discoveries

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

Stories 721 - 740 | << Prev   Next >>

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....

Black Hole Seen Swallowing Densest Object in Universe

That would be a neutron star

(Newser) - Talk about a heavy snack. For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a black hole swallowing a neutron star, the most dense object in the universe—all in a split-second gulp. Ten days later they saw the same thing, on the other side of the universe, the AP reports. In...

Meet Dragon Man, Our Newly Discovered Relative
Meet Dragon Man, Our
Newly Discovered Relative
new study
Jun 25, 2021 2:11 PM CDT

Meet Dragon Man, Our Newly Discovered Relative

Scientists say he belongs to a newly discovered species closely related to modern humans

(Newser) - He was a big guy, somewhere around 50 years old when he died, and his discovery might just change the narrative on how modern humans came to be. Introducing Dragon Man, so nicknamed for China's Dragon River region where his well-preserved skull was found, reports CNN . Researchers say he...

Millions of Years After Big Bang, a 'Cosmic Dawn'

Astronomers say they've figured out when first stars began shining

(Newser) - For his entire working life, Richard Ellis has been obsessed with finding out when the universe's first stars began shining. Now, in a new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal, Ellis and his team at University College London say they've pinpointed the...

Dinosaurs Survived Brutal Ancient Arctic
Dinosaurs Braved Ancient
Arctic Year-Round
NEW STUDY
Jun 25, 2021 11:50 AM CDT

Dinosaurs Braved Ancient Arctic Year-Round

Tiny fossils suggest they nested there through all the seasons

(Newser) - The High Arctic experiences months of darkness in winter, which can pose a challenge for human inhabitants, just as it did for dinosaurs who occupied the region some 70 million years ago. Paleontologists have long wondered whether dinosaur species found along Alaska's North Slope migrated south in winter to...

What Researchers Just Did in This Cave Is a Marvel
What Researchers Just Did
in This Cave Is a Marvel
NEW STUDY
Jun 25, 2021 10:57 AM CDT

What Researchers Just Did in This Cave Is a Marvel

It's most comprehensive study of ancient DNA extracted from sediment at single site

(Newser) - As far as caves go, Siberia's Denisova Cave is a super prominent one, the place where scientists confirmed the existence of a species of hominins (we're one, as are Neanderthals) known as the Denisovans. But the prehistoric treasures the cave has given up have been few—just eight...

Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Was Ripped Apart by a Shark

Researchers: Earliest known evidence of shark attack on a person identified in Japan

(Newser) - Three millennia ago, a hunter-gatherer ventured to Japan's inland sea in search of a meal. He then became one himself. Researchers believe this Neolithic man, found buried in the Tsukumo Shell-mound cemetery site near the Seto Inland Sea, is the earliest known victim of a shark attack on a...

One of Orion's Stars Went Oddly Dim. Now We Know Why

Nope, Betelgeuse is not about to go supernova

(Newser) - A well-known star in the constellation of Orion—the one that makes up Orion's right shoulder—has been the subject of an 18-month mystery that has now been solved. Betelgeuse rapidly dimmed in late 2019 and early 2020 to a degree that had never been recorded before and one...

Here&#39;s the Tastiest Suggestion Yet on Plastic Waste
Here's the Tastiest Suggestion
Yet on Plastic Waste
new study
Jun 15, 2021 12:21 PM CDT

Here's the Tastiest Suggestion Yet on Plastic Waste

Researchers convert it into vanilla flavoring

(Newser) - Plastic waste is a problem . A big , big problem. Seemingly unrelated fact: Lots of people love vanilla. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland have managed to combine these two ideas to come up with one of the most novel suggestions yet for reducing plastic garbage. They figured out...

Australia Finds Its Biggest-Ever Dino
Dinosaur Found
in Outback
Was as Big as
Basketball Court
in case you missed it
Jun 13, 2021 5:13 PM CDT

Dinosaur Found in Outback Was as Big as Basketball Court

Australotitan is biggest dino ever found in Australia

(Newser) - "This is a fantastic beast. Imagine something the size of a basketball court walking around on land," says Scott Hocknall, part of a team of paleontologists that confirmed the discovery of the biggest dinosaur ever found in Australia. Australotitan cooperensis was between 80 and 100 feet long and...

To Understand Northern Lights, &#39;Think About Surfing&#39;
Scientist Say They Now Know
How an Aurora Occurs
new study
Jun 12, 2021 11:03 AM CDT

Scientist Say They Now Know How an Aurora Occurs

A group of physicists re-created the wave that causes the northern lights

(Newser) - Physicists say they know how the awe-inspiring aurora borealis light shows are formed and can for the first time prove it in a lab. It all has to do with surfing and waves. Electrons traveling to Earth can catch waves, called Alfvén waves, which pick them up and throw...

Stories 721 - 740 | << Prev   Next >>