discoveries

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

Stories 441 - 460 | << Prev   Next >>

What Sleeping With a Weighted Blanket Does to Your Brain
What Sleeping With
a Weighted Blanket
Does to Your Brain
in case you missed it
Dec 11, 2022 12:54 PM CST

What Sleeping With a Weighted Blanket Does to Your Brain

Night use boosts production of melatonin, small study finds

(Newser) - Weighted vests and blankets have been used for decades to induce calm. But how do they work? Researchers may now have part of the answer. Christian Benedict, an associate professor of pharmacology at Sweden's Uppsala University, had heard of "the magic effects of the weighted blanket"—including...

Historian: Murderous Pirate Hid Out in US Colonies

Jim Bailey says Arabic coins, newly surfaced documents place Henry Every there

(Newser) - One tarnished silver coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, one of the world's most ruthless pirates wandered the American colonies with impunity. Newly surfaced documents also strengthen the case that English buccaneer Henry Every—the target of the first worldwide...

Study 'Opens Door Into a Past That Has Basically Been Lost'

Oldest DNA tells us what life once occupied Greenland

(Newser) - Scientists discovered the oldest known DNA and used it to reveal what life was like 2 million years ago in the northern tip of Greenland. Today, it’s a barren Arctic desert, but back then it was a lush landscape of trees and vegetation with an array of animals, even...

Dig Unearths Find That 'Has Nudged the Course of History'

Medieval grave held gold, jewels, and perhaps one of the first female early Christian leaders in Britain

(Newser) - On one of the last days of an otherwise unexciting 10-week dig in Britain's Northamptonshire in April, Levente-Bence Balazs spotted teeth. Then the dig leader saw gold. What Balazs, of the Museum of London Archaeology, suspected to be a rubbish pit was, in fact, a grave dating back 1,...

Blame Your Nose for That Winter Cold
Blame Your
Nose for That
Winter Cold
new study
Dec 6, 2022 10:45 AM CST

Blame Your Nose for That Winter Cold

Researchers discover colder temps reduce our nose's germ-fighting abilities

(Newser) - Conventional wisdom says that you're more likely to get a cold or flu in the winter. Now science backs that up. CNN reports on a "breakthrough" study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that sheds light on the connection between colder temperatures and increased viral...

Last Tasmanian Tiger's Missing Remains Are Found

The thylacine had been improperly catalogued, left in a cupboard

(Newser) - The remains of the last known Tasmanian tiger to walk the earth have been found after more than 80 years. Turns out, they were in a museum cupboard the whole time, reports the BBC . The female specimen of the extinct animal, formally known as a thylacine, will now be put...

Wolf Researchers: &#39;We Just Open-Mouthed Stared at Each Other&#39;


Wolf Researchers:
'We Just
Open-Mouthed
Stared at Each Other'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 3, 2022 12:10 PM CST

Wolf Researchers: 'We Just Open-Mouthed Stared at Each Other'

Wolves infected with a brain parasite are more likely to lead their pack, study suggests

(Newser) - What compels some animals—maybe even humans—to become leaders of their pack? A new study suggests the answer could be surprisingly simple: a brain parasite. Researchers studying Yellowstone wolves discovered that those infected with a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii are more likely to become pack leaders or to roam...

If You Think Mariah Can Sing, You Haven&#39;t Heard These Bats
Bats Share Something
Big With Death Metal Singers
NEW STUDY
Dec 2, 2022 12:10 PM CST

Bats Share Something Big With Death Metal Singers

Study cites creatures' 'tremendous' 7-octave vocal range that even surpasses Mariah Carey's, Prince's

(Newser) - If you remain impressed (and you should) by the multioctave vocal range shown by Mariah Carey, Axl Rose, and the late Prince, there's a group of crooners that may awe you even more. A new study out of the University of Southern Denmark points to the "tremendous" vocal...

A New &#39;Swimming&#39; Dinosaur Emerges
You've Never Known a
Dinosaur Like This Before
NEW STUDY
Dec 2, 2022 9:16 AM CST

You've Never Known a Dinosaur Like This Before

'Natovenator polydontus' is first found with streamlined ribcage for swimming and diving

(Newser) - Paleontologists have discovered a dinosaur unlike any other known so far. Its Latin and Greek name, Natovenator polydontus, means "swimming hunter with many teeth." Yes, swimming. "I think like a swimming Velociraptor is a pretty good characterization," Philip Currie of the University of Alberta, co-author of...

This May Be &#39;Missing Link&#39; in T. Rex Evolution
This May Be
'Missing Link'
in T. Rex Evolution
NEW STUDY
Nov 29, 2022 10:05 AM CST

This May Be 'Missing Link' in T. Rex Evolution

Ancestor 'Daspletosaurus wilsoni' offers further evidence of linear evolution

(Newser) - Paleontologists have uncovered a new species of tyrannosaur that they say serves as a "missing link" in the evolution of Tyrannosaurus rex. Experts from the Badlands Dinosaur Museum in North Dakota were digging at the Judith River Formation in Montana in 2017 when paleontologist Jack Wilson spotted a flat...

Want to Throw Brakes on Aging Memory? Veggies, Fruits to the Rescue
'Simple' Dietary
Shift Could Save
Your Aging Brain
NEW STUDY
Nov 28, 2022 9:35 AM CST

'Simple' Dietary Shift Could Save Your Aging Brain

Scientists: Subjects who ate more flavonols found in fruits, veggies saw slower rate of memory loss

(Newser) - You may have more control than you think over your brain health as you age, specifically when it comes to how your memory functions, if results from a new study are any indication. Research published earlier this month in the journal Neurology has found that individuals who consume more flavonols—...

King&#39;s Secret Code Is Broken 500 Years Later
King's Secret Code Is
Broken 500 Years Later
in case you missed it
Nov 27, 2022 11:25 AM CST

King's Secret Code Is Broken 500 Years Later

Letter reveals Charles V's fears of French assassination plot

(Newser) - For the first time, researchers are reading about a rumored French plot to assassinate King Charles V of Spain in his own words—or symbols, rather. The information was only revealed after six months of "painstaking" work by codebreakers, per AFP . It's no secret that Charles V and...

53 Species Aren&#39;t Mute After All


53 Species
Aren't Mute
After All
new study
Nov 26, 2022 3:10 PM CST

53 Species Aren't Mute After All

Recordings show some turtles won't stop making noise

(Newser) - Turtles evolved millions of years ago and live in nearly every type of climate, according to Live Science , so it makes sense that they've have something to say. New research suggests they do, documenting noises made by 53 species—50 of them turtles—that had been thought to be...

Seeing This Image Was &#39;Most Surreal Moment of My Life&#39;
Seeing This Image
Was 'Most Surreal
Moment of My Life'
in case you missed it
Nov 26, 2022 1:00 PM CST

Seeing This Image Was 'Most Surreal Moment of My Life'

Scientists capture footage of black-naped pheasant-pigeon for first time since 1882

(Newser) - The researchers had to gun it in their boat to outrun pirates after departing Fergusson Island off of Papua New Guinea. But as the BBC tells it, the likely adrenaline rush that produced may have been dwarfed by the one they experienced on the island itself. The eight-person team in...

Think You Know What Will Help Your Achy Knees? Think Again

NSAIDs like ibuprofen, naproxen may actually exacerbate osteoarthritis inflammation: scientists

(Newser) - When those achy joints start acting up, it seems to be popular wisdom to pop an Advil, Motrin, or Aleve. Now, however, scientists say ibuprofen and naproxen, sold under these brand names and others, may actually exacerbate things for patients suffering from osteoarthritis, worsening their inflammation instead of tamping it...

How to Stop a Virus That Goes From Bats to Horses to Humans

A new study shares a theory, and it involves winter flowers

(Newser) - It's a deadly chain: Bats in Australia harbor a virus called Hendra, which doesn't hurt them but can be passed to horses via urine or feces—and those animals fare far worse. There's a 75% fatality rate, though cases are fairly rare. Even more rare is the...

Unusual Experiment Suggests Money Can Buy Happiness

Unless you make $123K a year

(Newser) - The debate over the assertion "money can't buy happiness" is usually a hypothetical one. But an unusual real-world experiment suggests money can indeed bring happiness, and not just in a fleeting way. As NBC News reports, two wealthy donors teamed up with the TED organization to give 200...

Search for WWII Plane Turns Up Chunk of Challenger Shuttle

20-foot remnant found by documentary crew off coast of Florida

(Newser) - It's been more than 35 years since the Challenger space shuttle exploded shortly after takeoff, killing all seven crew members—but a documentary team has just unearthed a big chunk of debris from the doomed spacecraft. In a Thursday release , NASA confirmed the discovery, made in the Atlantic Ocean...

'Miracle' Tunnel Might Lead to Cleopatra's Tomb

Tunnel sits below Taposiris Magna temple in Egypt, possible site of royal tomb

(Newser) - Archaeologists hoping to find Cleopatra's lost tomb have instead discovered an incredible feat of engineering: a 6.5-foot-tall underground tunnel stretching for nearly a mile. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism calls it a "geometric miracle," per Smithsonian . Kathleen Martinez of the University of San Domingo, whose team...

Oldest Sentence in Oldest Alphabet Names a Modern Scourge

The wealthiest ancients had a problem with head lice, too

(Newser) - The purpose of the ancient double-edged ivory comb unearthed in Israel is made clear by its inscription: "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard." In the eyes of researchers, that seemingly ordinary sentence hinting at the scourge of head lice is anything...

Stories 441 - 460 | << Prev   Next >>