discoveries

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

Stories 681 - 700 | << Prev   Next >>

Geologists May Have Solved a Grand Canyon Mystery
Geologists May Have Solved
a Grand Canyon Mystery
in case you missed it
Aug 22, 2021 8:00 AM CDT

Geologists May Have Solved a Grand Canyon Mystery

The 'Great Unconformity' of rocks has been a puzzle for 150 years

(Newser) - The Grand Canyon may be a geologic marvel, but it's also a geological puzzle—one that may have finally been cracked. The puzzle is known as the Great Unconformity, explains a release at Phys.org . In parts of the canyon, layers of rock about 520 million years old sit...

These Two Look Familiar?
Hey, Look Who NOAA
Just Found in the Ocean
in case you missed it
Aug 7, 2021 7:00 AM CDT

Hey, Look Who NOAA Just Found in the Ocean

Expedition turns up real-life counterparts to SpongeBob and Patrick Star

(Newser) - A marine biologist with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History did a double-take while reviewing footage from a deep-sea drone. There, on the ocean floor, sat the real-life doppelgangers for SpongeBob SquarePants and his pal Patrick Star, reports Smithsonian . "I normally avoid these (references)..but WOW,"...

Researchers: Strong Evidence Links Alcohol to Cancer

But there's also good evidence that coffee reduces the risk of liver cancer

(Newser) - The effect of diet on cancer is tough to determine for many reasons, including the fact that most studies rely on data self-reported by participants, researchers say in a new study. The Imperial College London scientists looked at 860 meta-analyses of published studies involving 11 anatomical sites and found that...

We Didn&#39;t Have Machu Picchu&#39;s Timeline Quite Right
Machu Picchu
Study Alters Story
of Inca Emperor
new study
Aug 4, 2021 11:53 AM CDT

Machu Picchu Study Alters Story of Inca Emperor

Results suggest Pachacuti's initial conquests occurred earlier than thought

(Newser) - Our understanding of Machu Picchu's timeline wasn't quite right, or so a new study published in Antiquity suggests. It's long been thought that the Peruvian site was built after AD 1438, reports the Guardian , a conclusion that was drawn from the accounts of Spanish conquistadors who were...

Origins of Earth&#39;s Oxygen? Longer Days
When Earth's 6-Hour Days
Grew, So Did Our Oxygen
new study
Aug 2, 2021 11:50 AM CDT

When Earth's 6-Hour Days Grew, So Did Our Oxygen

Study suggests theory on how creatures could finally breathe

(Newser) - Scientists have a new idea for how Earth got its oxygen: It’s because the planet slowed down and days got longer. A study published Monday proposes and puts to the test the theory that longer, continuous daylight kick-started weird bacteria into producing lots of oxygen, making most of life...

Female Surgeons Pay 'High Price' of Tougher Pregnancies

Study suggests that grueling hours and work culture are factors

(Newser) - Female surgeons may be among the most highly trained medical professionals in the land, but they tend to have difficult pregnancies more often than other women. Fixing the problem will require changing the culture of residency programs, say the authors of a new study in JAMA Surgery . The bleak stats:...

Have Heart Issues? A Bit of Booze Daily 'Not That Bad'

New research shows light to moderate alcohol consumption may protect previous heart patients

(Newser) - Alcohol was the bad guy again in a recent study tying it to hundreds of thousands of cancer cases, but if you're already suffering from a cardiovascular condition? A small amount daily is "not that bad." That's how scientist Emmanuela Gakidou of the University of Washington'...

Jewish Artifacts Thought &#39;Lost For All Time&#39; Found in US
Jewish Artifacts Thought
'Lost for All Time' Found in US
in case you missed it
Jul 25, 2021 5:00 PM CDT

Jewish Artifacts Thought 'Lost for All Time' Found in US

Funeral scrolls, community records were illegally taken from eastern Europe around WWII

(Newser) - The Justice Department says it's recovered funeral scrolls, manuscripts, community records, and other priceless historical items stolen from Jewish people during the Holocaust that were thought to have been "lost for all time." The 17 artifacts dating from 1840 were taken from Jewish communities in Romania, Hungary,...

28 Unknown Viruses Found Frozen in Tibetan Ice

'These are viruses that would have thrived in extreme environments'

(Newser) - If we ever find viruses on Mars or another distant planet, they may resemble the ancient viruses scientists have discovered frozen deep in a glacier in Tibet. Researchers say ice samples taken from the Tibetan Plateau ice cores contained the genetic codes for 33 viruses, including 28 previously unknown to...

Lethal Coral Disease Linked to Cruise Ships
Lethal Coral Disease
Linked to Cruise Ships
new study
Jul 22, 2021 2:37 PM CDT

Lethal Coral Disease Linked to Cruise Ships

Study suggests wastewater from ships is responsible for SCTLD

(Newser) - A dangerous new threat to coral reefs might be the fault of cruise ships. A peer-reviewed study suggests ships that improperly dispose of wastewater are causing outbreaks of an unusually lethal and fast-spreading disease known as stony coral tissue loss disease, reports the Guardian . SCTLD first turned up in Florida...

Seeds in Bog Man&#39;s Last Meal Could Be a Clue
Seeds in Bog Man's
Last Meal Could Be a Clue
new study
Jul 21, 2021 1:18 PM CDT

Seeds in Bog Man's Last Meal Could Be a Clue

The long-running question: were bog men human sacrifices?

(Newser) - Seeds of pale persicaria may be a clue in a mystery: whether the so-called Tollund Man, found in 1950 in a bog in Denmark, was executed or sacrificed. A new study suggests it could be the latter, and those seeds are the reason why. As NBC News reports, the man'...

On Michelangelo Sculpture, a Possible 'Direct Connection'

Museum staff find what may be the artist's fingerprint on wax model

(Newser) - A big find on a Michelangelo sculpture suggests the artist may have left something important behind on his work. Per the London Times , one of the butt cheeks on Michelangelo's "A Slave"—a wax statue said to have been used as a model for a never-completed marble...

Paralyzed Man Communicates Through Brain Waves
Paralyzed Man Communicates
Through Brain Waves
new study
Jul 15, 2021 8:18 AM CDT

Paralyzed Man Communicates Through Brain Waves

Device translates what he's thinking to words on the screen

(Newser) - In a medical first, researchers harnessed the brain waves of a paralyzed man unable to speak—and turned what he intended to say into sentences on a computer screen. It will take years of additional research but the study, reported Wednesday, marks an important step toward one day restoring more...

Surprise Discovery of Coins May Be Old Viking Ransom

Money was paid to avoid a sack of Paris, and the coins were found in a Polish field

(Newser) - Last fall, metal detectorists turned up some old coins in a Polish field. Now, what had at first seemed like a not-so-surprising find has the potential to be quite the opposite, reports the New York Times . Archaeologists have since found nearly 120 silver coins at the location near the town...

Good News on the HIV Front
Good News
on the HIV Front
NEW STUDY
Jul 10, 2021 9:30 AM CDT

Good News on the HIV Front

Those with virus who receive treatment have same life expectancy as those without: researchers

(Newser) - Patients who tested positive for HIV used to fear a "certain death sentence," as there's no cure for the virus, per HealthDay News . New research puts those fears to rest, with scientists saying that those with HIV in the US can now expect a similar life expectancy...

Researchers Say Trout Can Get Hooked on Our Meth
Meth Users May End Up
Harming an Unlikely Victim
new study
Jul 7, 2021 8:39 AM CDT

Meth Users May End Up Harming an Unlikely Victim

Fish, finds a new study

(Newser) - If you're wondering whether brown trout can become meth junkies, science has an answer for you. Czech researchers sought to determine whether the drugs used by humans—which end up in waterways because wastewater treatment plants aren't built to remove methamphetamine—could turn fish into addicts. The short...

14 Living Relatives of Da Vinci Discovered
14 Da Vinci Descendants
Are Uncovered
new study
Jul 6, 2021 10:45 AM CDT

14 Da Vinci Descendants Are Uncovered

New study traces his family tree through 21 generations

(Newser) - Leonardo da Vinci didn't have any children of his own, but a comprehensive investigation of his family history has turned up 14 living male relatives, reports ZME Science . The study in the Human Evolution journal has increased the previous estimate of living relatives from two and might shed light...

Murderer Phil Spector&#39;s Defense Argument Debunked
Researchers Debunk
Phil Spector's Defense
new STUDY
Jul 3, 2021 12:25 PM CDT

Researchers Debunk Phil Spector's Defense

His lawyers claimed lack of blood spatter proved his innocence, but new studies cast doubt

(Newser) - Crime shows make blood-spatter analysis look foolproof, as easy as seeing flecks of blood and knowing from which direction an assailant fired a gun. But the reality is far trickier , as new research inspired by the 2003 murder of actor Lana Clarkson shows. The late music producer Phil Spector was...

On an Island, Elephants Shrink Surprisingly Fast
On an Island, Elephants
Shrink Surprisingly Fast
new study
Jul 2, 2021 1:04 PM CDT

On an Island, Elephants Shrink Surprisingly Fast

Study suggests it took only 40 generations for ancient beasts to lose 85% of their size

(Newser) - Somewhere around 400,000 years ago, hulking elephants made their way to what we know now as the Italian island of Sicily. In a relative blink of the eye—roughly 40 generations—they shrank to miniature versions of their former selves, reports the New York Times . That's one estimate...

For Dinosaurs, Asteroid Was Just a Final Blow
For Dinosaurs, Asteroid
Was Just a Final Blow
NEW STUDY
Jul 1, 2021 1:26 PM CDT

For Dinosaurs, Asteroid Was Just a Final Blow

Study suggests species were struggling before the big collision

(Newser) - You've heard how an asteroid strike 66 million years ago wiped out the dinosaurs . But there's more to the story, according to a new study, which suggests non-avian dinosaurs weren't doing so hot before sulfates and dust filled the atmosphere—some 10 million years before, in fact....

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