discoveries

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

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What a 10-Second Balance Test Says About Your Lifespan

Failing test may indicate increased risk of death

(Newser) - Medical researchers have identified a striking correlation between balance and longevity, per NBC News, citing a study published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers tracked 1,700 adults ages 51 to 75 for 12 years. During regular checkups, participants were given three chances to balance on one...

Researchers Work to Improve Screen Time for ... Monkeys

Encounters with audio, visual stimuli to help build better 'interactive enrichment systems'

(Newser) - Saki monkeys may prefer to listen to music more than the rain and appear more keen to watch underwater scenes than those featuring earthly worms, according to new research, which combined monkeys, screens, and speakers. Researchers at Scotland's University of Glasgow and Finland's Aalto University set up a...

Wreck That May Have Inspired The Goonies Is Found

Discovery of hull timbers in Oregon sea caves echoes Spielberg's cult classic

(Newser) - Remains of a legendary 17th-century shipwreck that reportedly inspired the cult classic The Goonies have been found—though not by a band of hilarious misfits. Pieces of the hull of the Spanish galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos were raised from sea caves in a state-protected area of Manzanita, Oregon, this...

Scientists May Have Solved a Mystery of the Plague
Black Death May
Have Started Here
NEW STUDY
Jun 16, 2022 12:24 PM CDT

Black Death May Have Started Here

Researchers believe 700-year-old teeth point to what is now Kyrgyzstan

(Newser) - Researchers say they've discovered "when and where the single most notorious and infamous killer of humans began." They're referring to the Black Death, or bubonic plague, which is thought to have wiped out tens of millions of people in Europe, Asia, and North Africa during...

Frog Mystery Surfaces at Iron Age Settlement
Frog Mystery
Surfaces at
Iron Age
Settlement
new study
Jun 15, 2022 3:58 PM CDT

Frog Mystery Surfaces at Iron Age Settlement

Archaeologists can't explain their bones at ancient site

(Newser) - Excavations carried out ahead of highway work in England have revealed a mass grave full of … long-dead frogs. Experts are at a loss to explain the mass of 8,000 bones from roughly 350 frogs and toads, found buried in a long ditch beside an excavated roundhouse at Bar...

Sleep Is Better When a Partner Shares the Bed
Sleep Is Better When
a Partner Shares the Bed
new study
Jun 13, 2022 11:39 AM CDT

Sleep Is Better When a Partner Shares the Bed

New study suggests overall better scores from couples than single sleepers

(Newser) - For those trying to get a better night's sleep, a new study suggests one more tip: Share the bed with a romantic partner. Generally speaking, couples get better sleep than singletons, according to the University of Arizona study . Researchers looked at about 1,000 people who self-reported their sleeping...

A Grim First in Newest Discovery of Microplastics
An 'Incredibly Sad' Find
Buried in Antarctic Snow
in case you missed it
Jun 12, 2022 4:35 PM CDT

An 'Incredibly Sad' Find Buried in Antarctic Snow

Scientists have discovered first reported microplastics there

(Newser) - Microplastics have turned up in some of the most remote places of the globe: in the skies above the Pyrenees , in the deepest parts of the ocean , even in Antarctic surface water and sea ice . Now, however, scientists have found particles for the first time in another part of the...

Giant Tortoise Presumed Extinct for a Century Is Very Much Alive

Fernanda is first fantastic giant tortoise seen in Galapagos since 1906, and only the 2nd ever

(Newser) - A Galapagos giant tortoise species observed only once more than a century ago on a remote volcanic island and thought to have gone extinct as a result of volcanic eruptions has turned up very much alive. A female "fantastic giant tortoise," which the Guardian reports is "significantly...

It Sank in 1682. Its Discovery Has Been a Secret for 15 Years

Gloucester was carrying the future King James II when it met its demise off coast of England

(Newser) - A royal shipwreck discovered off the coast of England is being called "the single most significant historic maritime discovery" for the country in four decades. Found by amateur divers in 2007 but only revealed this week, the wreck of the Gloucester—which ran aground and sank on May 6,...

Ugly Fish in More Danger of Extinction Than Beautiful Ones

Conservation bias based on physical attractiveness is a thing, researchers say

(Newser) - A new study in the PLOS Biology journal makes a rather academic-sounding proclamation in its headline: "The aesthetic value of reef fishes is globally mismatched to their conservation priorities." Translating that into more layman-friendly terms: We have to look out for the ugly fish, or they might die...

Some Cancer Patients May Be Able to Skip Chemo
Some Cancer Patients Can
Skip Chemo, Radiation
new studies
Jun 7, 2022 11:45 AM CDT

Some Cancer Patients Can Skip Chemo, Radiation

Studies point way to less treatment for some sufferers of colon and breast cancer

(Newser) - After surgery, some cancer patients can safely skip radiation or chemotherapy, according to two studies exploring shorter, gentler cancer care. Researchers are looking for ways to precisely predict which cancer patients can avoid unneeded treatment to cut down on harmful side effects and unnecessary costs, per the AP . One new...

Queen About to Rock Us With 'Little Gem' From Freddie Mercury

Band to share previously unreleased song 'Face It Alone' in September

(Newser) - We're still allowed to have nice things. At least if you're a Queen fan, based on news from founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor. Variety reports that the two recently sat down with BBC Radio 2 and made a revelation sure to please devotees of the band:...

This Plant Is as Big as 20K Football Fields
This May Be Earth's
Largest Organism
in case you missed it
Jun 5, 2022 1:30 PM CDT

This May Be Earth's Largest Organism

A single Posidonia australis seagrass covers 77 square miles off western Australia

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered what is arguably the world's largest living organism, which is roughly the size of 20,000 football fields and about 4,500 years old. It's a seagrass known as Poseidon's ribbon weed, or Posidonia australis, which started as a seed spawned from two different...

Researchers: Dogs Can Detect COVID Better Than Some Tests
Scientists Find Much Cuter
Way to Sniff Out COVID
NEW STUDY
Jun 3, 2022 5:25 PM CDT

Scientists Find Much Cuter Way to Sniff Out COVID

Canines trained to smell for virus correctly IDed 97% of positive cases, 100% of asymptomatic ones

(Newser) - Suspect you have COVID but don't feel up to dragging yourself out to an urgent care for testing? Sometime in the future, you may be able to simply call your dog over. At least, that's what researchers are hoping after they found that dogs trained to sniff out...

Some Elephants Are Pooping Out Plastic Forks
Some Elephants Are
Turning Into Plastic Polluters
new study
May 31, 2022 4:22 PM CDT

Some Elephants Are Turning Into Plastic Polluters

Some consume plastic in dumps then excrete it in forests, study finds

(Newser) - Much has been written about humans' consumption of microplastics . Ditto on the impacts of plastic waste on our oceans . Now comes a report on the plastics—items a heck of a lot bigger than microplastics—that elephants eat and how deep into otherwise unspoiled forests they end up depositing it....

Want to Scare a Male Mouse? Try a Banana


Want to Scare
a Male Mouse?
Try a Banana
new study
May 31, 2022 11:22 AM CDT

Want to Scare a Male Mouse? Try a Banana

Scientists make an odd, and accidental, discovery

(Newser) - It's one of the weirder scientific discoveries in a while: Scientists accidentally found that mice are afraid of bananas—but only male mice, and particularly virgins. It seems that bananas give off the same scent that female mice emit when they're warning males to steer clear of their...

His Grandfather Found a Tree That Could Be Planet&#39;s Oldest
His Grandfather Found a Tree
That Could Be Planet's Oldest
in case you missed it
May 29, 2022 12:40 PM CDT

His Grandfather Found a Tree That Could Be Planet's Oldest

Dr. Jonathan Barichivich's modeling indicates it could be 5,484 years old

(Newser) - Great-Grandfather is a pretty appropriate name for this tree, though Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-etc. might be more accurate. A Chilean scientist based in Paris says an Alerce tree (also known as Alerce Milenario) located in Chile might actually be the world's oldest tree—by a longshot. Dr. Jonathan Barichivich suspects it is...

One Creature Is Thriving in a Hotter California
Rattlesnakes Are Thriving
in California
new study
May 27, 2022 12:03 PM CDT

Rattlesnakes Are Thriving in California

Study suggests that will continue as temperatures warm

(Newser) - Residents of California and the Southwest may want to brush up on the do's and dont's of rattlesnake encounters. A new study suggests the snakes' population there is thriving and will continue to do so, reports the Guardian . The reason is the very one causing grief for humans...

Hugs May Help Women More Than Men
Hugs May Help Women
More Than Men
new study
May 23, 2022 9:45 AM CDT

Hugs May Help Women More Than Men

Study finds that partners' embrace reduces stress for women, not so much for guys

(Newser) - A quick embrace between romantic partners may do wonders for a woman, a new study in PLOS One suggests, but the same apparently can't be said for men. The study suggests that a hug reduces stress levels in women before a stressful task, though no such benefits were found...

Skull Found by Kayakers Isn't What Sheriff Expected

It belonged to a young man who lived 8K years ago in what is now Minnesota

(Newser) - Forensic testing on a skull found in the Minnesota River has brought a surprise—instead of solving a modern missing-person's case, the skull belonged to a young man who lived about 8,000 years ago. As Minnesota Public Radio reports, kayakers spotted the remains last summer in the drought-depleted...

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