discoveries

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

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Jurassic Park-esque Find: Blood-Filled Mosquito Fossil

But don't expect dinosaurs anytime soon

(Newser) - OK, so the mosquito is only 46 million years old—too recent to have sucked dinosaur blood. But for the first time in history, scientists have found a fossilized skeeter that's still got a belly full of blood, harkening back to the plot of Jurassic Park, the Smithsonian points...

Arch-Enemy of Movie Ads: Popcorn
 Arch-Enemy 
 of Movie Ads: 
 Popcorn 
study says
Oct 14, 2013 5:05 AM CDT

Arch-Enemy of Movie Ads: Popcorn

Chewing it prevents us from mouthing brand names: study

(Newser) - Want armor against an onslaught of advertising? Just chew some popcorn, a study suggests. Eating the stuff during movie ads leaves viewers "immune" to the cravings those ads might otherwise inspire, researchers say. That's because, as the Guardian reports, we typically subtly mouth brand names each time we...

How We Recognize: By Body Shape
 How We Recognize: 
 By Body Shape 
study says
Oct 13, 2013 2:10 PM CDT

How We Recognize: By Body Shape

Study: We don't rely on faces to pick out far-off friends

(Newser) - We hear plenty about facial recognition technology, whether on Facebook or at the FBI—but it turns out we humans are pretty good at spotting individuals based on their bodies, too. That may be why we can pick out a friend in a distant crowd, Popular Science reports. In a...

Surprise: Strange Iceland Pillars Formed by Lava
Surprise: Iceland's Strange Pillars Formed by Lava
STUDY SAYS
Oct 13, 2013 6:10 AM CDT

Surprise: Iceland's Strange Pillars Formed by Lava

They're common in ocean, but these are first seen on land: Study

(Newser) - A new study has finally spelled out how some weird-looking land forms in Iceland came to be. Sadly, the local legend that they were tossed there by warring trolls turns out to be wrong—but the real reason is pretty interesting in its own right. They're lava pillars,...

A New Hangover Cure?
 A New Hangover Cure? 
in case you missed it
Oct 12, 2013 7:00 PM CDT

A New Hangover Cure?

Sprite helps get rid of headache-causing chemical: study

(Newser) - Next time you're fumbling for a hangover cure, you might want to reach for a bottle of soda. Researchers in China have found that Sprite beats a pain-relieving Chinese hemp tea at giving you a post-alcohol lift. Why? Popular Science begins the explanation with a primer: Your body processes...

Jupiter Forecast: Rain, With Chance of Diamonds

Two scientists float the possibility of liquid gems in space

(Newser) - It's just a theory, but a pretty dazzling one. Two scientists this week laid out the tantalizing possibility that Jupiter sees raindrops of liquid diamond and Saturn gets diamond hail, reports Nature . If true, both planets would be teeming with the gems. "If you had a robot there,...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including smart elephants and a simple diagnostic test for Alzheimer's

(Newser) - Elephants smart enough to understand what humans mean when they point, and an Alzheimer's test that's probably in your kitchen highlight this week's discoveries:
  • Elephants Understand When We Point : Researchers have found that when humans point a finger, elephants understand exactly what they're doing and what
...

This Migrating Bird Flies 6 Months' Straight

Scientists get a surprise when collecting data from Alpine swifts

(Newser) - When Alpine swifts head south for the winter, they don't mess around: Researchers have discovered that the small birds fly nonstop for six months, reports the Los Angeles Times . The Swiss scientists attached ultra-light sensors to the birds before they took off from Switzerland to Africa, then did a...

Elephants Understand Us When We Point
 Elephants 
 Understand Us 
 When We Point 
study says
Oct 11, 2013 5:08 AM CDT

Elephants Understand Us When We Point

And they don't even have to be taught

(Newser) - Researchers have found that when a human points, elephants understand her—without requiring any training. "It seems that understanding pointing is an ability elephants just possess naturally, and they are cognitively much more like us than has been realized," says a researcher. She tested their ability by putting...

New Climate Change Turning Point: 2047
Odd, New Climate Change
Turning Point: 2047
study says
Oct 9, 2013 6:10 PM CDT

Odd, New Climate Change Turning Point: 2047

That's when the coldest year will be the hottest on record: study

(Newser) - Feeling the effects of climate change, but not worrying too much yet? Mark this year: 2047. That's when, for most of the world, the coldest year in the future will be hotter than any in recorded history, according to a new study published in Nature . It's sort of...

Alzheimer's Test: Can You Smell Peanut Butter?

If your left nostril is lagging, it might be a sign of trouble: study

(Newser) - How's this for a low-tech way of diagnosing Alzheimer's: sniffing peanut butter. Researchers at the University of Florida have discovered some merit to the bizarre-sounding notion, reports Futurity . Knowing that patients in cognitive decline often lose their sense of smell first, the researchers had patients sniff a dollop...

Some Male Marsupials Die After Marathon Mating

14-hour sessions take everything out of them: Study

(Newser) - Some male marsupials have quite the end-of-life experience: They "mate themselves to death," explains the lead author of a new study in the journal PNAS . Researchers found that in some insect-eating species, the males buck themselves up for one grand finale, then mate with as many partners as...

Archaeologists Find 4K-Year-Old Brain

It was likely preserved by earthquake, fire

(Newser) - Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered one of the oldest human brains ever found, New Scientist reports. The 4,000-year-old organ was found in Seyitömer Höyük, a Bronze Age settlement, and researchers think its owner was likely killed when an earthquake buried him under rubble. A fire probably...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Who needs morphine when we've got centipedes?

(Newser) - Centipede venom and extraterrestrial plastic made headlines this week in the world of science:
  • Centipede Venom Might Be Better Than Morphine : How would you feel if the ER doctor offered you centipede venom for the pain? The idea isn't so farfetched: A new study finds that the venom, which
...

Centipede Venom Better Than Morphine: Study

It holds promise as pain-reliever, says study

(Newser) - How would you feel if the ER doctor offered you centipede venom for the pain? The idea isn't so farfetched: A new study finds that the venom, which paralyzes prey, may also yield a compound that's more effective than morphine as a painkiller for humans, Smithsonian reports. Why?...

Cats Might Help Us Make HIV Vaccine
 Cats Might 
 Help Us Make 
 HIV Vaccine 
study says
Oct 3, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

Cats Might Help Us Make HIV Vaccine

Researchers find link with feline version of virus

(Newser) - The quest for an HIV vaccine might get a boost from cats, reports Medical News Today . Researchers studying the feline version of AIDS came across a tantalizing discovery: When they exposed a protein from the cat virus to the blood of HIV-positive humans, it triggered an immune response in the...

Lake Turns Animals Into 'Statues'

Tanzania's Lake Natron, probably not a great swimming hole

(Newser) - We would strongly advise you not to go swimming in Tanzania's Lake Natron. Animals who are immersed in the water not only die, they're calcified and turned into creepy-looking "statues," New Scientist reports. Why is it so inhospitable? Alkalinity is extremely high (between pH 9 and...

Scientists Solve 'Abominable Mystery' of Flowers

New research finds they could be as old as dinosaurs

(Newser) - Flowers have been around since the very first dinosaurs were able to trample them underfoot, new research suggests. Science already knew that flowering plants started showing up in the age of dinosaurs. But a study led by a paleobotanist at the Universty of Zurich has unearthed 245 million-year-old grains of...

New Find on Moon of Saturn: Plastic

Or at least a molecule used to make it

(Newser) - Earth and Saturn now have something in common: plastic. NASA's Cassini spacecraft detected the molecule propylene on Saturn's moon Titan, and propylene is one of the basic ingredients of modern plastic here on Earth, reports the BBC . It's the first extraterrestrial plastic ingredient ever found, reports NASA'...

Archeologists Find Ancient City in Iraq

Better still, Idu was found in the north, where digs are rare

(Newser) - Introducing the city of Idu, a once-thriving metropolis in what is now northern Iraq. Archeologists discovered its ruins beneath a mound in the Kurdistan region and say Idu was a major city about 3,000 years ago, reports LiveScience . It belonged to the Assyrian Empire, except for a relatively brief...

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