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Animals Move Alike &mdash;via &#39;Magic Formula&#39;
Animals Move Alike
—via 'Magic Formula'
STUDY SAYS
Feb 23, 2014 9:07 AM CST

Animals Move Alike —via 'Magic Formula'

Birds, fish, and other creatures use the same basic mechanics, says study

(Newser) - When it comes to movement, human engineering has much to learn from Mother Nature, says a new study in Nature Communications . Researchers found that animals of all kinds use the same essential mechanics to move whether on land, air, or water, reports the Houston Chronicle , which likens it to a...

Why Dogs Can Tell If You're Happy

Their brains are built to pay special attention to our vocal sounds, process emotions

(Newser) - A first-of-its-kind study of dogs suggests that their brains are wired to key in on vocal sounds from humans and process our emotional states, reports Wired . The mutts then respond accordingly. Hungarian researchers used brain scans to show that a certain area of the dogs' brains light up when they...

Sorry Florida, Long-Lost Fort May Be in Georgia

Researchers think historic Fort Caroline is one state over

(Newser) - No wonder historians haven't been able to find a historic but long-lost French fort in America: They were looking in the wrong state. Researchers from Florida State University say Fort Caroline—which one calls "the oldest fortified settlement in the present United States"—isn't near Jacksonville...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a new species in which the males suffer a strange fate

(Newser) - This week: Stonehenge gives up another of its secrets, and your cat may see things you just can't.
  • Source of Stonehenge's Rocks Pinpointed : For nine decades, it's been established that many of Stonehenge's smaller rocks hail from the Preseli Hills in Wales ... but we may have
...

10 Words Deciphered From Mysterious 600-Year-Old Text

Stephen Bax has figured out 14 characters from the Voynich manuscript

(Newser) - What has been called the most mysterious manuscript in the world has at last given up a tiny handful of its secrets. An applied linguistics professor thinks he's deciphered 14 characters from the famous Voynich manuscript, and with them 10 complete words, LiveScience , the BBC , and the Independent report....

Yellowstone Blasts Incredibly Old Helium

The gas has been building for hundreds of millions of years

(Newser) - Yellowstone National Park has long been known as a gassy place, and its reputation as such just got more firmly established. That helium emanates from the ground in the park is an established fact, Smithsonian Magazine explains, but when researchers dug into the makeup of that helium, what they found...

In Finland, Reindeer Glow in the Dark

Reflective spray being tested as way to cut down on car accidents

(Newser) - Rudolph's glowing nose just became rather unnecessary—at least in Finland, where herders are painting reindeer to essentially glow in the dark. It's not Santa's sleigh they're worried about, but oncoming cars. Roughly 4,000 reindeer die in traffic accidents in the country each year, the...

Elephants Console Each Other
 Elephants Console Each Other 
Feb 19, 2014 5:27 PM CST

Elephants Console Each Other

They comfort distressed pals, says study

(Newser) - Elephants not only recognize when a member of their group is stressed, they offer comfort in the form of reassuring touches and chirping noises, reports National Geographic . The "comforting" trait is rare among animals, with dogs, chimps, and we humans among the few to have it. Researchers in Thailand...

One Monkey Controls Another, Avatar-Style

Brain, spine implants link animals' movements

(Newser) - In the movie Avatar, a paralyzed soldier uses a computer to control a body remotely. In a new study, scientists have moved a little closer to making that story a reality, LiveScience reports. US researchers installed electrodes into a "master" monkey's brain and an "avatar" monkey's...

Newly Found Species' Males Killed by 'Frenzied' Mating

The black-tailed antechinus' males don't make it past the age of one

(Newser) - As far as newly discovered species go, this is an unusual one. Australian scientists have identified a new kind of antechinus, a mouse-like marsupial with some odd notoriety. As the Telegraph reports, the males die before their first birthday—due to the "extreme stress" of their "frenzied mating....

Cats May See Things That Are Invisible to Us

Dogs and reindeer, too

(Newser) - If you saw the world through the eyes of your pet, you'd very likely be seeing a lot more than you currently do. That according to new research that has found that cats, dogs, and select other animals may be able to see things that are invisible to the...

Source of Stonehenge's Rocks Pinpointed

And it raises questions about how the bluestones got to Stonehenge

(Newser) - For nine decades, it's been established that many of Stonehenge's smaller rocks hail from the Preseli Hills in Wales. Now, a newly published study says that we've been wrong about an outcrop that has been accepted as a specific source since 1923. And the new research, published...

Scientists Build a Better Potato

... or at least one that seems resistant to blight

(Newser) - It's about 175 years late for those who perished in the Irish Potato Famine, but British researchers think they've created a potato resistant to blight, reports the Irish Times . They borrowed a gene from a South American spud and added it to the common Desiree potato. After three...

Aztec Dog Graveyard Unearthed
 Aztec Dog Graveyard Unearthed 
Feb 17, 2014 4:00 AM CST

Aztec Dog Graveyard Unearthed

First-of-its-kind find puzzles Mexico archeologists

(Newser) - Archeologists have been amazed to discover what may have been an ancient pet cemetery under an apartment building in Mexico City. The Aztecs believed the spirits of dogs could guide human souls to the afterlife or protect buildings, but this is the first time a group of dogs has been...

Study: Shroud of Turin Created by Huge Earthquake
Study: Shroud of Turin Created by Huge Earthquake
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 16, 2014 10:34 AM CST

Study: Shroud of Turin Created by Huge Earthquake

Italian researchers believe that also explains the radiocarbon dating results

(Newser) - It's been a long-running debate: Is the Shroud of Turin a fake? A new entrant in the "no" category emerges from the pages of the journal Meccanica, where Italian researchers suggest that an 8.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked Jerusalem in 33AD both formed the image and distorted the...

Erasing Almost All Life on Earth Took Just 60K Years
Erasing Almost All Life on Earth Took Just 60K Years
in case you missed it
Feb 15, 2014 7:00 PM CST

Erasing Almost All Life on Earth Took Just 60K Years

Study: That's give or take 48K years, 'practically instantaneous'

(Newser) - Roughly 252 million years ago, an extreme animal die-off occurred: 70% of land animals and 96% of marine life were obliterated, in what's known as the Permian mass extinction. What scientists still don't exactly know is why (an asteroid? volcanic eruptions?), but they now know how long it...

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Crocodiles can do what?

(Newser) - A strange fact to keep in mind when being chased by a crocodile and an important find about the origins of the first Americans make the list:
  • Crocodiles Can Climb Trees : As far as discoveries go, this is a somewhat terrifying one, assuming one has a healthy respect for crocodiles
...

Crazy Ants Have Secret Weapon in Insect War
Crazy Ants Have Secret Weapon in Insect War
STUDY SAYS
Feb 14, 2014 1:42 PM CST

Crazy Ants Have Secret Weapon in Insect War

Can produce antidote to fire ant poison: study

(Newser) - When we first introduced you to crazy ants , we mentioned they might pose a threat to fire ants. As fire ants aren't the friendliest of insects, that probably didn't sound so terrible. Except that now, crazy ants are indeed driving away fire ants via a remarkable built-in antidote...

Scientists: We've Found Amazon River's True Source

They believe it's Peru's Mantaro River

(Newser) - It's an argument that's persisted for nearly four centuries: Where does the Amazon River begin? The question is complicated by the number of tributaries that feed into it, with at least five Peruvian rivers grabbing the title at some point since the mid-1600s. Now, a group of researchers...

Ancient Viking Carving Yields ... a Love Note

PhD student deciphers mysterious codes from 12th and 13th centuries

(Newser) - A PhD student thinks he's deciphered a 900-year-old carving that has long puzzled experts—and it's basically a valentine. The carving appears to be based on a code that subs in numbers for runes and, when deciphered, reads "kiss me," Jonas Nordby from the University of...

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