discoveries

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

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Blarney Stone Mystery Solved
 Blarney Stone Mystery Solved 
Mar 17, 2014 2:14 AM CDT

Blarney Stone Mystery Solved

It's not a chunk of Stonehenge, tests reveal

(Newser) - Ireland's famous Blarney Stone isn't a slice of Stonehenge, part of Robert the Bruce's "Stone of Destiny," or anything else more exotic than local limestone, researchers say. The stone reputed to give those who kiss it the "gift of the gab" has been revealed...

Scholar Finds 9 More Dead Sea Scrolls
 Scholar Finds 9 More 
 Dead Sea Scrolls 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 16, 2014 7:01 PM CDT

Scholar Finds 9 More Dead Sea Scrolls

Experts will unravel, analyze the tiny parchments

(Newser) - They may be small, but they're still Dead Sea Scrolls—and no one knows what they contain. An Israeli scholar has discovered nine tiny parchments amid the thousands of world-famous scrolls and scroll fragments that date back to the second century BCE, the Times of Israel reports. Dr. Yonatan...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including yet another find about the intelligence of elephants

(Newser) - A famous conqueror's assist from Mother Nature and an intriguing "hell diamond" from deep in the Earth are on the list :
  • Genghis Khan Owes His Empire to … Rain : Turns out, Genghis Khan had a secret weapon that helped him create his empire in the 13th century. Tree-ring
...

There&#39;s Some Science Behind the 5-Second Rule
There's Some Science
Behind the 5-Second Rule
new study
Mar 14, 2014 11:59 AM CDT

There's Some Science Behind the 5-Second Rule

You're safest if carpet was involved, says study

(Newser) - The five-second rule: old wives' tale or science? According to a professor of microbiology at Birmingham, England's Aston University , the answer is ... it depends on whether you're in your bedroom or kitchen. Anthony Hilton and his biology students looked at two types of bacteria (E. coli and Staphylococcus...

'Hell Diamond' Signals Vast, Deep Water Deposit

Earth's mantle may have as much water as the oceans

(Newser) - A huge "wet zone" hundreds of miles beneath the surface of the Earth could hold as much water as all the oceans put together, according to researchers analyzing a mineral from deep in the mantle. The water is "not a Jules Verne-style ocean you can sail a boat...

Genghis Khan Owes His Empire to ... Rain

Study: Unusual 15-year stretch created grasslands for his army

(Newser) - Scientists who study tree rings for a living have discovered that central Mongolia had an usually warm and wet spell from 1211 to 1225. This would probably remain of note only in tree-ring-studying circles if not for one other thing: Those dates happen to coincide with the rise of none...

How Volcanoes Can Save Life, Too

Study suggests they protected Antarctic bugs and plants during ice ages

(Newser) - Volcanoes are usually in the news for their destructive power , but a new study suggests they've got some protective power to boast of as well. Scientists think that bugs and plants have survived Antarctica's ice ages only because they found warmth near live volcanoes, reports AFP . They did...

Elephants Can Recognize Different Human Languages

They protect themselves from groups seen as threat

(Newser) - Speak the wrong language in front of an African elephant, and she may not like you much. In a study at a Kenyan national park, researchers played recordings of different languages and voices for 47 elephant family groups, comprising hundreds of animals. The recordings included the voices of Maasai men,...

Ancestor of All Animals: the Sponge?

They made deep sea oxygen-rich, researchers say

(Newser) - Sea sponges don't get much respect—or even much use as sponges any more—but humans and every other complex animal on the planet may owe our existence to them, according to new research. Scientists believe primitive versions of the filter-feeders, which can survive in water with very low...

Charred Remains May Rewrite Ancient History

Bronze Age find includes fur, possibly from extinct bear

(Newser) - A rare 4,000-year-old find may rewrite Bronze Age history and prove that ancient peoples were hipper than we thought, the Guardian reports. Archaeologists have dug up a box on a British moor that includes a small person's charred remains and many burial items—including 34 tin studs and...

Late-Stage Chemo Linked to &#39;Less Peaceful&#39; Death
Late-Stage Chemo Linked
to 'Less Peaceful' Death
study says
Mar 10, 2014 11:57 AM CDT

Late-Stage Chemo Linked to 'Less Peaceful' Death

Subjects who continued chemotherapy in last months less likely to die at home

(Newser) - Sad news for cancer patients: A new study finds that those who receive chemotherapy during the end stages of the disease are at a higher risk of enduring a less peaceful death. Of 386 terminally ill patients in a new study, 65% of those who received chemotherapy during the final...

Researchers on Horseback Find Bits of 1765 Shipwreck

Most of the 193 aboard survived the wreck, spent 2 months ashore

(Newser) - In a tale of archaeology with a bit of an Indiana Jones ring to it, researchers have identified new pieces of a 1765 shipwreck off Argentina—while traveling 125 miles of Tierra del Fuego on horseback. IANS reports that the team was on the hunt for pre-Columbian sites on the...

Blood Test Can Spot Alzheimer&#39;s Years Early
 Blood Test Can Spot 
 Alzheimer's Years Early 
STUDY SAYS
Mar 10, 2014 2:47 AM CDT

Blood Test Can Spot Alzheimer's Years Early

'Game changer' raises ethical dilemmas

(Newser) - A simple blood test can spot Alzheimer's disease years before symptoms develop, researchers say—though it's a breakthrough some may choose to ignore. A Georgetown University team says its "highly sensitive and specific test" can identify people in their 70s who are likely to develop Alzheimer's...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

A very old virus wakes up from its slumber

(Newser) - A surprise find from World War I and an intriguing one about Stonehenge make the list:
  • Photo Leads to Lost Piece of WWI History : Archaeologists have uncovered a piece of WWI history some 80 miles south of London, all thanks to a 1951 photograph. A British conservation officer poring over
...

Why Some People Just Don't Get Music

Study finds that they receive zero enjoyment from listening

(Newser) - Music lovers, or even music likers, will find it difficult to relate: A new study finds that some people get zero pleasure from music. The Barcelona researchers even came up with a name for the condition: "specific musical anhedonia." It's "specific" because these people derive enjoyment...

Photo Leads to Lost Piece of WWI History

Mock battlefield in Britain found thanks to a photograph

(Newser) - Archaeologists have uncovered a piece of WWI history some 80 miles south of London, all thanks to a 1951 photograph. A British conservation officer poring over an aerial photo spotted something suspicious near the edge of one: crenellated lines (picture the notched top of a castle). Rob Harper's investigation...

New Theory in Minnesota's 'Alarming' Moose Die-Off

Wildlife biologist: Brain worm may be behind drop in numbers

(Newser) - It's a story that's been gathering steam: Something is killing America's moose . And as we wrap up a particularly frozen winter in Minnesota, where moose are dying at "an alarming rate," the New York Times looks at the seeming incongruity of the situation. Moose are...

Stonehenge Holds a &#39;Sonic Secret&#39;
 Stonehenge Holds 
 a 'Sonic Secret' 
study says
Mar 6, 2014 8:24 AM CST

Stonehenge Holds a 'Sonic Secret'

Some of its bluestones have acoustic properties

(Newser) - There are no shortage of theories about Stonehenge , but few are so melodious as this: A recent study carried out by the Royal College of Art in London suggests that the monument holds a "sonic secret." The researchers' theory surrounds Stonehenge's bluestones, some of which hail from...

Another Baby Born With HIV 'Cured'

Disease in remission thanks to quick treatment

(Newser) - Another baby born with HIV appears to be free of the disease thanks to an aggressive early treatment regimen that began just four hours after she was born, reports the Guardian . The baby was born in LA and is still getting AIDS medicines because doctors aren't entirely confident yet,...

Bad Temper? You May Be at Higher Risk of Heart Attack

After angry outbursts, risk of heart attack, stroke increase: study

(Newser) - Angry? You may want to calm down, or you could put yourself at higher risk of a heart attack or stroke, a new study finds. Researchers found that there's a two-hour "danger zone" following an outburst of rage during which people are nearly five times more likely to...

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