discoveries

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

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5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a Mars probe missing since 2003 and a 'sinister dolphin' found in Scotland

(Newser) - A Scottish sea monster and a poker-playing bot that most people will never beat make the list:
  • Mars Probe Lost for a Decade Shows Up : The Beagle 2 began its fall to Mars on Dec. 19, 2003, with a scheduled Christmas Day landing—but it was never heard from again.
...

Michigan Neighbors Unearth Mastodon Bones in Backyard

They dig up more than 40, will donate to museum

(Newser) - Eric Witzke's home is in Bellevue Township, Michigan, but he is clearly not the first one to roam his yard. While he and neighbor Daniel LaPoint were excavating a backyard pond, they happened upon more than 40 mastodon bones, reports ABC News . An expert from the University of Michigan...

Lost Mars Probe Found Intact After 11 Years

Scientists: Beagle 2 mission was 'a great success' after all

(Newser) - The British-built Beagle 2 began its fall to Mars on Dec. 19, 2003. It was expected to land on the Red Planet on Christmas Day and begin its search for alien life (its name is a nod to Charles Darwin's HMS Beagle). But it was never heard from again....

Mysterious 132-Year-Old Rifle Found in National Park

Who left the Winchester Model 1873 in Great Basin National Park?

(Newser) - It was "the gun that won the West"—and it may have been leaning against a tree for more than a century. While surveying Nevada's Great Basin National Park in November, an archaeological crew spotted a Winchester Model 1873 in the woods. It was a lucky sighting:...

Working Too Hard May Make You Hit the Bottle Harder
Working Too Hard May Make You Hit the Bottle Harder
STUDY SAYS
Jan 14, 2015 11:51 AM CST

Working Too Hard May Make You Hit the Bottle Harder

People who work more than 48 hours a week consume 'risky' alcohol amounts: study

(Newser) - Working more than a standard 40-hour workweek (if that "standard" still even exists) won't only shave away at your R&R time: It may also cause you to drink more, the Guardian reports. Researchers found that individuals who put in 49 to 54 hours a week were 13%...

Key to Babies&#39; New Memories: Naps
 Key to Babies' 
 New Memories: Naps 
NEW STUDY
Jan 14, 2015 9:01 AM CST

Key to Babies' New Memories: Naps

Researchers find babies who napped soon after an activity remembered it better

(Newser) - It's long been thought that napping is an important part of a baby's growth—both physically and mentally. Now new research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that naps help babies form new memories, and that when a nap directly follows a new activity...

Deepest Life on Earth Possibly Spotted

Bacteria may be able to survive 12 miles below Earth's surface

(Newser) - Life has a way of persisting in the unlikeliest of places—not just in the ocean's deepest spot, the Mariana Trench , but possibly even miles below the Earth's surface. Following up on a Yale grad student's initial fieldwork dating back to 1997, researchers from the university are...

BPA Alternative Might Be Even Worse


 BPA Alternative 
 Might Be Even Worse 
study says
Jan 13, 2015 11:30 AM CST

BPA Alternative Might Be Even Worse

Study suggests it affects brain development

(Newser) - A new study is lending more support to the idea that BPA-free products aren't necessarily safe products. Bisphenol S, or BPS, an alternative to BPA, appears to cause problems in the brain growth of animal embryos, researchers say. After studying zebra fish, whose brain development is seen as similar...

Malaria Nets Can't Stop New 'Super Mosquito'

Insects created by interbreeding 2 Mali species survive exposure

(Newser) - For years, campaigns such as Nothing But Nets have been trying to control the scourge of malaria —a blood disease spread by mosquito bites—by sending insecticide-laced nets to hard-hit regions (mostly in Africa). But a University of California-Davis study has some bad news: Researchers have discovered a hybrid...

Fossils Reveal Scottish Sea Monster

Scotland's first known ichthyosaur discovered

(Newser) - It was the size of a motorboat and looked like a "sinister dolphin," reports Discovery News in describing Scotland's first known—and newly discovered—ichthyosaur. In 1959, Brian Shawcross came upon prehistoric bones on the Isle of Skye; the amateur fossil hunter donated them to Glasgow's...

New Bot Plays Perfect Poker: Researchers

Its strategy involves the ability to 'regret' past moves

(Newser) - The world's greatest poker players have a formidable new foe. Scientists have developed a computer program they say plays an effectively perfect game of Fixed-limit Heads-up Texas Hold 'em, the BBC reports. The Cepheus system "can't be beaten with statistical significance within a lifetime of human...

What Makes Black Widows So Deadly


 What Makes 
 Black Widows 
 So Deadly 
study says
Jan 10, 2015 4:30 PM CST

What Makes Black Widows So Deadly

They evolved quickly with same venom compounds as house spiders

(Newser) - Black widow spiders are known for their lethal venom, but just how did they get so deadly? Apparently by evolving quickly over the years during their pursuit of "ever-bigger prey," Discovery reports. According to a new study, black widows and house spiders have comparable toxic compounds in their...

Long Lashes Are Bad for Your Eyes
Why Long Lashes
Are Bad for Your Eyes
study says
Jan 10, 2015 3:00 PM CST

Why Long Lashes Are Bad for Your Eyes

They funnel in air and dust, study says

(Newser) - Long lashes may be alluring, but watch out: A new study says they funnel air into the eye rather than protect it, Today reports. Researchers started off by measuring animals' eyelashes, which were always one-third the width of the eye. Such natural lashes apparently protect against dirt and drying by...

This Exists: Plant That Grows &#39;Ketchup&#39; and &#39;Fries&#39;
 This Exists: 
 Plant That Grows 
 'Ketchup' and 'Fries' 
in case you missed it
Jan 10, 2015 10:30 AM CST

This Exists: Plant That Grows 'Ketchup' and 'Fries'

'TomTato' now available in US

(Newser) - Tomatoes and potatoes go together like, well, ketchup and fries—so why not grow them together? A hybrid plant known as the "TomTato" or, yes, "Ketchup 'n' Fries," allows you to do just that, and it's now available in the US after first being released...

Guys Who Post Too Many Selfies Might Be Bad News: Study

It points to narcissistic traits—not to mention psychopathic ones

(Newser) - The results of a selfie study may not come as a surprise to you: Guys who post loads of them, researchers at Ohio State University find, also show signs of narcissism and even score higher on tests for psychopathy. The findings were based on an online survey of 800 men...

Possible Jesus Trial Site Opens to Public
Museum: We've Found Possible Site of Jesus' Trial
in case you missed it
Jan 10, 2015 7:00 AM CST

Museum: We've Found Possible Site of Jesus' Trial

The Tower of David in Jerusalem offers tours, too

(Newser) - Curious to see the possible site of Jesus' trial? The Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem has begun offering tours to the suspected remains of Herod's palace, where some say Jesus was tried and sentenced to death, the Washington Post reports. "There is, of course, no inscription stating...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a never-before-seen frog birth

(Newser) - A potential breakthrough in antibiotics and an ancient metal make the list:
  • Shipwreck Yields 'Atlantis' Metal : Orichalcum was considered one of the most precious metals in ancient times—Plato claimed it lined the temple of Poseidon on Atlantis—and now, for apparently the first time, modern-day researchers have recovered
...

Ancient Shipwreck Yields 'Atlantis' Metal

Orichalcum mystery solved, researchers say

(Newser) - It was considered one of the most precious metals in ancient times—and Plato claimed it lined the temple of Poseidon on the legendary island of Atlantis—but this appears to be the first time anybody in modern times has actually found some orichalcum. Researchers in Sicily say a shipwreck...

What 10K People Looking for Genghis Khan's Tomb Found

In 6 months, they spent 3.4 years poring over maps

(Newser) - If we ultimately uncover Genghis Khan's tomb, we may have outer space and about 10,000 volunteers to thank. As Smithsonian recounts, legend has it that the location of the Mongolian warrior's tomb was safeguarded by soldiers who murdered the tomb builders and were then killed themselves. University...

Powerful New Antibiotic Could Crush Superbugs

Soil find may be biggest breakthrough in 25 years

(Newser) - Are superbugs about to meet their match? There hasn't been a major new antibiotic discovered in 25 years, but researchers say a drug called teixobactin that has been extracted from dirt in Maine could be the biggest breakthrough in a generation, Fast Company reports. The experimental drug has so...

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