discoveries

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'Just Being Awake at Night' May Be Suicide Risk Factor

Study finds suicide rate peaks at 2am hour

(Newser) - People are more likely to commit suicide after midnight, and the suicide rate peaks between 2am and 3am, according to a new study. Using data from the American Time Use Survey, which calculates the proportion of Americans who are awake at any given hour, as well as the National Violent...

Scientists Find Bat Feared Extinct

Female from species not seen in more than a century is found (and killed)

(Newser) - Researchers studying bats in Papua New Guinea came across a long-lost friend in their nets: a female identified as a New Guinea big-eared bat, reports Scientific American . It's noteworthy because no specimen has been seen in 124 years, and the species was feared to be extinct. Now that a...

Most Centenarians Avoid Cancer, Heart Disease
Here's What Eventually
Kills Centenarians
study says
Jun 4, 2014 4:10 PM CDT

Here's What Eventually Kills Centenarians

New study looks at causes of death for the 100-and-over crowd

(Newser) - Centenarians really are different than most of us. A study in the UK has revealed that the oldest of the old typically die not of the chronic illnesses that often fell the “younger” elderly, but of infections or frailty, LiveScience reports. Out of almost 36,000 centenarians who died...

Reason Mammoths Went Extinct? Blame Humans

Massive die-off correlates with us, not so much climate change

(Newser) - What caused the extinctions of the wooly mammoth, giant sloth, mastodon, and other beasts? A new study makes a strong case that the answer is us. Scientists have long argued over the cause of the "Quaternary extinction"—which took out vast numbers of large mammals about 12,000...

Scientists Discover Why Koalas Hug Trees

It helps them stay cool amid Australia's heat

(Newser) - Using thermal cameras, researchers in Australia uncovered the science behind a habit that seems, well, cute: Koala bears hug trees to cool themselves. It turns out that tree trunks can be up to 12 degrees cooler than the air, and with Australia's recent hot spells rising well above 100...

World&#39;s Oldest Pair of Pants Found
World's Oldest Pair
of Pants Found
Jun 3, 2014 2:19 PM CDT

World's Oldest Pair of Pants Found

They were probably worn by ancient horse riders in China

(Newser) - Archaeologists working at an ancient graveyard in western China have unearthed what they say is the oldest pair of pants ever found, reports Science News . In fact, they found two pairs, and the clothing items are not only functional but relatively stylish. The wool pants were found with the remains...

How Hungry Maggots Spurred Rapid Evolution

Male crickets new to Kauai, Oahu have altered their wings in just 20 generations

(Newser) - Two sets of male crickets on neighboring Hawaiian islands have been able to avoid attracting deadly parasitic flies by simply shutting up. The crickets likely arrived from Oceania in the late 1990s, and the flies came from North America around the same time. When the crickets tried to lure nearby...

'Godzilla of Earths' Could Harbor Life

Kepler-10c is massive, old, and rocky—a shocking combination

(Newser) - Kepler-10c is a big, rocky planet that may harbor life—but what's most interesting is how big and rocky it is, Space.com reports. An exoplanet about 560 light-years away in the constellation Draco, Kepler-10c was spotted in 2011 and assumed to be gaseous because of its size. But...

To Slow Brain Aging, Learn a New Language

Even if you're already an adult, researchers suggest

(Newser) - We've already heard that being bilingual can help you fight dementia . Now, some follow-up good news: Even if you're an adult, it may not be too late to reap the cognitive benefits of learning a new language, the BBC reports. Researchers performed intelligence tests on 262 bilingual people...

Sick Veterans 'Inhaled Metal': Researchers

Experts describe 'Iraq-Afghanistan war lung injury'

(Newser) - Pulmonary and respiratory diseases have been on the rise in US troops, and researchers are pointing to a possible culprit: metal in their lungs. Experts at Stony Brook University performed lung tests on six ill soldiers "and found titanium in every single one of them," says researcher Anthony...

Archaeologists Find Graves of Confederate Soldiers
Archaeologists Find Graves
of Confederate Soldiers
in case you missed it
May 31, 2014 11:27 AM CDT

Archaeologists Find Graves of Confederate Soldiers

Buried in a Virginia cemetery section created for Union soldiers

(Newser) - Archaeologists have in the last two months uncovered the unmarked graves of as many as 40 Confederate soldiers in Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Va. That adds to the tally of about 50 unmarked Confederate graves found in the same part of the cemetery last year—a section known as...

Woolly Mammoths&#39; Undoing: Dogs?
Woolly Mammoths'
Undoing: Dogs?
May 31, 2014 8:54 AM CDT

Woolly Mammoths' Undoing: Dogs?

They may have helped humans round up the huge creatures

(Newser) - Scientists are floating an intriguing new theory about the demise of woolly mammoths: Dogs may have driven them to their graves. Specifically, dogs that learned to hunt with humans, reports Science . The idea stems from research of sites around the world known as mammoth cemeteries because of the huge number...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including something for cynics to beware

(Newser) - A revelation that porn may be a brain-changer, and insight into how Bruce Lee put his brain to use for more productive purposes:
  • Watching Porn Linked to Brain Differences : Men who watch porn tend to be a little different in the head—literally. A study of men between the ages
...

New Claim: Einstein's Brain Not So Special

Psychologist says no secret in Einstein's brain

(Newser) - Maybe he just knew how to use it right. A new paper by Pace University psychologist Terence Hines picks apart previous studies that claim to have identified that special something in the makeup of Einstein's brain. Hines reviewed—and chipped away at—several prominent studies that looked at Einstein'...

New Drinking Water Source: Cow Poop?

Technology turns manure into water that's fit for livestock

(Newser) - A new technology could make a world of difference to struggling farmers low on water but rich in cow poop, scientists say. A Michigan State University team has created a system that extracts drinkable water—at least fit for livestock to drink—from manure, creating roughly 50 gallons of water...

Cynical? You May Be Prone to Dementia

Study from Finland sees a link

(Newser) - Hard-core cynics won't believe a word of it, but Finnish researchers think they're more likely to suffer from dementia late in life. Three times more likely, in fact, reports the Sydney Morning Herald . The researchers surveyed senior citizens to gauge their level of cynicism, asking them, for example,...

Watching Porn Linked to Brain Differences

Study: But it's not clear whether it's a cause or effect

(Newser) - Men who watch porn tend to be a little different in the head—literally. A German study of 64 men between the ages of 21 and 45 that made use of MRIs found that the more porn they reported watching, the smaller the volume of the brain area associated with...

Secret to Bruce Lee Punch? His Brain

His famous one-inch jab is all about synchronization

(Newser) - Bruce Lee could famously pack a wallop from a short distance—as in one inch. But how on earth did he punch with such power in so short a span? Popular Mechanics breaks things down and discovers that while the physical components of the punch are indeed impressive, the real...

Dinosaurs Survived by Shrinking
 Dinosaurs 
 Survived by 
 Shrinking 
study says
May 27, 2014 2:10 PM CDT

Dinosaurs Survived by Shrinking

10K dinosaur species live on 'in form of birds,' says study author

(Newser) - How many dinosaur species roam the Earth today? "About 10,000 ... in the form of birds," says Oxford paleontologist Robert Benson, one of the authors of a study published in Plos Biology that clarifies dinosaurs' evolutionary path. As Astrobiology explains (and as you may be thinking), the belief...

Peat Bog the Size of England Discovered

Congolese find is some 23 feet deep

(Newser) - The Republic of the Congo is home to a peat bog the size of England—but experts have only just discovered it. "There are parts of the planet that are still uncharted territory," says a scientist involved in the exploration of the site. "Few people venture into...

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