discoveries

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

Stories 521 - 540 | << Prev   Next >>

The Number of Ants on Earth Is Basically 'Unimaginable'

Try 20 quadrillion

(Newser) - If you've ever dealt with an ant invasion in your kitchen and bemoaned the number of ants that seem to exist, a new study can bring some specificity to your complaints. As Science reports, there had been no reliable estimate of the number of ants currently on the planet....

Don't Pat Yourself on the Back Just Yet for That Half-Hour Run

Researchers warn 30-minute daily exercise may not make up for sitting around the rest of the day

(Newser) - If you refuse to identify as a "couch potato" because of that half-hour workout you diligently slip in each day, despite the fact that you're sedentary for much of the rest of it, you might actually still be a couch potato—just an "active" one. And what...

Researchers Say This Is How to Get a Crying Baby to Sleep

Researchers recommend a process that takes 10 to 13 minutes

(Newser) - For any parent who has wished there was a magic solution to get their crying newborn back to sleep, good news: Japanese researchers say they've found it. In a study published Tuesday in Current Biology , researchers sum up the crux of the issue: "Approximately 20%–30% of infants...

This Is a &#39;Wake-Up Call&#39; on Danger of Air Pollution
This Is a 'Wake-Up Call'
on Danger of Air Pollution
NEW STUDY
Sep 13, 2022 11:50 AM CDT

This Is a 'Wake-Up Call' on Danger of Air Pollution

Researchers discover how fine particulate matter triggers gene mutations to form lung cancer

(Newser) - For some of us, cells in our lungs mutate with age. These mutations seem perfectly healthy—until they come up against air pollution. The result is rapid changes in the cells that turn them cancerous, which could explain why people who've never smoked still develop lung cancer, according to...

In This Tiny Excavated Tooth Lie 'Enormous' Implications

1.8M-year-old tooth found in Caucasus region may be sign of oldest human settlement outside of Africa

(Newser) - Two decades ago, two fossilized, almost complete 1.8-million-year-old skulls belonging to prehistoric humans Zezva and Mzia were discovered in Dmanisi, a couple of hours from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Now, a new find that "cements the region as the home of one of the earliest prehistoric human...

This Is Why Your Brain Logs a Memory as Happy or Sad
Brain Discovery May Be
a Breakthrough on Memories
new study
Sep 12, 2022 10:10 AM CDT

Brain Discovery May Be a Breakthrough on Memories

Molecule called neurotensin appears to decide whether a memory is logged as good or bad

(Newser) - Brain researchers appear to have figured out precisely how our brains store a particular memory as either good or bad—and the discovery could have implications for the treatment of everything from depression to PTSD. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California say it all comes down...

Centuries Ago, They Buried Her With a Sickle and Padlock

17th-century locals in Poland apparently thought the woman was a vampire

(Newser) - Archaeologists who discovered a 17th-century grave in Poland found three telltale clues about the buried woman: She had protruding front teeth, a padlock around her big toe, and a sickle placed strategically over her throat. Conclusion: People thought she was a vampire and buried her with the lock and sickle...

Wife's Sharp Nose Leads to New Test for Parkinson's

Joy Milne noticed her husband smelled different before his official diagnosis

(Newser) - A relatively simple way to detect Parkinson's might be possible thanks to a Scottish woman's unusually sharp sense of smell. As the BBC reports, researchers at the UK's University of Manchester say their newly developed skin-swab test proved to be 95% accurate in a new study published...

Stone Age Skeleton&#39;s Missing Foot Is Notable
Skeleton's
Missing Foot
'Rewrites History'
new study
Sep 7, 2022 1:29 PM CDT

Skeleton's Missing Foot 'Rewrites History'

Amputation suggests humans were making medical advances much earlier than thought

(Newser) - The 31,000-year-old skeleton of a young adult found in a cave in Indonesia that is missing its left foot and part of its left leg reveals the oldest known evidence of an amputation, according to a new study. Scientists say the amputation was performed when the person was a...

Researchers Reveal 'Devastating' COVID Consequence for Kids

It's estimated that 10.5M children lost parent, caregiver to disease during pandemic

(Newser) - Last year, numbers emerged showing an estimated 5.2 million children had lost a parent or caregiver to COVID through October. Now, a "heartbreaking" update on that toll, per a new global study that finds almost 8 million kids 18 and under were left grieving one or both parents...

Baboons May Not Like Our Prying Eyes
Baboons May
Not Like Our
Prying Eyes
new study
Sep 6, 2022 9:10 AM CDT

Baboons May Not Like Our Prying Eyes

Study finds they had more sex at safari when the public was locked out during pandemic

(Newser) - When the public was locked out from zoos during the pandemic, did the animals miss their human visitors or welcome the peace? UK researchers set out to answer that question, and while they didn't settle on a definitive answer, they did find some interesting changes in behavior, reports the...

Couple Finds Out Home Is 'One Hell of a Piggy Bank'

UK pair discovered 18th-century gold coins worth up to $290K under their kitchen floor

(Newser) - Home renovations can be nerve-wracking: You never know what you're going to unearth underneath the old plaster and wood as you make way for the new. For a UK couple, their discovery was more shocking than most: a container filled with 18th-century coins that could end up selling at...

NASA Gizmo Is Able to Make Oxygen on Mars
Toaster-Size Box Makes
Oxygen on Mars
new study
Sep 2, 2022 12:32 PM CDT

Toaster-Size Box Makes Oxygen on Mars

MOXIE offers hope of clearing a big hurdle for manned missions

(Newser) - The comparisons are small scale at the moment: A device the size of a toaster generated oxygen comparable to that of a modest tree. But given that this took place on Mars, the implications are of the large-scale variety. In a study published in Science Advances , NASA researchers report that...

17 Bodies Thrown in Well Point to Medieval Hate Crime

Researchers say individuals were Jewish, perhaps killed during antisemitic riot

(Newser) - Almost 20 years after the jumbled bodies of 17 men, women, and children were found at the bottom of a medieval well in Norwich, England, researchers believe they know why they were thrown in there, many of them headfirst: It was an antisemitic hate crime. In sequencing DNA preserved in...

It&#39;s Good News for Those Who Like Black Tea
It's Good News
for Those
Who Like
Black Tea
new study
Aug 30, 2022 12:20 PM CDT

It's Good News for Those Who Like Black Tea

2 cups a day is linked to a modest increase in longevity

(Newser) - When it comes to the potential health benefits of tea, the green variety tends to get all the glory . However, a large new observational study suggests that black tea also does good things for those who drink it, reports the Guardian . The study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found...

Study Sees Unexpected Benefit for Kids Who Play Music

Learning an instrument early may help keep the mind sharp in old age, study suggests

(Newser) - A new study out of Scotland offers a powerful argument for having children or teens learn a musical instrument—they may end up with sharper minds in old age. The study from the University of Edinburgh found what researchers describe as a small but "statistically significant" link between the...

In Doggy Dementia, Exercise Is a Factor
In Doggy
Dementia,
Age 10 Is
a Big Year
new study
Aug 26, 2022 10:50 AM CDT

In Doggy Dementia, Age 10 Is a Big Year

Annual risk goes up substantially from then on, though exercise may help ward it off

(Newser) - Among vets, it's called canine cognitive dysfunction. Among pet owners, it's more familiarly known as doggy dementia. Now a large new study in Scientific Reports sheds some more light on the condition, which can be tricky to diagnose. Some key takeaways:
  • Exercise: The study of more than 15,
...

You and Your Doppleganger Share More Than Looks
You and Your Doppleganger
Share More Than Looks
new study
Aug 25, 2022 12:25 PM CDT

You and Your Doppleganger Share More Than Looks

Study shows that unrelated look-alikes also share genes and even behaviors

(Newser) - Studies of twins are common. Studies of unrelated people who could pass for twins, not so much. But in Cell Reports , researchers dug deep into the phenomenon of dopplegangers—look-a-likes who are aren't actually related—and discovered that they share far more than superficial appearances, reports Science Alert . An...

Ancient Estate Unearthed in Israel


In Israel,
Dig Reveals
an Ancient
Estate
photos
Aug 23, 2022 10:35 AM CDT

In Israel, Dig Reveals an Ancient Estate

Site in town of Rahat dates back to 8th or 9th century

(Newser) - Archaeologists unearthed a lavish 1,200-year-old estate in Israel's southern desert that offers a unique glimpse of life for wealthy residents of the Negev region, the country's antiquities authority said Tuesday. The discovery in the Bedouin town of Rahat dates to the early Islamic period in the eighth...

Old Map May Settle Mystery of Wales&#39; Atlantis
Researchers May Have Found
the 'Atlantis' of Wales
new study
Aug 22, 2022 8:03 AM CDT

Researchers May Have Found the 'Atlantis' of Wales

They spot long-gone islands off the coast on medieval map

(Newser) - It's not the Atlantis, but two researchers may have figured out answers about the Welsh version of the legend. Poring over a medieval map, they spotted two islands in what is now Cardigan Bay, reports the BBC . No such islands exist today, leading Simon Haslett of Swansea University and...

Stories 521 - 540 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser