discoveries

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Snail-Devouring Worm Has Invaded Florida

Invasive New Guinea flatworm will even chase its prey up trees

(Newser) - It's considered one of the " world's worst invasive alien species ," sucks snails into a ravenous mouth located in the middle of its belly, and has now invaded US shores for the first time. "It" is the New Guinea flatworm, and researchers are afraid that now...

Fear of Zombies Stretches Back to Ancient Greece

In some cases, stones were placed on dead to keep them from roaming

(Newser) - The walking dead roamed ancient imaginations long before they found their way to your television , and the concept was far less fringe in ancient times. So say researchers inspecting 2,905 burials at the Greek colony of Kamarina in southeastern Sicily. Writing in the journal Popular Archaeology , University of Pittsburgh...

Those Wasteful K-Cups Are Cutting Down on ... Waste

American coffee consumption expected to fall for first time in 6 years

(Newser) - Keurig’s non-recyclable K-Cups are no friend of the environment. In fact, the inventor of the single-serve coffee pods refuses to use them . But a new USDA report shows they aren't all bad: Surprisingly, K-Cups actually help users to be less wasteful. Rather than guessing how much coffee to...

America&#39;s WWII Experiment: Gas Own Soldiers by Race
America's WWII Experiment:
Gas Own Soldiers by Race
investigation
Jun 22, 2015 12:51 PM CDT

America's WWII Experiment: Gas Own Soldiers by Race

NPR speaks to survivors of the race-based experiments

(Newser) - Since 1993 we've known about a formerly classified government program that saw chemical weapons tested on our own troops during World War II. Today NPR peels back another layer of the onion, reporting that some of the experiments were performed on subjects grouped according to race. NPR says it'...

Under Remarkable 17th-Century Corpse: a Secret Body

Fetus was tucked at Peder Winstrup's feet after death in 1679

(Newser) - Peder Winstrup is remarkably well-preserved for a man who died in 1679, and while researchers expected the mummified corpse of the former bishop of Lund would yield fascinating information on the 17th century, they didn't expect a CT scan to reveal another body. But when his coffin was removed...

Risk of Anxiety Higher When You Do Too Much of This

Sitting's bad rap continues

(Newser) - If you sit too much throughout the day—behind the wheel, at your desk, or on the couch—you may be increasing your risk of developing an anxiety disorder. So report researchers in Australia this month in the journal BMC Public Health after they reviewed nine studies on the issue...

Man&#39;s Kitchen Knife Really an Ancient &#39;Dragon Sword&#39;
Man's Kitchen Knife Really
an Ancient 'Dragon Sword'
in case you missed it
Jun 21, 2015 7:00 PM CDT

Man's Kitchen Knife Really an Ancient 'Dragon Sword'

Yi Shouxiang could have a pricey piece of metal on his hands

(Newser) - A farmer in China has been innocently chopping his vegetables with what could turn out to be an ancient and valuable sword. Yi Shouxiang of Chongqing says he found a rusty blade while working in his fields five years ago and decided to sharpen it. He soon noticed the Chinese...

Certain Beers Cause Man Boobs: Report
Hoppy Beers Cause
Man Boobs: Report
Jun 21, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Hoppy Beers Cause Man Boobs: Report

Herbalist warns about plant estrogen that gives hops its flavor

(Newser) - Guys, this is for you: Hoppy beers contain a plant estrogen that may cause feminine attributes, including man boobs. According to author and herbalist Stephen Buhner, hops are "female flowers of the hop plant" that contain serious amounts of phytoestrogen, a plant estrogen that women have used as an...

Kids Who Lie Well Have Another Skill, Too

Kids who can fib score high marks in a certain memory test

(Newser) - Children shouldn't lie to their elders, right? Fair enough, but a new study says the best child liars possess superior verbal working memory skills, the BBC reports. Researchers at the University of Sheffield gathered more than 100 children, ages six and seven, and told them not to peek at...

Human Breast Milk May Give You Energy—or Syphilis

Depends who you ask, but some experts think it poses serious health risks

(Newser) - Some fitness buffs , fetishists, and people with chronic illnesses believe human breast milk—apparently now a profitable, growing market—is a superfood of sorts, Sky News notes. And then there are the science experts who say that drinking the lactated liquid could infect imbibers with hepatitis (B and C), HIV,...

Astronomers Say We Owe Our Lives to These Stars

Galaxy CR7 said to contain some of the universe's earliest stars

(Newser) - Astronomers peering through the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile have discovered a faraway galaxy of stars so significant, they say we wouldn't exist without them. The galaxy, known as Cosmos Redshift 7, or CR7—a name inspired by soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo—is three times...

Greek God's Big Feature Reveals Medical Issue: Expert

Priapus appears happily well-endowed, but ...

(Newser) - A Greek god portrayed in one of Pompeii's best-known frescoes has quite the prominent feature—for better and for worse, apparently. The painting of fertility god Priapus, which survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, depicts a man whose phallus extends nearly to his knees and the fruit basket sitting...

Mass Extinction Underway, Will Kill Off Humans: Report

Current extinction rate is shocking, scientists say

(Newser) - Feeling upbeat? Enough of that: Planet Earth is undergoing a sixth mass extinction that will likely annihilate the human race unless we can curb the trend, scientists say. According to a new paper , the current rate of species extinction outpaces the natural rate far more than anyone knew, NBC News...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a potential avocado drug and the scary state of our water supply

(Newser) - A caveat for creative types and a warning about our water supply make the list:
  • NASA Makes Worrisome Claim About Our Water : The space agency's latest data on the world's water supply is pretty chilling: About 35% of the fresh water people use comes from large underground aquifers,
...

It Turns Out Kangaroos Are Lefties

Red and eastern gray kangaroos are all left-handed, researchers find

(Newser) - Handedness (the preference for using one hand over the other for nearly all tasks) likely emerged in humans soon after we began to walk upright. And for years scientists have thought this trait belongs almost exclusively to bipedal primates, given it's never before been observed in quadruped creatures. Now...

Spanish Armada Relics Wash Ashore in Ireland

Two cannons are among the centuries-old prizes

(Newser) - Severe weather near County Sligo, Ireland, over the past two years has stirred up the seabed and brought centuries-old treasures to the shore. Pieces of the Spanish Armada merchant ship La Juliana have been washing ashore since April, including two cannons from the ship. Experts say the weapons, made in...

&#39;Kennewick Man&#39; Mystery Over: He&#39;s Native American
'Kennewick Man' Mystery Over: He's Native American
study says
Jun 18, 2015 3:38 PM CDT

'Kennewick Man' Mystery Over: He's Native American

Finding might lead to his burial

(Newser) - Kennewick Man is not only "one of the most important human skeletons ever found in North America," in the words of the Guardian , it's also one of the most controversial. Now a new DNA study might—but only might—bring finality to the debate over the "...

Those Who Believe in Pure Evil Tend to Support This

And the issue becomes more black-and-white

(Newser) - As Nebraska becomes the 19th state to abolish capital punishment, researchers out of Kansas State University have been investigating just what makes some Americans more fervently in favor of the death penalty than others. One clear factor, they report in the journal Personality and Individual Differences , is whether someone believes...

Eureka! Navigation Clue Found in a Worm&#39;s Brain
Eureka! Navigation Clue Found in a Worm's Brain
study says
Jun 17, 2015 7:10 PM CDT

Eureka! Navigation Clue Found in a Worm's Brain

Scientists discover first-ever magnetic sensor in an animal

(Newser) - A tiny find in a worm-sized brain could give scientists a far greater understanding of how animals use the Earth's magnetic field, phys.org reports. In a lab at the University of Austin in Texas, certain hungry worms were found to move down in gelatin-filled tubes, perhaps in their...

Sexed-Up 'Bachelor' Birds Could Save Their Species

Single male hihi birds can cut down inbreeding, ensure genetic diversity

(Newser) - Is the male hihi bird native to the Jersey Shore? Because, like The Situation and Pauly D, the single male birds in this endangered species (they're actually only found in New Zealand) are decidedly boorish, creeping for already taken ladies to mate with. But this actually might save the...

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