discoveries

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

Stories 1441 - 1460 | << Prev   Next >>

A Search for Ancestors Reveals She Had Been Swapped at Birth

Women discover they were switched at birth

(Newser) - A fun foray into finding out more about her ancestry through a popular genealogy website led to a shocking revelation for 72-year-old Denice Juneski: She wasn't related to any of her own relatives—at least not the ones she'd grown up knowing. KARE reports that as Minnesota's...

The Sculpted Head Is Exquisite, but Packs a Mystery

Archaeologists have dated it to the 9th century BC, but don't know who it depicts

(Newser) - An enigmatic sculpture of a king's head dating back nearly 3,000 years has set off a modern-day mystery caper as scholars try to figure out whose face it depicts. The 2-inch sculpture is an exceedingly rare example of figurative art from the Holy Land during the 9th century...

Babies May Not Get the Concept of 'Zero,' but Bees Do

Researchers amazed that honeybees can grasp the abstract construct of 'nothing'

(Newser) - Dolphins, monkeys, birds, and homo sapiens have a shared understanding of a quite difficult concept, and now honeybees are joining the party. Per a release , that concept is "zero," an abstract mathematical construct that scientists say stumps humans until at least preschool , but which they now note is...

Lightning Strikes on Jupiter Differ From Ours in One Way

Strikes can occur at same rate and in the same frequency, but the where isn't the same

(Newser) - Astronomers have been intrigued at the notion of lightning strikes on Jupiter since Voyager 1 detected flashes nearly four decades ago, notes Space.com . Now the Juno orbiter has revealed a surprise: Those strikes are more similar to lightning strikes on Earth than previously thought. For one thing, Jupiter's...

In Coal Country, a &#39;Slow-Rolling Disaster&#39;
In Coal Country,
a 'Slow-Rolling
Disaster'
NEW STUDY
May 23, 2018 4:40 PM CDT

In Coal Country, a 'Slow-Rolling Disaster'

New studies show increase in numbers of miners with both early, advanced 'black lung disease'

(Newser) - In what one epidemiologist calls a "slow-rolling disaster," a new set of studies presented at an American Thoracic Society conference this week offered glum news for coal miners. Per NPR , more Appalachian miners are plagued by both early- and late-stage pneumoconiosis , or "black lung disease," than...

They 'Didn't Like' the Vase. Then They Learned Its Value

Attic find from Qing Dynasty could fetch up to $850K

(Newser) - It's not $136 million in art , but it's not an ex-boyfriend , either. Rather, the latest attic find is a perfect condition Chinese vase from the 18th-century Qing dynasty. Its owners took the vase, reportedly made for the Qianlong Emperor, to be appraised at Sotheby's three months ago...

Great Ape, Extinct Lion Among Top New Species

Several endangered species among top finds over past year

(Newser) - It's understandable that a fish in the deepest spot on Earth would escape human notice for millennia. How a great ape managed the same feat is less clear, though both are now included in a list of the top 10 of 18,000 new species discovered over the past...

By This New Measure, Plants Rule the Earth
By This New Measure,
Plants Rule the Earth
NEW STUDY
May 22, 2018 9:40 AM CDT

By This New Measure, Plants Rule the Earth

They outweigh all other life on the planet, by a mile

(Newser) - A first-of-its-kind study reveals that humans make up a minuscule portion of life on the planet. As in 0.01%, reports the Guardian . The flip side of that? Despite the scant figure, humans have reshaped the animal kingdom, helping wipe out about 83% of mammals and half of all plants...

She'd Vaped for Just 3 Weeks. Then, a Trip to the ER

Teen spent 5 days on ventilator after she suffered respiratory failure

(Newser) - News of one scary vaping experience follows another. Days after authorities confirmed a Florida man died when his vape pen exploded , sending projectiles into his brain, a study published in the journal Pediatrics tells of an 18-year-old Pennsylvania woman who ended up in an emergency room with a cough and...

Legendary Ancient City Found by Accident

Mardaman in modern-day Iraq is nearly 5K years old

(Newser) - Archaeologists who've spent five years digging up an ancient city in Iraq's Kurdistan region have finally learned its name—and it's legendary. Mardaman, once the capital of a Mesopotamian province and its own independent kingdom, is believed to have begun as early as 4,800 years ago...

In One of Planet&#39;s Most Remote Spots, a Plastic Bag
Plastic Bag Found in
Truly Depressing Spot
new study
May 15, 2018 10:45 AM CDT

Plastic Bag Found in Truly Depressing Spot

Not even the bottom of the Mariana Trench is safe from our trash

(Newser) - "Single-use plastic reached the world's deepest ocean trench at 10,898 m," states the study plainly, referring to that great scourge: the plastic bag. National Geographic reports that a review of the Deep-Sea Debris Database, an assemblage of photos and videos taken during roughly 5,000 dives...

There May Be a Way to Stop People From BSing
There May Be
a Way to Stop
People From BSing
NEW STUDY
May 14, 2018 12:40 PM CDT

There May Be a Way to Stop People From BSing

Simply calling them out on the facts usually works, suggests a new study

(Newser) - Why do people BS, and what can make them stop doing it? A new study suggests the bull tends to flow when people feel social pressure to have an opinion on something—even if they don't fully understand the subject, per Poynter . And it's worse if people don'...

Utah Couple Doing Yard Work Find Skeleton&mdash;From Ice Age
Couple Finds 'Cow' Remains in
Yard—Except It's Not a Cow
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 13, 2018 10:05 AM CDT

Couple Finds 'Cow' Remains in Yard—Except It's Not a Cow

Utah skeleton is actually that of a Pleistocene Era horse

(Newser) - When Laura and Bridger Hill started doing yard work at their home in Lehi, Utah, last September to prep for a retaining wall, the last thing they expected was to stumble across Ice Age-era remains. But that's exactly what happened, with the couple telling the New York Times they...

In the 'Most Under-Observed' Ocean, a Mammoth Wave

78-foot wave recorded Tuesday in Southern Ocean

(Newser) - The northern hemisphere still has it beat, but the southern hemisphere can now claim a new record when it comes to tallest wave. A solar-powered buoy placed near New Zealand's Campbell Island in the Southern Ocean on Tuesday recorded an eight-story wave that measured 78 feet in height, beating...

Hunt for MH370 Turns Up Indian Ocean's Deepest Wrecks

They're 2.3 miles below the ocean's surface

(Newser) - A four-year search of the depths of the Indian Ocean has failed to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. But the unprecedented sonar hunt for the missing airliner might be close to solving 19th-century mysteries—the locations of two sailing ships that vanished with cargoes of coal, reports the AP . Maritime...

This Is the Longest Line You Can Sail Without Hitting Land

It goes more than 19K miles, from Pakistan to Russia

(Newser) - Feel like getting away on the open sea for a long while? Get yourself a boat and head to Pakistan's coastal town of Sonmiani. From there, you can embark on the longest sailable straight line possible, reaching Russia's Karaginsky District some 19,940 miles away, according to researchers....

Tiny Frogs&#39; No. 1 Option: Hold in Pee All Winter
Tiny Frogs' No. 1 Option:
Hold in Pee All Winter
NEW STUDY
May 2, 2018 9:20 AM CDT

Tiny Frogs' No. 1 Option: Hold in Pee All Winter

Behold the wood frog, which literally freezes to 'death' and comes back to life

(Newser) - If you've ever been unable to find a bathroom in a moment of need, you know the gotta-go feeling. That's nothing compared to the wood frog, which doesn't urinate all winter; in Alaska, that's eight months without peeing, reports the AP . Scientists have figured out how...

Giant Antarctic Ice 'Cork' Is Deteriorating

Scientists prepping for $27.5M study of Thwaites Glacier, how sea level rise will be affected

(Newser) - An Antarctic glacier is losing so much ice that it contributed to about 4% of the planet's total sea level rise in recent years—and scientists are now concerned this rapid melting could remove one of the few "corks" keeping the West Antarctic Ice Sheet at bay. That'...

Archaeologists Uncover &#39;Last Child of Pompeii&#39;
'Extraordinary Find' Made
in Pompeii Bath House
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 29, 2018 7:07 AM CDT

'Extraordinary Find' Made in Pompeii Bath House

Child's body is the first uncovered in decades

(Newser) - Almost 2,000 years ago, a child sheltered in Pompeii's central bath house complex as nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted terrifyingly, spewing vast amount of hot ash and pumice. The child's body was undisturbed until this year, when archaeologists using ground-scanning tools were surprised to find it just inches...

'Fake' Coin Will Actually Make Owner 'Quite Rich'

Turns out it's one of a handful of rare $5 Liberty Head Half Eagles, minted in 1854

(Newser) - In what a currency expert tells the San Francisco Chronicle is the equivalent of "finding an original Picasso at a garage sale," a rare coin from the California gold rush has been unearthed—said to be one of only four still in existence. The Independent reports the unnamed...

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