discoveries

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Tryptophan Turns Up on Asteroid
Tryptophan Turns
Up on Asteroid
Nov 28, 2025 6:47 AM CST

Tryptophan Turns Up on Asteroid

Bennu analysis adds to evidence that essential amino acids were carried to Earth by space rocks

(Newser) - Tryptophan, the amino acid often linked to post-turkey-dinner drowsiness, has been discovered on the asteroid Bennu, according to a new study. NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission collected a sample from Bennu in 2020, and it was returned to Earth in 2023 for analysis. The asteroid is of particular interest to scientists...

Martian Lightning Detected for First Time

Perseverance rover captured sounds of 'faint zaps'

(Newser) - Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by NASA's Perseverance rover. The crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on the rover, a French-led team reported Wednesday. The researchers documented 55 instances of what they call...

At the Top of Life's Toughest Choices? It's Tied to Work
The Life Choices We
Universally Dread
NEW STUDY
Nov 23, 2025 5:00 PM CST

The Life Choices We Universally Dread

New survey puts both quitting and accepting a new job at top of list, as well as certain money moves

(Newser) - A new study seeks to answer a pretty basic question: What are the life decisions people stress out about the most? As it turns out, they're not as unique as you might think. "First and foremost, people think of occupational risky choices," says researcher Renato Frey of...

City Raccoons Begin to Evolve Into Urban Pets
Raccoons in
American
Cities Are
Morphing
in case you missed it
Nov 22, 2025 5:50 AM CST

Raccoons in American Cities Are Morphing

Their snouts are shrinking, in a sign of domestication as they adapt to humans

(Newser) - Raccoons may be taking steps toward domestication, according to a new study that suggests urban life is subtly reshaping the species. Researchers including University of Arkansas biologist Raffaela Lesch analyzed almost 20,000 photos of raccoons from across the US and found that those living in cities have snouts about...

In Test, Moss Survived on the Outside of Space Station

Spores came back to Earth in fine shape after 9 months, which might bode well for crops in space

(Newser) - Moss is known to survive in some of our planet's harshest environments, but could it do so in the even harsher environs of outer space? A new study suggests it can—and surprisingly well, reports the Guardian . The results might have implications for the diets of future space travelers....

Canoe 'Parking Lot' in Wisconsin Dates Back 5K Years

16 ancient canoes emerge from Madison's Lake Mendota

(Newser) - Archaeologists have identified more than a dozen ancient canoes that Indigenous people apparently left behind in a sort of prehistoric parking lot along a Wisconsin lakeshore. The Wisconsin Historical Society announced Wednesday that archaeologists have mapped the location of 16 canoes submerged in the lake bed of Lake Mendota in...

275 Years After Bach's Death, New Music

Peter Wollny worked for 33 years to prove 2 unsigned pieces came from a teenage Bach

(Newser) - A musicologist's hunch three decades ago has led to the rediscovery of two previously unknown works by legendary composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Peter Wollny, now head of the Bach Archive Leipzig, stumbled upon the unsigned organ manuscripts at the Royal Library of Belgium while a Harvard graduate student in...

Pfizer's mRNA Flu Shot Beats Standard Vaccine in Trials
Pfizer's New Flu Shot Could
Be a 'Game Changer'
NEW STUDY
Nov 20, 2025 7:06 AM CST

Pfizer's New Flu Shot Could Be a 'Game Changer'

Late-stage trial shows mRNA vaccine offers better protection against flu than standard shot

(Newser) - A new mRNA-based flu vaccine from Pfizer has shown greater effectiveness than the standard flu shot in a large Phase 3 trial, according to results published in the New England Journal of Medicine . The vaccine employs the same messenger RNA technology as Pfizer's COVID-19 shot, and experts have long...

For Seals on One Island, a 'Bleak' Future May Await

Bird flu has wiped out nearly half of South Georgia's female breeding elephant seals

(Newser) - Nearly half of the breeding female elephant seals on South Georgia, a remote island near Antarctica, have died in a bird flu outbreak, according to a new study published in the journal Communications Biology . Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey used drones to survey the island's three largest breeding...

Patients With Colon Cancer May See Extra GLP-1 Benefits

Those on weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy see lower death rates than those not taking them

(Newser) - Medications like Wegovy and Ozempic, known for managing diabetes and promoting weight loss, may also be linked to significantly lower death rates in colon cancer patients, according to a new study cited by the Independent . Researchers at UC San Diego reviewed medical records for more than 6,800 colon cancer...

New Theory Emerges on Peru's 'Serpent Mountain'
New Theory Emerges About
Peru's 'Serpent Mountain'
NEW STUDY
Nov 10, 2025 9:59 AM CST

New Theory Emerges About Peru's 'Serpent Mountain'

Drone analysis hints at ancient Peruvian marketplace and accounting hub

(Newser) - A mile-long stretch of mysterious holes carved into the Peruvian Andes may have finally given up some of its secrets. New research suggests the so-called Band of Holes—a monument comprised of around 5,200 indentations on Monte Sierpe, or "Serpent Mountain"—was likely used as a marketplace...

Researchers Pinpoint 60K Miles of Lost Roman Roads

Over 185K miles of ancient routes are now mapped

(Newser) - After a five-year effort, researchers have released the most detailed map yet of the Roman Empire's sprawling road network—all 185,000 miles of it. That's 60,000 miles more than had been previously documented, though co-lead author Tom Brughmans tells Scientific American there's an educated-guess element...

We May Have Found the Largest-Known Spiderweb

Researchers find vast colony in Sulfur Cave on Albania-Greece border

(Newser) - If you suffer from arachnophobia, stop reading now. A research team has discovered what may be the world's largest spiderweb—one that covers a staggering 1,140 square feet and hosts an estimated 111,000 spiders. It's situated inside Sulfur Cave, a lightless cavern on the Albania-Greece border....

Researchers Learn More About Sex Lives of Dinosaurs

They believe mating injuries can determine which dinosaurs were female

(Newser) - A new study offers the most intriguing clue yet for determining the sex of certain dinosaurs: injuries that may have resulted from mating. For decades, paleontologists have struggled to tell male from female dinosaurs based on fossils alone, but the latest research focuses on a pattern of healed injuries in...

Some of the First Humans Used Tools Continuously
Some of the First Humans
Used Tools Continuously
NEW STUDY
Nov 4, 2025 10:45 AM CST

Some of the First Humans Used Tools Continuously

Findings in Kenya challenge idea that only later humans had the brains for the job

(Newser) - A newly uncovered trove of ancient stone tools in northwest Kenya suggests early humans didn't use them sporadically but routinely over hundreds of thousands of years, at the very emergence of humanity. Archaeologists at the Namorotukunan site in the Turkana Basin uncovered 1,300 stone flakes, hammerstones, and cores...

Glacier's 'Astonishing' Retreat Ignites Debate Over the Cause

How remarkable the dramatic loss in Antarctica is depends on if Hektoria was 'grounded' or not

(Newser) - A glacier in Antarctica just pulled off what might be the fastest retreat ever seen, and scientists are now scrambling to figure out exactly what happened—and what it means for the rest of the planet. New research suggests that the Hektoria Glacier retreated more than 5 miles in only...

It's a New Dinosaur, Not a Young T. Rex
It's a New Dinosaur,
Not a Young T. Rex
new study
Oct 31, 2025 9:47 AM CDT

It's a New Dinosaur, Not a Young T. Rex

Scientists say they've resolved a longstanding debate about old bones

(Newser) - Scientists have long puzzled over the origins of a mysterious dinosaur excavated in the 1940s: Was it a young T. rex or another type of dinosaur? At first, researchers had only a tyrannosaur skull to go by, making it hard to tell if it belonged to a child or adult....

German Rats Are Busted Attacking Bats Midair
Bats in Germany Had Better
Watch Out for the Rats
NEW STUDY
Oct 29, 2025 10:30 AM CDT

Bats in Germany Had Better Watch Out for the Rats

Urban rodents are recorded hunting bats that are flying by or on the ground

(Newser) - Rats are now on record as bat hunters. Infrared and thermal cameras set up at hibernation sites in two northern German towns captured brown rats in the act, with footage showing the rodents standing upright to snatch bats out of midair or ambushing them on the ground. This marks the...

How the Maya Predicted Solar Eclipses Across 7 Centuries
This Is How the Maya Were
So Accurate on Eclipses
NEW STUDY
Oct 28, 2025 9:45 AM CDT

This Is How the Maya Were So Accurate on Eclipses

Ancient calendar math accounts for every eclipse from 350CE to 1150CE

(Newser) - Ancient Mayan astronomers turned their eyes to the sky and recorded celestial events with a level of precision that continues to impress scientists today. A new study, published Wednesday in Science Advances , sheds fresh light on how the Central American civilization managed to predict solar eclipses with such incredible accuracy,...

Dinosaurs Thrived, Thank You Very Much, Until the Asteroid
Dinos Were Doing Great—
Until the Asteroid Hit
NEW STUDY
Oct 24, 2025 9:57 AM CDT

Dinos Were Doing Great— Until the Asteroid Hit

New fossil dating methods challenge the theory of a slow decline

(Newser) - A new study challenges the long-held idea that dinosaurs were already on the verge of extinction when a giant asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago. Instead, new research suggests they were thriving up until the moment disaster struck. The study, published in Science , relies on improved dating techniques applied...

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