discoveries

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

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Ancient Image of Jesus Found in Egypt Tomb

Painting of curly-haired figure thought to date to 6th or 7th century

(Newser) - Archaeologists exploring the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchu believe they have uncovered one of the earliest images of Jesus ever found. The figure painted on the wall of a hidden room deep in an ancient tomb shows "a young man with curly hair, dressed in a short tunic and...

Nail Salon Lamps Linked to Skin Cancer Risk

But it takes many uses to damage skin, study finds

(Newser) - Frequent users of the lamp dryers in nail salons should consider using sunscreen or wearing gloves to minimize the risk of skin cancer, according to a new study. Researchers say the machines, which use ultraviolet light to dry nail polishes, emit enough radiation to cause the kind of skin damage...

Astronomers Find Planet With 8-Hour Day

Beta Pictoris b is a milestone discovery for scientists

(Newser) - If the 9-to-5 grind leaves you feeling like your day is shot, be thankful you're not living on the planet Beta Pictoris b. Scientists have calculated that its entire day is only eight hours long, reports the Los Angeles Times . The reason is that the gas giant's equator...

'Shipwreck' Turns Out to Be Rare Tar Volcanoes

Underwater find is first in northern Gulf of Mexico

(Newser) - Scientists searching for shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico found something a lot stranger last week: a pair of rare "tar volcanoes" spouting asphalt. The formations, the first of their kind to be found in the northern Gulf, left behind solidified eruptions that scientists nicknamed tar lilies because the...

Scientists Find Old Hunting Zone Under Lake Huron

Prehistoric hunters used it to round up caribou

(Newser) - Researchers have made a rare find that demonstrates how clever prehistoric hunters in North America could be—and it's at the bottom of Lake Huron of all places. Researchers at the University of Michigan found evidence of a network of hunting blinds they say was used to kill caribou...

World's Fastest Animal Is Very, Very Small

When speed is measured in body lengths per second, that is

(Newser) - Watch your back, Usain Bolt: A California physics major has found that a tiny mite is (sort of) the fastest land animal on Earth, keeping a pace equivalent to that of a human running 1,300 miles per hour, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Why "sort of"? As...

Dark Matter May Hurl Comets at Planet Earth

 How Dark Matter 
 Could End Life 
 on Earth 
study says
Apr 28, 2014 6:15 PM CDT

How Dark Matter Could End Life on Earth

By hurling comets at our planet: Harvard study

(Newser) - Dark matter seems to hold galaxies snugly together across the universe—but it could also hurl comets at Earth and threaten our entire species, according to a new study . This is based on a theory that there's a huge disk of dark matter lying on the central plane of...

Gold Miners Discover 'Unique' Mineral

Putnisite has a unique composition and structure, study says

(Newser) - Miners prospecting for nickel and gold in Western Australia have stumbled on a rare find: a mineral that's unique among the world's 4,000 discovered mineral species, LiveScience reports. Called putnisite, it ranges from dark to light purple, has a pink streak, and is found on volcanic rock,...

Tsetse Fly&#39;s Strange New Vulnerability&mdash;Its Breast Milk
Deadly Fly's Strange Vulnerability: Its Breast Milk
in case you missed it
Apr 27, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

Deadly Fly's Strange Vulnerability: Its Breast Milk

Scientists decode insect's genome, may try to stifle mom's production

(Newser) - Scientists have unraveled the genome of the tsetse fly after a 10-year effort, and the development could save Africa from the devastating effects of the fatal infection it carries known as sleeping sickness, reports LiveScience . While the disease—one that drives its victims crazy in rabies-like fashion and is fatal...

Scientists Pry Open Coffin of King Murdered in 1160
Scientists Pry Open Coffin
of King Murdered in 1160
in case you missed it
Apr 27, 2014 9:51 AM CDT

Scientists Pry Open Coffin of King Murdered in 1160

Swedish scientists test DNA of King Erik the Holy

(Newser) - A cathedral chaplain calls it "a very special occasion," though it sounds rather grisly: Swedish researchers yesterday opened an 850-year-old coffin containing the remains of the country's King Erik IX, who was murdered in 1160 and later made a saint, the AP reports. Scientists plan to study...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including the decoding of the tsetse fly's genome

(Newser) - A perk of higher education you probably never knew existed and some talkative whales are on the list:
  • Education Helps You Recover From Brain Injury : College degrees may have an unexpected benefit: helping people recover from serious traumatic brain injury. A study of 769 adults found that a year after
...

Sorry, Blood in Gourd Isn&#39;t from Louis XVI
 Sorry, Blood in Gourd 
 Isn't from Louis XVI 
study says
Apr 25, 2014 10:06 AM CDT

Sorry, Blood in Gourd Isn't from Louis XVI

Researchers map out genome

(Newser) - A famous gourd was believed to contain the blood of Louis XVI after he was beheaded: It said as much in an inscription, and some research has appeared to confirm it. Now, however, experts have sequenced the blood's genome, and they're saying the opposite, the BBC reports. Their...

Education Helps You Recover From Brain Injury

People with college degrees recover at higher rate in study

(Newser) - College degrees may have an unexpected benefit: helping people recover from serious traumatic brain injury, NPR reports. A study of 769 adults found that a year after injury, 10% without a high school education had fully recovered, compared to 39% with a college degree. Those with advanced degrees fared even...

Iron Curtain Still Exists&mdash; for Deer
 Iron Curtain 
 Still Exists— 
 for Deer 
study says
Apr 24, 2014 10:36 AM CDT

Iron Curtain Still Exists— for Deer

Czech, German animals stay on their own sides of the border

(Newser) - Czech and German deer are way behind when it comes to international politics. The creatures won't cross the Czech border with what used to be West Germany, despite the fall of the Iron Curtain, a study of 300 red deer finds. Researchers used GPS collars to track the deer...

After 50 Years, Mysterious Ocean Quack Identified

'Bio-duck' is actually minke whale

(Newser) - A mysterious quacking noise in the ocean that has baffled scientists for decades has finally been identified, researchers say. Acoustic recorders placed on Antarctic minke whales have produced what NOAA experts say is "conclusive evidence" that the sound is their chatter, the BBC reports. The sound was dubbed the...

'Paradox' of MIA Atmospheric Gas Solved

Xenon likely packed in the Earth's core: researchers

(Newser) - Levels of the gas xenon in the Earth's atmosphere are way lower—to the tune of 90%—than scientists believe they should be, prompting a mystery one calls "the missing xenon paradox." While some believe the gas escaped into space, many have argued it's in the...

The Key to Killing Lyme Disease: Mice?

Biologist develops vaccine-packed, edible pellets

(Newser) - A Tennessee scientist has developed a novel way to fight Lyme disease—and it starts with your local mice. Mice can carry the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme, so molecular biologist Maria Gomes-Solecki decided to target the furry creatures rather than taking direct aim at the ticks that suck...

Meet Peggy, New Saturn Moon
 Meet Peggy, New Saturn Moon 
in case you missed it
Apr 19, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

Meet Peggy, New Saturn Moon

Scientists think they've spotted a tiny one being formed

(Newser) - Astronomers think they're seeing a first—the birth of a Saturn moon. NASA's Cassini spacecraft spotted what the LA Times describes as a "fuzzy blob" near one of the planet's rings, though astronomers may not know for sure whether the maybe-moon they've nicknamed "Peggy"...

Discovered: Sperm's Docking Station

Protein allows sperm to link with egg

(Newser) - Scientists are announcing a breakthrough in the study of fertility. They've learned more about how a sperm cell links to an egg cell, offering hope for future treatments—for both fertility and contraception, Nature reports. Scientists already knew of a protein on the surface of a sperm cell that...

Artists&#39; Brains Are Different
 Artists' Brains 
 Are Different 
study says
Apr 19, 2014 6:40 AM CDT

Artists' Brains Are Different

Researchers find structural differences in art students

(Newser) - The mind of an artist, it seems, is no figure of speech: The brains of skilled visual artists are actually physically different from others, a study based on brain scans suggests. "The people who are better at drawing really seem to have more developed structures in regions of the...

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