discoveries

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

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This Is What It's Like to 'Hate Sound'

Experts say up to 20% of people may suffer from misophonia

(Newser) - Does a loud chewer drive you crazy—to the point that you'd rather leave the room than endure the chomping? It turns out you might be the one with the problem. Researchers say people with an extreme aversion to certain sounds—like chewing, foot-tapping, or sniffing—may suffer from...

Comet Is Spewing Out Vast Amounts of Booze

Study suggests building blocks of life arrived on drunk comet

(Newser) - Never mind water on Mars , they've found booze in a comet. Astronomers say they have detected ethyl alcohol among 21 kinds of organic molecules in gas from Comet Lovejoy, meaning the comet has the ingredients both to create life and to get it incredibly drunk. This is the first...

DNA Tests Open More Shroud of Turin Mysteries

It may have been made in India

(Newser) - The mysteries of the Shroud of Turin are proving to be very stubborn in the face of modern technology. An Italian team analyzed DNA from the relic some believe is the burial cloth of Jesus but failed to find conclusive proof of its origins, the Independent reports. The testing revealed...

The Thing That Americans Fear Most
 The Thing That 
 Americans Fear Most 
in case you missed it
Oct 24, 2015 8:00 AM CDT

The Thing That Americans Fear Most

It involves the government

(Newser) - "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"—well, that and almost 90 other things. California's Chapman University last week came out with its second annual Survey of American Fears. The 1,541 adults who were polled were asked about 89 (by our count) fears...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a find from one of our Founding Fathers

(Newser) - A shocking discovery in a Mexican reservoir and history-changing crystals make the list:
  • Thomas Jefferson's Lost Chemistry Lab Found : A worker renovating the rotunda at the University of Virginia made an unexpected discovery when he crawled through a hole in the wall: part of a chemistry lab partly designed
...

Study: Here's Why Cheese Is Addictive, Salmon Isn't

Researchers say it all boils down to processing, fat, and glycemic load

(Newser) - Pizza is the most problematic food out there, as far as addictive-like qualities go. So report students who completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale as part of a study by researchers at the University of Michigan. Those researchers published their findings in PLoS ONE earlier this year, and wrote that...

This Might Be Key Ingredient to a Happy Marriage

Gratitude can disrupt the common demand-withdraw cycle in relationships

(Newser) - The key to a happy and lasting marriage might be as simple as regularly expressing gratitude. So report researchers from the University of Georgia in a new study published in the journal Personal Relationships . After interviewing 468 married individuals on relationship satisfaction, covering everything from communication habits to finances, they...

Plague Found in 5K-Year-Old Human Skeleton

That's 3K years earlier than scientists knew the disease even existed

(Newser) - The plague is apparently a lot older than we thought. Scientists says the disease was responsible for a massive migration of people across Europe and Asia during the Bronze Age—approximately 3,000 years earlier than it was believed to have existed, according to a study published Thursday in Cell ...

New 'Alien' Wasp Is Bad News for Growing Pest

'In the insect world, we struck it rich'

(Newser) - Usually the discovery of a wasp described as something out of the movie Alien would be cause for alarm. Instead, the AP reports scientists are celebrating. That's because the Trissolcus japonicus kills crop-ruining stink bugs. The wasps—which, in more good news, are non-stinging—were found in Vancouver, Washington,...

What Loud Males May Be Saying About Their Balls

Primatologist lays it all out in 'calls-and-balls' paper

(Newser) - You know what they say: the louder the calls, the smaller the balls. OK, so maybe they don't say that, but they could start following research published Thursday in Current Biology . The Salt Lake Tribune reports researchers discovered the smaller a howler monkey's testicles, the deeper and louder...

Crocodiles May Be Watching You While They Sleep

Researchers say crocodiles do indeed sleep with one eye open

(Newser) - Bad news for Captain Hook: Crocodiles may be keeping an eye on humans even when the crocs are sleeping, according to new research published this week in the Journal of Experimental Biology . The BBC reports researchers in Australia monitored juvenile crocodiles using infrared cameras and determined they often slept with...

In-Car Infotainment Distracts You for Up to 27 Seconds

Research finds issuing voice commands can be distracting, deadly

(Newser) - Think it's safe to use a voice-activated in-car system to call your friend Dave or play the new Taylor Swift single? Think again. In two studies published Thursday, researchers found it can take nearly half a minute to regain full focus on the road after giving voice commands to...

Hiker Finds 1.2K-Year-Old Viking Sword

And it's in surprisingly good condition

(Newser) - Goran Olsen was enjoying a leisurely hike recently in Norway when he stopped near the fishing village of Haukeli, about 150 miles west of Oslo. Under some rocks along a well-traversed path, he made a discovery that's now the envy of every detectorist in Scandinavia: a 30-inch wrought-iron Viking...

Congrats, Class of 2015. You'll Work Till You're 75

That's 13 years past today's average retirement age

(Newser) - We sure hope this year's college grads are excited to enter the workforce because they'll be in it for a long time, according to a new study from NerdWallet . Researchers there say graduates of the Class of 2015 will likely be working until at least 75—a full...

To Cut Your Brain's Age by 5 Years, Eat Mediterranean

Diet may prevent brain shrinkage, cognitive impairment, dementia

(Newser) - Hoping to avoid brain shrinkage, cognitive impairment, and dementia? Gobble up lots of fish, veggies, and nuts. A new study shows those who follow the increasingly well-regarded Mediterranean diet have less brain atrophy than those who don't. Researchers scanned the brains of 674 Manhattan residents over 80 who showed...

Dead Men Prove It: Our Fists Evolved for Better Punching

Scientists think our hands evolved so that we could punch without injuring ourselves

(Newser) - The delicate human hand with its 27 bones folds up into an effective blunt weapon—and that is probably not a coincidence, say researchers who studied the difference between blows from a clenched fist, an unclenched fist, and an open hand. University of Utah researcher David Carrier and his colleagues...

Study: Marijuana Use and Abuse Has Doubled

Nearly 10% of Americans reported using pot in 2013, says study

(Newser) - The number of people using marijuana has more than doubled since 2001, according to a report published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, which found the number of people reporting addiction or abuse of pot nearly doubled as well. The study—based on National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions interviews...

11 Moles the Not-So-Magic Number for Melanoma

More than that on the right arm could mean higher risk

(Newser) - This year will see almost 10,000 deaths in the US from melanoma, with nearly 74,000 new cases diagnosed. But most skin cancers, including melanoma, are curable if caught and treated early , which is why doctors are anxious to ID them ASAP. Researchers at King's College London say...

10 Best Jobs for Balancing Work and Play

Data scientist tops the list, with a nice salary to boot

(Newser) - How happy are you with your time spent in and out of the office? If you fall within the average, there's probably room for improvement. The employee rating of work-life balance has been falling steadily over the last five years and this year sits at a rating of 3....

Search Begins for Alien Signals Near Bizarre Star

The Allen Telescope Array is all fired up and looking for life

(Newser) - SETI's wide-range telescope is powered up and trained on KIC 8462852—the curious star in the North Hemisphere that's emitting an odd light pattern . The Allen Telescope Array, located a few hundred miles northeast of San Francisco, is actively hunting for alien signals coming from the star's...

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