocaust. When...

New Habit of Humpbacks Puzzles Researchers

Scientists have spotted them in groups as big as 200 for first time

(Newser) - Humpback whales, which humans have long observed to be solitary creatures, are gathering in large groups to feed, and it's kind of astounding the scientists who study them. Typically living alone or in pairs, a group of 10 to 15 is considered big, but research crews have now spotted...

Stories 1521 - 1540 | << Prev   Next >>