Ahoy: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

A birth that messed up one clan's family tree and a region of the world that might turn uninhabitable make the list:

• Dad Learns Unborn Twin 'Fathered' His Son: When a couple learned their son had a different blood type than his parents, Dad took a paternity test and learned his DNA didn't match the boy's. It turns out he was a "human chimera"—and his son's uncle. Weirder: His unborn brother is the boy's father. How it happened is fascinating.
• Persian Gulf Is Getting Too Hot for Humans: If emissions continue at their current level, parts of the Persian Gulf region will simply become too hot for people. By the end of this century, the combined heat and humidity "wet bulb" index in the region could hit 165 to 170 degrees during heat waves. One annual rite in particular could prove deadly.

• You Probably Have Herpes: Not to alarm you, but the World Health Organization says two-thirds of us under the age of 50 are infected with the herpes virus, or an estimated 3.7 billion people. But the infection rate in the US is 49% for women, 39% for men, compared with a stunning 80% in one particular part of the world.
• Expedition Finds 'Ancient Shipwreck Capital of the World': In what's being called one of the biggest archaeological finds of the year, teams from Greece and the US stumbled across 22 shipwrecks in just 17 square miles of islands and islets in the Aegean Sea. And something they found on three of the ships has never been found before.
• As Big Mammals Die Off, Planet Suffers a Poop Shortage: Earth isn't just dealing with the loss of big mammals, such as elephants, whales, and rhinos. It's also faced with a dramatic reduction in their poop, which could have profound effects on the planet's ecosystems. Unless something changes, a crucial element might be tapped out in 50 years.

Click to read about more discoveries. (More discoveries stories.)