discoveries

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

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Odd New Tool in Study of Wildfires: Rattlesnakes

Researcher will track snakes near Washington burn site

(Newser) - Animals flee fire—but what happens when the flames are extinguished? That's exactly what Joey Chase of Central Washington University is trying to find out. Over the next year, he plans to track two male Northern Pacific rattlesnakes, each about 10 years old, found near the site of a...

Scientists: 'Holy Grail' of Stopping Breast Cancer May Be Here

Australian team makes a possible breakthrough

(Newser) - A new study could bring hope to thousands of women who are susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, the Telegraph reports. Analyzing breast tissue prone to cancer, Australian scientists found that a protein that fuels pre-cancerous cells also causes osteoporisis—and can be stymied by a common osteoporosis drug. "...

Shipwreck Oddity: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including an imperfection at one of the world's great wonders

(Newser) - An intriguing discovery about sperm whales and another about the most famous pyramid of all make the list:
  • Among Antikythera Shipwreck Finds, an Odd Item : The Antikythera shipwreck is a gift that keeps on giving. The ancient shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera in the Aegean Sea has yielded
...

Uh-Oh: Seagulls Carrying Drug-Resistant Superbug

'The good news is we found it; the bad news is, it's here'

(Newser) - As if the news surrounding the continued emergence of drug-resistant superbugs isn't already dire enough, scientists are now reporting in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy that seagulls, which thanks to their enormous migratory reach are great vehicles for carrying resistant bacteria to new places, are carrying a dangerous superbug....

Old Reel on eBay Yields 2 New Nirvana Recordings

One might feature Kurt Cobain on drums

(Newser) - A Nirvana fan has unearthed a previously unreleased seven-track recording on eBay from 1993, just before the band recorded its third and final studio album, In Utero. The label on the reel includes the date and "Pachyderm Studios," where it was recorded, reports Alternative Nation , which notes that...

Scientist Finds Tallest Mountain in US Arctic— and a Surprise

Mount Isto is tallest, followed by Mount Hubley

(Newser) - It's been the subject of a half-century-long debate. But thanks to a new mapping technique, mountain experts have identified the tallest mountain in the US Arctic and uncovered a bit of a surprise as well. Using fodar , a technique he invented to map terrain using airborne photography, glaciologist Matt...

Land Is Rising, Falling on San Andreas Fault

GPS data reveals land is 'doing the wave'

(Newser) - Scientists have detected previously unknown movement along the San Andreas Fault, although the discovery doesn't change the two most important facts: There will be a major quake along the California fault at some point, and nobody knows just when it will happen. The analysis of GPS data found that...

Why Chopping Onions Makes You Cry

Slicing into one is the equivalent of attacking it, and they want us to stop

(Newser) - Onions are notorious for making us weep, but why? Scientists say they now have a pretty good understanding of what's going on, reports NPR in an interview with chemist and author Eric Block. It turns out the vegetable has "evolved a chemical defense system" in an attempt to...

Today's Sperm Whales Descended From One 'Eve'

An ancient whale appears to be the mother of all modern sperm whales

(Newser) - While investigating samples of toxic levels of heavy metals found in sperm whales, researchers stumbled upon a surprising discovery: All of today's sperm whales appear to have descended from the same female, reports Hakai magazine. They've named her Eve and say she lived between 10,000 and 80,...

2 Women Go Blind, in One Eye, After Using Their Phones

Both were looking at their phones in the dark while lying on their sides

(Newser) - Doctors have identified a new smartphone hazard , albeit an ultimately benign one. They report in the New England Journal of Medicine on the first known cases of "transient smartphone blindness," temporary vision loss that appears to be harmless. For the two UK women identified as suffering from it,...

Among Antikythera Shipwreck Finds, an Odd Item

But no new remnants of the famed Mechanism

(Newser) - The Antikythera shipwreck is a gift that keeps on giving. First discovered in 1900 by sponge divers and dating to about 65BC, it has been explored multiple times in the decades since, including in 1976 when Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his crew surfaced with almost 300 objects, including human remains. Now...

Humans Have Polluted Deepest Part of the Oceans: Study

Crustaceans in Mariana, Kermadec trenches rife with chemicals

(Newser) - Survival of the fittest in the depths of the sea likely includes plenty of its own inherent challenges, but now it's got a man-made one to add to the list. A research team out of Scotland's University of Aberdeen has discovered high concentrations of human-created organic pollutants in...

Asteroid That Killed Dinosaurs Wiped Out Most Mammals, Too

Only about 7% survived, says study

(Newser) - The asteroid that took out the dinosaurs nearly claimed the planet's mammals, too. Researchers at the UK's Milner Centre for Evolution report in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology that 93% of mammals were wiped out around the same time, far more than originally thought. And those that did...

One of World's Seven Wonders Stands a Bit Askew

Engineer speculates Egyptians plotted out pyramids on grid to achieve precision

(Newser) - Scientists scanning and mapping the Giza pyramids say they've discovered that the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the world's Seven Wonders, is a bit lopsided. And really, just a bit. The pyramid's exact size has stumped experts for centuries, as the "more than 21...

Slide Down This Sand Dune and It Starts 'Singing'

And Kazakhstan dune isn't the only one that does this

(Newser) - Some visitors go to Kazakhstan's Altyn-Emel National Park—a preserve the CBC says is four times the size of Hong Kong—to view ancient burial sites or catch a glimpse of wildlife; others go to listen to the park's famous singing dune. The nearly 500-foot-high pile of sand,...

Naval Bases Found That Once Guarded World's First Democracy

Archaeologists make huge find in Athens

(Newser) - Archaeologists have discovered massive naval bases that once enabled Athens to fight off the Persian Empire—and develop the world's first democracy. Among the recent finds at the Port of Piraeus, Greece's biggest seaport, are ship-sheds that held hundreds of warships known as triremes, the Smithsonian reports. "...

Professor Tells the Secret Story of the &#39;Nazi Titanic&#39;
Professor Tells the Secret
Story of the 'Nazi Titanic'
in case you missed it
Jun 18, 2016 1:15 PM CDT

Professor Tells the Secret Story of the 'Nazi Titanic'

Accidental bombing of Cap Arcona killed thousands of concentration-camp inmates

(Newser) - The ship was fashioned after the Titanic, and met an end no less tragic, but the tale of the Cap Arcona—and the thousands of concentration-camp prisoners who lost their lives aboard it—is one you've likely never heard. The "Nazi Titanic" gets its due in a new...

This Might Be the World's Oldest Beer

Researchers say they made it from 220-year-old yeast

(Newser) - One sip of Preservation Ale and you'll be transported to a time long past—kind of. Researchers at an Australian museum have brewed what might be the "world's oldest beer," using yeast salvaged from a bottle that spent nearly two centuries on the seafloor, they say...

Frog Love: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a revelation about peeing in the shower

(Newser) - Ambitious frogs and an "extinct" meteor were among the discoveries to make headlines this week:
  • Frogs Discover New Way to Have Sex : Scientists have known of six ways that frogs copulate. Now they've found No. 7, thanks to a group of dedicated researchers who spent eight hours a
...

Rare Blind Catfish Found in US for First Time

The Mexican blindcat is small, translucent, and eyeless

(Newser) - Two new Mexican immigrants have been discovered in Texas: a pair of super rare blind catfish. According to a press release , until last month the Mexican blindcat was only confirmed to exist in Mexico. Then two were found in a limestone cave at Texas' Amistad National Recreation Area and identified...

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