discoveries

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

Stories 461 - 480 | << Prev   Next >>

Oldest Sentence in Oldest Alphabet Names a Modern Scourge

The wealthiest ancients had a problem with head lice, too

(Newser) - The purpose of the ancient double-edged ivory comb unearthed in Israel is made clear by its inscription: "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard." In the eyes of researchers, that seemingly ordinary sentence hinting at the scourge of head lice is anything...

Possible 'Stepping Stone' Near Titanic Could Clear Up a Mystery

Rocky reef teeming with life may hold answers on how sponges, corals move across ocean floor

(Newser) - When submersible pilot and diver PH Nargeolet detected a sonar blip near the famous Titanic shipwreck in the North Atlantic more than a quarter century ago, he suspected it pointed to another shipwreck lying in wait. The thing just looked so big. But he was wrong. "It turned out,...

Trial Raises Hope for Psilocybin as Depression Treatment

Regulatory approval could come 'potentially within a few years' time'

(Newser) - One or two doses of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, has been found to help people with cancer , alcohol problems , anxiety, and depression , and now those with a severe, treatment-resistant form of depression, according to researchers. A phase 2 randomized, double-blind clinical trial involving 233 people with treatment-resistant...

This Whale Sucks In an Astounding Amount of Microplastics

Blue whales, as well as other baleens, are ingesting millions of the tiny particles daily

(Newser) - Baleen whales —which include blue whales and humpbacks—are a type of whale that uses special filters instead of teeth to collect and eat small prey like krill and fish. Now, in a research first, scientists examining the consumption habits of these marine mammals have found they're...

Glacier Gives Up Explorers' Cameras Abandoned in 1937

Bradford Washburn and Robert Bates' gear moved more than 12 miles over 85 years

(Newser) - Conservators hope to get an inside look at a 1937 mountaineering expedition in the Yukon thanks to the discovery of the explorers' cameras—with surviving film inside. The trip by Bradford Washburn and Robert Bates didn't go according to plan. Bad weather turned their starting point, the Walsh Glacier,...

Under Pennsylvania Soil, Remnants of a POW Camp

Researchers say they've found remnants of Camp Security in Yorktown, Pa.

(Newser) - Researchers say they've solved a decades-old riddle this week by finding remnants of a stockade, and therefore the site of a prison camp in York, Pa., that housed British soldiers for nearly two years during the American Revolutionary War. The location of Camp Security was thought to have been...

Here&#39;s Proof Your Cat Is Listening to You
Here's Proof
Your Cat
Is Listening
to You
new study
Oct 25, 2022 2:09 PM CDT

Here's Proof Your Cat Is Listening to You

Study finds that felines recognize and respond to their owner's voice

(Newser) - A new study should make cat owners happy—it suggests felines do indeed listen to their humans. The research published in Animal Cognition found that cats can distinguish their owner's voice from that of a stranger, one of the first studies to do so, reports National Geographic . What's...

New Research May Shift Thinking on Liver Donors
'Centurion Livers' May
Shift Thinking on Donors
in case you missed it
Oct 23, 2022 9:00 AM CDT

'Centurion Livers' May Shift Thinking on Donors

Transplanted organ can function for decades, suggesting accepting older donors should be encouraged

(Newser) - A new study into transplanted livers finds that the organs can continue functioning for a long time in a new recipient—sometimes for a combined total of more than 100 years between the donor and patient. The takeaway from the research is that hospitals shouldn't be too quick to...

DNA Analysis Reveals Neanderthal Family Ties

Father, daughter were among 11 found in Siberian cave

(Newser) - The tragic demise of a group of Neanderthals in a cave in Siberia more than 50,000 years ago has given researchers fascinating evidence of our ancient relatives' family ties. DNA analysis has revealed that many of the six adults and five children were close relatives, including a father and...

Study Holds Warning for Those Sleeping 5 Hours a Night

50-year-olds who did so had 30% greater risk of multimorbidity than those who slept 7

(Newser) - Eight hours of sleep may do you good, but five hours or less could actually do you harm, or so suggests a new study. The PLOS Medicine study of British civil service workers used self-reported sleep duration measurements collected six times between 1985 and 2016; that data was bucketed into...

Doctors Given Anonymity Talk About Patients With Disabilities

One of the study authors found the responses 'shocking'

(Newser) - They "don’t want to come across as horrible people," said Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, a professor of medicine at Harvard, in explaining part of her motivation for granting physicians anonymity as part of her latest study. It's a fair point. The doctors were being asked about how...

WWII Shipwreck Not Exactly Doing No Harm
WWII Shipwreck Not
Exactly Doing No Harm
new study
Oct 19, 2022 12:16 PM CDT

WWII Shipwreck Not Exactly Doing No Harm

It sank in 1942, but the V-1302 John Mahn continues to pollute the North Sea

(Newser) - The British Royal Air Force bombed the V-1302 John Mahn on Feb. 12, 1942, sending it to its watery grave in the North Sea. But the ship is not slumbering silently. A study published in Frontiers in Marine Science has found the wreck continues to leak hazardous pollutants and impact...

Under a Turkish Church, an 'Extremely Important Discovery'

Tomb of St. Nicholas has reportedly been found in Demre

(Newser) - Santa Claus' last stop was southwest Turkey in the age of the Roman Empire. According to archaeologists in the region, the burial spot of St. Nicholas, the Christian saint whose generosity spawned the Father Christmas legend, has been found in the remains of a church in the town of Demre,...

Value of This Rare, Storied Nickel Will Blow Your Mind

Liberty Head nickel kept in closet for 41 years is worth $4.2 million

(Newser) - There are five US nickels dated 1913 that carry Lady Liberty on the front and a "V" on the back. Two are held in museums and a third just sold for a whopping $4.2 million—or 84,000,000 nickels. That's because the 1913 Liberty Head nickel...

We May Have Underestimated Goldfish
We May Have
Underestimated
Goldfish
new study
Oct 17, 2022 10:20 AM CDT

We May Have Underestimated Goldfish

Study finds they have good memory

(Newser) - Ani DiFranco once sang about how goldfish have no memory and thus the "little plastic castle" in their bowl is a surprise to them every time they see it. She may have given goldfish a bad rap. A new study out of Oxford University suggests that goldfish actually have...

Dementia Clues Appear Almost a Decade Before Diagnosis
Dementia Clues Appear
Almost a Decade
Before Diagnosis
in case you missed it
Oct 16, 2022 4:20 PM CDT

Dementia Clues Appear Almost a Decade Before Diagnosis

Individuals showing signs of cognitive impairment could be key in treatment trials

(Newser) - Memory loss and cognitive impairment may be detectable up to nine years before an official dementia diagnosis, according to research offering some hope for early intervention. Alzheimer's and dementia are hard to treat, as diagnosis usually comes after symptoms appear, at which point it may be too late to...

Brain Plays Surprising Role When We Get Sick
Brain Plays Surprising Role
When We Get Sick
new studies
Oct 16, 2022 3:15 PM CDT

Brain Plays Surprising Role When We Get Sick

Studies suggest it hijacks our normal systems to make us feel lousy, for the greater good

(Newser) - When you're laid up with a cold or flu, it's not a virus or bacteria making you feel awful and lethargic—it's your own brain. And it's all in the service of helping you get better, according to two new studies in Nature summed up in...

Dishes Full of Brain Cells Teach Themselves to Play Pong

'When they are in the game, they believe they are the paddle'

(Newser) - Scientists at Cortical Labs call dishes full of brain cells "cyborg brains"—and they've learned to play the computer game Pong with surprising speed. The mini-brains, some of them grown from human stem cells and others from cells of mouse embryos, got the hang of a simplified...

Syria's 'Most Complete' Mosaic Ever Found Is Also the 'Rarest'

Huge Roman mosaic uncovered in Rastan is 'rare on a global scale'

(Newser) - A huge, intact Roman mosaic is being touted as the most significant archaeological find in a decade in Syria, already considered "an archaeologist's paradise," per AFP . The 1,600-year-old mosaic was found beneath a building in Rastan, a former rebel stronghold that saw intense fighting until its...

Hundreds of Skeletons Emerge Beneath Century-Old Store

They date to medieval period when Wales' Haverfordwest hosted a priory

(Newser) - Archaeologists have disturbed a medieval graveyard holding the remains of hundreds of people beneath a former department store in Wales. Old records and street names point to a medieval priory in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, but no one knew for sure where it was when builders began digging new foundations beneath the...

Stories 461 - 480 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser