discoveries

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

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$25 Blood Test Finds Every Virus You've Ever Had

VirScan lets doctors scan for hundreds of viruses at once

(Newser) - Blood tests can reveal a lot about you, from your suicide risk to your need for antibiotics . Now, researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute say a simple blood test can identify every virus you've ever had. From just a single drop of blood, VirScan can detect the remains of...

Mystery of Vanishing Glacial Lakes Solved

Meltwater causes tension on lake bottoms, spawning hydrofractures

(Newser) - For years, scientists have known glacial lakes can rapidly empty themselves of billions of gallons of water—in at least one case, faster than the speed at which water flows over Niagara Falls. Now, they finally know how it's done. Researchers had guessed that the weight of the water...

Discovery of Hidden Vessel in Brain Called 'Stunning'

It may rewrite textbooks on immune system, has implications for Alzheimer's

(Newser) - It may not sound like much to those without neuroscience degrees: A researcher at the University of Virginia spotted a lymphatic vessel while studying the brain of a mouse. But the reason words like " stunning ," " dazzling ," and " landmark " are being used to describe the...

The Ultimate Password: Your Thoughts?

Researchers say brainwaves have potential as an ultra-secure method

(Newser) - If typing in 12345 represents the most unsafe extreme of the password spectrum, researchers at Binghamton University suggest this represents the safest: your own brainwaves. As they explain in a post at Eureka Alert , the scientists read dozens of acronyms to volunteers and measured their brains' reaction to them. The...

Want to Nag Your Spouse About Health? Use This Study

If his or her health is poor as you age, your quality of life may suffer

(Newser) - Learning a new language might help you fight the effects of aging, but new research out of the University of Arizona suggests at least two factors affecting your quality of life are out of your hands—and in those of your spouse. Over six years, 8,000 married couples...

Chimpanzees Want to Cook Their Food
 Chimpanzees Want 
 to Cook Their Food 
STUDY SAYS
Jun 3, 2015 4:44 AM CDT

Chimpanzees Want to Cook Their Food

But they lack fire, and the right 'social skills'

(Newser) - Chimps: the frustrated chefs of the animal kingdom? Humans are the only creatures to cook their food, but our closest relatives have the mental ability to cook and are more than happy to do so when given a chance, according to a new study. Scientists confirmed that chimps prefer cooked...

Stand Up, Desk Jockeys —for at Least 2 Hours a Day

Guidelines say to eventually bump that to 4 hours to combat sedentary sitting

(Newser) - Office lackeys may spend up to 75% of their workday sitting, which can lead to serious health consequences . That's why an international panel now recommends office workers stand at least two hours a day, eventually bumping that to four hours, per a press release . The new guidelines, published in...

Tallest Redwood in Muir Woods Not So Old After All

Ring analysis shows Tree 76 is a mere 777 years old—not 1,500

(Newser) - You had us all fooled, Tree 76. Up til now, scientists believed that the tallest redwood in California's Muir Woods was about 1,500 years old, the Los Angeles Times notes. But the 249-foot-tall giant—or, as the San Francisco Chronicle now refers to it, "a puerile sprig...

How 'Pygmy' People's Rampant Pot Use Protects Them

May lower rates of infection by parasitic intestinal worms: study

(Newser) - Marijuana was a painkiller in ancient Egypt and an anesthetic in ancient China and Taiwan, Medical Daily reports. Now, an anthropologist says the Aka foragers of the Central African Republic may be unconsciously using the plant to ward off parasitic intestinal worms. Ed Hagen of Washington State University Vancouver surveyed...

Florida Fish Have Babies by 'Virgin Birth'

Smalltooth sawfish stun scientists with offspring

(Newser) - Looks like female sawfish don't need the guys so much anymore. Scientists have discovered seven examples in Florida of virgin-birth offspring by smalltooth sawfish, an endangered species whose members grow up to 25 feet in length and have long snouts studded with teeth, LiveScience reports. Their offspring may provide...

Bomb Blasts May Be Aging Soldiers&#39; Brains
Bomb Blasts May Be
Aging Soldiers' Brains
NEW STUDY
Jun 1, 2015 4:32 PM CDT

Bomb Blasts May Be Aging Soldiers' Brains

Even if they were far from the blasts

(Newser) - American soldiers exposed to bomb blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering early brain degeneration and aging—even if they were far from detonation, USA Today reports. In all, 256 veterans and service members between the ages of 19 and 62 were analyzed in a study published today in Brain:...

How Contact Lenses Change Your Eyes

 How Contact Lenses 
 Change Your Eyes 
NEW STUDY
Jun 1, 2015 1:05 PM CDT

How Contact Lenses Change Your Eyes

May alter eye bacteria, boost risk of infection

(Newser) - Contact lenses improve your vision temporarily, but they may also make lasting changes to your eyes. Twenty volunteers, including nine daily contact wearers, allowed researchers to swab various parts of their eyes, plus the skin directly below. Scientists then performed genetic tests on the swabs and on the wearers' used...

1st Sunken Slave Ship Found After 220 Years

212 slaves died on the Sao Jose-Paquete de Africa, en route to Brazil

(Newser) - The first-ever wreckage of a ship that went down with slaves on board has been found just 100 yards off the coast of South Africa where it sank in 1794. The Portuguese ship, Sao Jose-Paquete de Africa, set out from Mozambique Island with more than 400 slaves shackled in its...

Evidence in Ancient Mystery: Skeleton, Severed Head

Discovered skulls could shed light on British warrior queen

(Newser) - First, they discovered 3,000 skeletons dating back to the Great Plague . Now archaeologists excavating parts of an ongoing commuter railway project in London have uncovered skulls lined neatly on a Roman road—and one lying between the legs of a headless skeleton, the Telegraph reports. Other skulls discovered in...

Women Sleep More, Wake Up Feeling Worse

The alarm-clock app Sleep Cycle delves into sleeping habits

(Newser) - For women who sleep long hours but wake up cursing the day, there's an app for that—or at least an app that corroborates your experience. The alarm-clock app Sleep Cycle gathered stats on one million users across 50 nations over nine months, and found that women aged 16...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a possible obesity fighter and how old-time cannibals prepared dinner

(Newser) - Evidence of the first known murder and an unlikely cancer killer make the list:
  • Prehistoric Crime Scene Offers Evidence for First Murder : Scientists digging around in the "Pit of Bones" in a Spanish cave found the skull of a young adult who lived around 430,000 years ago, and
...

&#39;Sweet Tooth&#39; May Be &#39;Achilles Heel&#39; of HIV

 'Sweet Tooth' May Be 
 'Achilles' Heel' of HIV 
study says
May 29, 2015 12:17 PM CDT

'Sweet Tooth' May Be 'Achilles' Heel' of HIV

Researchers block virus from feeding on sugar, starve it to death

(Newser) - Imagine you're hankering for a snack, but your refrigerator is chained up. Now imagine you're the HIV virus, and inside your fridge is the food you need to grow and spread. A new study from Northwestern Medicine and Vanderbilt University provides the chains: Researchers say they've found...

Study: Women Let Handsome Men Off Easier

Homely men who misbehave aren't given as much slack: study

(Newser) - Males wooing women can get away with acting a little creepy if they're good-looking, but the homely ones are out of luck, suggests a new study out of Eastern Kentucky University. To gauge their perceptions of men, researchers showed 170 female college students two male faces with similar features—...

Swiss Figure Out Why Their Cheese Has Holes

Lack of hay dust was causing hole shortage

(Newser) - Swiss scientists say they've solved a problem many people may not have noticed: the disappearing holes in Swiss cheese. Researchers at a government agricultural institute say that contrary to a century of scientific belief, the holes are caused by hay particles, not bacteria, and modern milking is just too...

Tattoo Risks Greater Than Thought
 Tattoo Risks 
 Greater Than 
 Thought 
study says
May 28, 2015 2:39 PM CDT

Tattoo Risks Greater Than Thought

Study: 1 in 10 have a skin reaction, and it can last for months or longer

(Newser) - A new survey of those who have gotten tattoos suggests that more people than realized suffer a nasty skin reaction as a result. NYU researchers determined that 10% of people suffer short-term complications such as a rash, infection, or swelling that last for days or weeks. But the scarier stat...

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