discoveries

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

Stories 701 - 720 | << Prev   Next >>

Black Hole Seen Swallowing Densest Object in Universe

That would be a neutron star

(Newser) - Talk about a heavy snack. For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a black hole swallowing a neutron star, the most dense object in the universe—all in a split-second gulp. Ten days later they saw the same thing, on the other side of the universe, the AP reports. In...

Meet Dragon Man, Our Newly Discovered Relative
Meet Dragon Man, Our
Newly Discovered Relative
new study
Jun 25, 2021 2:11 PM CDT

Meet Dragon Man, Our Newly Discovered Relative

Scientists say he belongs to a newly discovered species closely related to modern humans

(Newser) - He was a big guy, somewhere around 50 years old when he died, and his discovery might just change the narrative on how modern humans came to be. Introducing Dragon Man, so nicknamed for China's Dragon River region where his well-preserved skull was found, reports CNN . Researchers say he...

Millions of Years After Big Bang, a 'Cosmic Dawn'

Astronomers say they've figured out when first stars began shining

(Newser) - For his entire working life, Richard Ellis has been obsessed with finding out when the universe's first stars began shining. Now, in a new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal, Ellis and his team at University College London say they've pinpointed the...

Dinosaurs Survived Brutal Ancient Arctic
Dinosaurs Braved Ancient
Arctic Year-Round
NEW STUDY
Jun 25, 2021 11:50 AM CDT

Dinosaurs Braved Ancient Arctic Year-Round

Tiny fossils suggest they nested there through all the seasons

(Newser) - The High Arctic experiences months of darkness in winter, which can pose a challenge for human inhabitants, just as it did for dinosaurs who occupied the region some 70 million years ago. Paleontologists have long wondered whether dinosaur species found along Alaska's North Slope migrated south in winter to...

What Researchers Just Did in This Cave Is a Marvel
What Researchers Just Did
in This Cave Is a Marvel
NEW STUDY
Jun 25, 2021 10:57 AM CDT

What Researchers Just Did in This Cave Is a Marvel

It's most comprehensive study of ancient DNA extracted from sediment at single site

(Newser) - As far as caves go, Siberia's Denisova Cave is a super prominent one, the place where scientists confirmed the existence of a species of hominins (we're one, as are Neanderthals) known as the Denisovans. But the prehistoric treasures the cave has given up have been few—just eight...

Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Was Ripped Apart by a Shark

Researchers: Earliest known evidence of shark attack on a person identified in Japan

(Newser) - Three millennia ago, a hunter-gatherer ventured to Japan's inland sea in search of a meal. He then became one himself. Researchers believe this Neolithic man, found buried in the Tsukumo Shell-mound cemetery site near the Seto Inland Sea, is the earliest known victim of a shark attack on a...

One of Orion's Stars Went Oddly Dim. Now We Know Why

Nope, Betelgeuse is not about to go supernova

(Newser) - A well-known star in the constellation of Orion—the one that makes up Orion's right shoulder—has been the subject of an 18-month mystery that has now been solved. Betelgeuse rapidly dimmed in late 2019 and early 2020 to a degree that had never been recorded before and one...

Here&#39;s the Tastiest Suggestion Yet on Plastic Waste
Here's the Tastiest Suggestion
Yet on Plastic Waste
new study
Jun 15, 2021 12:21 PM CDT

Here's the Tastiest Suggestion Yet on Plastic Waste

Researchers convert it into vanilla flavoring

(Newser) - Plastic waste is a problem . A big , big problem. Seemingly unrelated fact: Lots of people love vanilla. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland have managed to combine these two ideas to come up with one of the most novel suggestions yet for reducing plastic garbage. They figured out...

Australia Finds Its Biggest-Ever Dino
Dinosaur Found
in Outback
Was as Big as
Basketball Court
in case you missed it
Jun 13, 2021 5:13 PM CDT

Dinosaur Found in Outback Was as Big as Basketball Court

Australotitan is biggest dino ever found in Australia

(Newser) - "This is a fantastic beast. Imagine something the size of a basketball court walking around on land," says Scott Hocknall, part of a team of paleontologists that confirmed the discovery of the biggest dinosaur ever found in Australia. Australotitan cooperensis was between 80 and 100 feet long and...

To Understand Northern Lights, &#39;Think About Surfing&#39;
Scientist Say They Now Know
How an Aurora Occurs
new study
Jun 12, 2021 11:03 AM CDT

Scientist Say They Now Know How an Aurora Occurs

A group of physicists re-created the wave that causes the northern lights

(Newser) - Physicists say they know how the awe-inspiring aurora borealis light shows are formed and can for the first time prove it in a lab. It all has to do with surfing and waves. Electrons traveling to Earth can catch waves, called Alfvén waves, which pick them up and throw...

It&#39;s Alive&mdash;and It&#39;s 24K Years Old
It's Alive—and
It's 24K Years Old
NEW STUDY
Jun 8, 2021 8:09 AM CDT

It's Alive—and It's 24K Years Old

Organism revived after millennia frozen in Siberia

(Newser) - Bdelloid rotifer, a microscopic multi-celled super-resilient organism, was thought to survive being frozen for as long as 10 years. Turns out that was a slight understatement. Such female-only organisms are alive and well after being frozen in Siberia for 24,000 years, according to new research. The study published Monday...

Scientists &#39;Reanimate&#39; Killer Fungus to Save Our Coffee
This Fungus Kills Off Coffee.
Scientists Just Woke It Up
in case you missed it
Jun 6, 2021 7:55 AM CDT

This Fungus Kills Off Coffee. Scientists Just Woke It Up

Researchers wanted to see how Fusarium xylarioides functions to prevent future outbreaks

(Newser) - Enjoy a steaming mug of Arabica or robusta in the morning? Give a high-five, then, to the scientists that have "reanimated" a fungus that kills off those varieties of coffee trees. It may sound counterintuitive, but researchers from Imperial College London have done just that, resurrecting cryogenically frozen samples...

Mysterious Ancient Event Nearly Wiped Out Sharks
Mysterious Ancient Event
Nearly Wiped Out Sharks
new study
Jun 5, 2021 1:18 PM CDT

Mysterious Ancient Event Nearly Wiped Out Sharks

Population plunged 90% about 19M years ago

(Newser) - Sharks barely survived a mysterious and previously undiscovered catastrophe 19 million years ago that nearly wiped them off the planet. A new paper in Science lays out the unexpected discovery, reports Gizmodo . Researchers were using soil samples from the ocean floor to map shark populations over the eons when they...

Decapitated Bodies in England Shed Light on Roman Times

17 of the 52 were found in that condition

(Newser) - Records show that the Roman Empire used decapitation as a punishment, but there hasn't been much archaeological evidence to back this up—until now. Archaeologists who spent a decade working at three small Roman cemeteries in England say they determined than 17 of the 52 skeletons had been decapitated....

Want Exercise Benefits Without Exercising? Get In the Hot Tub

Study finds 'improvements to cardiorespiratory fitness,' other health benefits from a nice hot soak

(Newser) - People have enjoyed hot baths or saunas for millennia, dating back to the ancient Egyptians, per the Guardian . Bathhouses remain popular in many parts of the world, including South Korea. In Finland, a country of 5.5 million people and 3 million saunas, sauna bathing is known as "the...

Here&#39;s Another Way Sugary Sodas May Be Bad for You
Here's Another Way Sugary
Sodas May Be Bad for You
NEW STUDY
May 10, 2021 12:09 PM CDT

Here's Another Way Sugary Sodas May Be Bad for You

Study suggests link with early onset colorectal cancer in women

(Newser) - Can a daily sugary drink raise the risk of cancer? A new study in the journal Gut suggests the possibility. Researchers say women in an ongoing study were twice as likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer before 50 if they drank about a pint of sugary drinks every day,...

Member of Doomed 1845 Arctic Expedition Is Identified

John Gregory left a wife and kids at home

(Newser) - It was his very first time at sea. It did not go well. Warrant Officer John Gregory is the first member of the doomed 1845 expedition in search of the fabled Northwest Passage to the East to be identified by DNA. All 129 explorers perished, most on King William Island...

Psychedelic Drug Shows Great Promise for PTSD Sufferers

Therapy assisted by MDMA (aka ecstasy) could be approved by 2023

(Newser) - Ecstasy appears on track to become an FDA-approved prescription treatment if the results of the first Phase 3 trial on psychedelic-assisted therapy are any indication. As the New York Times reports, 67% of PTSD patients who were given a dose of the drug during therapy no longer qualified for a...

It 'Looked So New,' He Couldn't Believe It Was Ancient Treasure

Bronze Age trove likely left as offering in Swedish forest

(Newser) - A treasure trove of jewelry and other goods likely belonging to one or more high-status women was once intentionally left in a forest in what is now western Sweden. It only took 2,500 years to find it. Cartographer Thomas Karlsson was surveying the forest near the town of Alingsas...

'Poetic Justice' for World's 'Most Unfortunate-Looking Bird'

Tawny frogmouth now deemed 'most Instagrammable bird,' thanks to its photogenic front-facing eyes

(Newser) - "What makes a great bird photo?" That was the main question of new research that sought the most photogenic bird in the world, and the top-ranking feathered friend isn't what anyone expected, notes the Hill . Per a study published April 22 in the i-Perception journal , the planet's...

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