discoveries

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

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Explorer: I Found Massive Nazi Shelter Buried Underground

It's also in Poland, near search for 'gold train'

(Newser) - This might sound familiar: A treasure hunter says he's found something intriguing hidden beneath the earth by the Nazis in Poland. Except this isn't about a nearly mythical "gold train" that has set off frenzied search in the city of Walbrzych. Instead, Krzysztof Szpakowski says he's...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a surprising find near Stonehenge

(Newser) - A rock-solid discovery in the UK and a troubling diabetes update make the list:
  • Meet Our New Relative : Deep within a South African cave, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a previously unknown human ancestor that stood about 5 feet tall, used tools, and may have buried its dead—like us.
...

Secret to Long Life Found in ... Smokers?

A select group of people have genes that might actually repair cell damage

(Newser) - If you smoke for most of your life and still live to a ripe, old age, you might have more than luck on your side. Though smokers can generally expect to live 10 years less than non-smokers, this is by no means a hard and fast rule. Jeanne Calment, for...

Study Counts More Sharks Than Ever Along East Coast

And they're still not fully recovered from overfishing

(Newser) - Anyone still terrified of Jaws might want to stop reading now. The shark population on the East Coast is at its highest since scientists began counting the animals 29 years ago, according to a federal study, and scientists are high-finning, er, fiving, over the news. In just three years, shark...

Study Reveals How to Take Better Work Breaks

For starters, don't wait until the afternoon

(Newser) - Did you just get caught taking a few minutes to update your fantasy football team or Instagram your lunch? Just tell your boss it's making you a better worker. Two researchers from Baylor University recently published a study after looking at the break habits of 95 workers to identify...

Americans Have Big Gaps in Their Knowledge of Science

Only 6% got all 12 questions right in basic quiz

(Newser) - Most Americans have a good grasp of some areas of scientific knowledge but are relatively clueless on others, according to Pew Research Center analysis based on a quiz that you may wish to try out here before reading on—and if you get a perfect score, congratulate yourself on being...

This Is the Dirtiest Spot on an Airplane

Surprise: It's the tray table

(Newser) - If you avoid airplane bathrooms for fear of germs, it's time to rethink your strategy. Travelmath sent a microbiologist to swipe airplanes and airports to find the dirtiest spots and the results are as surprising as they are gross. The ickiest spot on a plane is actually a seat'...

'Exceptional' Find May Change How We Think About Ancient Rome

6th-century BC home may prove city was bigger than thought: archaeologists

(Newser) - Archaeologists have discovered a sixth-century BC residence under a palazzo in central Rome, saying that it proves the ancient city was much bigger than previously thought. Officials said yesterday that the area on the Quirinal Hill had long been thought to have only been used as a necropolis, with ancient...

The Weird Reason Mercury Levels Rise Along Coast

Blame molting seals

(Newser) - When elephant seals molt along the California coast, they shed more than fur. Scientists at the University of California at Santa Cruz have figured out that they're also leaving behind potentially dangerous levels of mercury—in that same fur, reports Smithsonian . It's a cycle that goes something like...

Scientists: We've Found a New Human Relative

Experts say Homo naledi may have buried its dead, but others aren't convinced

(Newser) - Scientists say it's a find "unlike anything that we have seen." Deep within a South African cave, experts claim to have uncovered the remains of a previously unknown human ancestor that stood about 5 feet tall, weighed 100 pounds, used tools, and may have buried its dead—...

Seeds of Alzheimer's Could Pass From Person to Person

Alzheimer's protein may have been passed to patients via growth hormone

(Newser) - Alzheimer's isn't exactly contagious, but a protein that goes on to form the disease was perhaps passed to patients during surgery, meaning there could be an acquired form of the disease, a new study finds. UK researchers, who describe their finding in Nature , studied the brains of eight...

&#39;Gaydar&#39; Isn&#39;t Real, but It is Dangerous
'Gaydar' Isn't Real,
but It Is Dangerous
new study
Sep 9, 2015 7:25 PM CDT

'Gaydar' Isn't Real, but It Is Dangerous

The 'myth' of gaydar legitimizes stereotypes, according to study

(Newser) - Not only is everyone's "gaydar" permanently on the fritz, this faulty gay-identifying equipment can actually be dangerous. That's according to a study published in July in the Journal of Sex Research. The Washington Post reports psychologist William Cox and his team of researchers found gaydar doesn't...

New Info on Whereabouts of Nazi Gold Train

Nazi train could be buried, booby trapped, or simply not exist

(Newser) - Nazi gold fever has never been higher in the Polish city of Walbrzych following today's announcement that a tunnel—potentially containing a rumored Nazi train laden with 300 tons of gold, precious stones, and guns—was discovered nearby, CNBC reports. Officials describe the discovery as "a railway tunnel...

Prehistoric 'Frankenviruses' Could Rise Again

Viruses, buried in permafrost, could be revived with climate change

(Newser) - A 30,000-year-old "giant virus" could be brought back to life thanks to a surprise discovery 100 feet deep in Siberia's permafrost. The virus, Mollivirus sibericum or "soft virus from Siberia," qualifies as giant because it is 0.6 micrometers and can be seen under a...

Studies Say We've Been Lining Up All Wrong

Last-come-first served is unfair but efficient, researchers claim

(Newser) - Researchers have figured out a way to reduce wait times everywhere lines are found—from the DMV to Disneyland. Unfortunately, their ideas are unlikely to ever be implemented because of people's unbreakable allegiance to the concept of fairness. Quartz reports on two research papers published in 2012 and 2014...

50% of US Adults Have Diabetes or Prediabetes

And one-third of people with the disease don't know they have it

(Newser) - More than half of all adult Americans have diabetes or prediabetes—a condition marked by abnormally high blood sugar levels—according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Live Science reports survey results between 2011 and 2012 showed more than 12% of US residents...

Here's What Caused Earth's First Mass Extinction

Let's see what happened to the docile Ediacarans

(Newser) - Biologists have long debated how the planet's first mass extinction took place 540 million years ago. Was it a huge meteorite or terrifying volcanic eruption, typical of Earth's other mass extinctions? Nope, per a recent paper that says it offers the first "critical test" of the theory...

Huge Stone Monument Found Buried Near Stonehenge

One researcher calls the find of 90 large stones 'archaeology on steroids'

(Newser) - An English "super-henge" just became more super. Durrington Walls, one of the largest known henges and located less than 2 miles from Stonehenge, was believed to have been built in the Neolithic period around 4,500 years ago, and the way it aligns to the solstices like Stonehenge led...

Want to Show Some Emotion? Send an Email
Want to Show Some Emotion? Send an Email
NEW STUDY
Sep 7, 2015 11:42 AM CDT

Want to Show Some Emotion? Send an Email

New research says writing process may cause emotional arousal in sender

(Newser) - If you want to convey something affectionate or romantic and you can't do it in person, it may be better to send an email than leave a voicemail. So report researchers at Indiana University Bloomington in the journal Computers in Human Behavior after analyzing both the messages being sent...

New Test Can Predict When You&#39;ll Die
 New Test Can 
 Predict When 
 You'll Die 
STUDY SAYS
Sep 7, 2015 10:31 AM CDT

New Test Can Predict When You'll Die

'Gene signature' can be used to predict onset of diseases

(Newser) - "Health" and "age" are two distinct concepts, and no matter how old you are chronologically, a simple blood test can help determine what King's College London researchers call your "biological age"—which may be able to predict your longevity, the BBC reports. A study published...

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