discoveries

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Try This Sit-Stand Formula for Every 30 Minutes at Work

Is this the secret for keeping your desk job from killing you?

(Newser) - By now, it's been thoroughly reported that sitting too much at work can kill you, increasing your risk of everything from cancer to diabetes. But standing too much isn't any better, potentially leading to varicose veins, back problems, and more. Now, one ergonomics professor says he's figured...

IKEA Furniture Is Tricky for Robots, Too
 IKEA Furniture Is 
 Tricky for Robots, Too 
study says
Sep 30, 2015 12:36 PM CDT

IKEA Furniture Is Tricky for Robots, Too

But researchers are determined to get a robot to put together an entire chair

(Newser) - Most humans find IKEA furniture assembly infuriatingly difficult ... and it turns out robots aren't much better at the task. In a new study out of the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, researchers find that "fine robotic assembly, in which the parts to be assembled are small and fragile...

Pulled From SC River: 3 Civil War Cannons

Archaeologists say they were dumped off Confederate warship in Pee Dee River

(Newser) - Over the past two decades, Bob Butler has dived down to the bottom of South Carolina's Pee Dee River and discovered not one (in 1995), not two (in 2006), but three (final one in 2013) Civil War-era cannons he says were dropped off a Confederate warship, the State reports....

Recent Grads Who Think Degree Was Worth It: Just 38%

But there is one thing that makes a big difference

(Newser) - Just 38% of recent college graduates (from 2006 on) "strongly agree" that their education was worth its price, a new Gallup-Purdue Index study finds, and 8% felt strongly that it wasn't worth it. The number rises to 50% for all college graduates (more than 30,000 total) who...

There's Arsenic in Your Red Wine

But levels aren't dangerous if considered alone

(Newser) - Red wine may help fight cancer , but it may also help bring about the disease if you don't watch your intake and diet. Scientists tested 65 US wines and found all but one contained arsenic in levels that exceed the 10 parts per billion permitted in drinking water, according...

Test Can Detect Every Virus to Afflict Humans, Animals

Even uncommon viruses and ones present in low levels: scientists

(Newser) - A new test developed by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may prove an invaluable aid to doctors who can't figure out what's wrong with their patients. The test, described in a study in the Genome Research journal, is able to detect, all at...

Your Essence Is Rooted in Your Character, Not Intellect

Who we are may have more to do with what we stand for than what we know

(Newser) - In an attempt to begin to tackle the age-old question of what shapes one's identity, researchers at Duke and the University of Arizona surveyed the caregivers of those with different neurodegenerative diseases to see which ones seemed most likely to strip away the essence of a person. Reporting in...

Study Reveals Way to Get Kids to Eat Veggies

What they're paired with makes a big difference

(Newser) - Researchers from Texas A&M may have found an easier way to get kids to eat their vegetables than trying to convince them Spider-Man actually got his powers from green beans: Just pair veggies with other foods they don't like that much. The Washington Post reports nine out of...

This Trippy Creature Is World's First Glowing Turtle

It's the first known example of biofluorescence in reptiles

(Newser) - "I've been [studying turtles] for a long time, and I don't think anyone's ever seen this," sea turtle expert Alexander Gaos tells National Geographic . "This is really quite amazing." Gaos is referring to video footage showing a hawksbill sea turtle glowing neon red...

Radar to Join Hunt for Nefertiti's Tomb

Egypt OKs technology to scan King Tut's tomb for signs of missing queen's

(Newser) - The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry granted preliminary approval for non-invasive Japanese radar to verify a theory that Queen Nefertiti's crypt may be hidden behind King Tut's 3,300-year-old tomb. A security clearance for the radar's use will probably be obtained within a month, said ministry rep Mouchira Moussa,...

Polish Army Swoops In on Nazi 'Gold Train' Site

Explosives, radiation experts assessing site to rule out possible dangers

(Newser) - The world has been hearing about the Nazi gold train for weeks, and we may finally be getting closer to a confirmation or denial. The Polish army has converged upon the southwestern Poland site where the train could be located, with explosives, chemical, and radiation experts making sure there's...

Why Some Smokers Don&#39;t Get Lung Disease
Why Some Smokers
Don't Get Lung Disease
NEW STUDY
Sep 29, 2015 12:05 PM CDT

Why Some Smokers Don't Get Lung Disease

They may carry genes that boost lung function: study

(Newser) - Smokers could soon benefit from new drugs that improve the function of their lungs, owing to the lucky few who smoke for years with little consequence. UK researchers scanned 50,000 smokers and non-smokers, including some who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and identified gene mutations that enhance lung...

New Snail So Small, You Can Fit 10 in Eye of Needle

Found in China, it may be the world's smallest

(Newser) - Researchers have discovered a new snail in China, but they can be forgiven for overlooking it previously. The shell of angustopila dominikae measures all of 0.03 inches, reports Live Science , which notes that 10 of them could fit inside the eye of a needle. In a press release , scientists...

Trying to Learn From Your Mistakes Is a Big Mistake

Dwelling on the past can negatively impact how you behave in the present

(Newser) - Trying to learn from your mistakes isn't such a good idea, according to new research out of Vanderbilt University . Reporting in the Journal of Consumer Psychology , scientists say that focusing on the past appears to put people in worse moods and may even be self-fulfilling. "Be very careful...

69% Say No Planned Parenthood-Caused Shutdown: Poll

Quinnipiac poll also finds gender gap in how organization is viewed

(Newser) - Outgoing House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday there would be no government shutdown , but if there turns out to be one anyway, nearly 70% of Americans would oppose a shutdown over Planned Parenthood funding, per Politico . The findings, based on a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday, also reveal that 52%...

Why Rosetta's Comet Looks Like a Rubber Duck

Think low-speed collision

(Newser) - Serious space junkies might be able to identify the comet on which Europe's Rosetta space orbiter landed last year as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Everyone else might remember that it kind of looks like a rubber duck . The odd shape has been a topic of debate among scientists, and a new paper...

Kid Finds $8K in Cash on Slide at Playground

And then turns it in

(Newser) - How many kids would turn in $5 they found in a park, let alone $8,000? Aiden Wright, 7, decided to do the right thing (with some prompting from his uncle) Saturday after he spotted a black checkbook while taking a "last run" down the slide at Memorial Park...

NASA Announces Biggest Evidence Yet for Water on Mars

Could be good news for future astronauts

(Newser) - NASA made its much-hyped big announcement today, and what it comes down to is that scientists have found the strongest evidence yet that there's liquid water on the Red Planet, the Washington Post reports. Last April, using data from the Curiosity rover, researchers noted that perchlorates were present on...

Gene Test Can Tell Who Needs Chemo, Who Doesn't

98% of 'low-risk' breast cancer patients who didn't get chemo were alive 5 years on

(Newser) - Chemotherapy is "not pretty," a breast cancer survivor tells the AP —so a new study on women with early-stage breast cancer is encouraging, claiming a gene test can parse out patients who may be able to skip chemo because it won't ultimately provide much, if any,...

US' Biggest Immigrant Group Won't Be Hispanics for Long

US population will jump to 441M by 2065: Pew

(Newser) - The face of America changed drastically in the last 50 years, and will look quite different in another half-century. Before the Immigration and Nationality Act passed in 1965, white Americans made up 84% of the population, followed by African Americans at 11%, Hispanics at 4%, and Asians at less than...

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