discoveries

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

Stories 961 - 980 | << Prev   Next >>

Rock's Baffling Inscription May Finally Be Deciphered

2 translations point to a man's death off French coast in the 1700s

(Newser) - A mysterious 230-year-old message inscribed on a rock at the base of a seaside cliff in northwestern France has been deciphered, at least enough to convey a tragic death. The town of Plougastel-Daoulas in Brittany, which offered about $2,200 to anyone who could translate the 20-line message written in...

Edgar Allan Poe Likely Didn&#39;t Kill Himself
Edgar Allan Poe Likely
Didn't Kill Himself
new study
Feb 25, 2020 7:59 AM CST

Edgar Allan Poe Likely Didn't Kill Himself

Researchers study his language, don't think he was suicidal

(Newser) - Psychologists looking into the death of Edgar Allen Poe are disputing a widely held theory that the famous author committed suicide. The 40-year-old Poe died in a hospital in 1849 after what has been described as days of delirium, notes Fast Company . The cause of his death remains unclear to...

An Egyptian Mystery Takes New Turn
An Egyptian
Mystery
Takes New
Turn
in case you missed it
Feb 23, 2020 6:42 AM CST

An Egyptian Mystery Takes New Turn

Team suggests anew that long-lost Queen Nefertiti is secretly buried in Tut's tomb

(Newser) - Scientists in Egypt are bound and determined to find the long-lost Queen Nefertiti . Now, a new team is floating the possibility that she is buried in a secret chamber within King Tut's tomb, reports Nature . Sound familiar? That's because the intriguing possibility was first raised in 2015 , only...

Mediterranean Diet May Help You Age Better
Mediterranean Diet May Keep
Seniors Sharper, Stronger
in case you missed it
Feb 22, 2020 11:00 AM CST

Mediterranean Diet May Keep Seniors Sharper, Stronger

Study sees changes to gut linked to sharper brains, less frailty

(Newser) - Another study is extolling the benefits of the Mediterranean diet , this time in regard to aging. Researchers say the diet—which is heavy on fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, olive oil, and fish—appears to improve gut bacteria in ways that keep seniors physically and mentally healthy, reports CNN . The...

Study on Our Coral Reefs: &#39;Honestly, Most Sites Are Out&#39;
Coral Reefs in the Red Sea?
That May Be All That's Left
in case you missed it
Feb 22, 2020 7:00 AM CST

Coral Reefs in the Red Sea? That May Be All That's Left

Things aren't looking good by 2100, according to new simulations

(Newser) - "Honestly, most sites are out." That's the grim pronouncement from a University of Hawaii at Manoa researcher who looked at the likely status of the planet's coral reefs by 2100 based on projected climate conditions. Renee Setter and her team discovered that small areas of Baja...

A Powerful New Antibiotic Is Found in a Novel Way
A Powerful New Antibiotic
Is Found in a Novel Way
new study
Feb 21, 2020 10:30 AM CST

A Powerful New Antibiotic Is Found in a Novel Way

MIT researchers use artificial intelligence and report a breakthrough

(Newser) - The rise of superbugs means the world needs powerful new antibiotics. A team at MIT says it has just made a major breakthrough using artificial intelligence for the first time. They discovered a compound that looks able to conquer some of the most dangerous bacteria in existence, including some that...

Treasures Abound on Canada's Legendary Wreck

HMS Erebus artifacts include a hairbrush, a lead stamp

(Newser) - When the flagship of a doomed 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage was discovered in Canada's Arctic in 2014, experts could hardly contain their glee at the thought of the artifacts lying in wait. They weren't disappointed. Some 350 items, including a 170-year-old wax seal boasting a...

Class Ring Lost 47 Years Ago in Maine Pops Up in Finland

Maine woman who lost class ring of her boyfriend (who became her husband) in 1973 gets it back

(Newser) - Shawn and Debra McKenna were high school sweethearts who were married for four decades before he died in 2017 after a long battle with cancer. Earlier this month, Debra McKenna received a sweet reminder of the man she'd loved, from the most unexpected place. The Bangor Daily News relays...

Scientists Find Clues of &#39;Ghost&#39; Human Ancestor
Evidence of a 'Ghost' Human
Ancestor Revealed in DNA
in case you missed it
Feb 16, 2020 4:06 PM CST

Evidence of a 'Ghost' Human Ancestor Revealed in DNA

Researchers say unknown archaic population mated with homo sapiens

(Newser) - Scientists already know that early humans mated with Neanderthals and Denisovans, distant relatives on the family tree. Now a new study suggests that another such group existed, one that has yet to be identified, reports the Guardian . In their study in the journal Science Advances , researchers say they found evidence...

Exhibit on Ocean Pollution Leads to Big Shock for One Woman

German woman spots mixtape she lost 25 years ago—and it still works

(Newser) - If you're in your late 30s or older, you likely remember the unique joy that accompanied creating what we olds call a "mixtape." A German woman is now reliving that elation after she stumbled upon a mixtape she lost 25 years ago while on vacation in Spain....

Modern Girls Hit Puberty a Year Earlier Than '70s Counterparts

Researchers say obesity, environmental chemicals could be to blame

(Newser) - If it seems like girls these days are hitting puberty earlier than in decades past, you're not imagining things—and researchers now suggest obesity and environmental chemicals may be playing a role. The Guardian reports on new research out of the University of Copenhagen that looked at 30 global...

It&#39;s Getting Much Harder to See a Bumblebee
It's Getting Much Harder
to See a Bumblebee
in case you missed it
Feb 9, 2020 3:00 PM CST

It's Getting Much Harder to See a Bumblebee

Researchers report a big decline, blame warming temperatures

(Newser) - If you're a middle-aged American, it's a lot harder to spot a bumblebee buzzing around now than when you were kid. Researchers say the chances of seeing a bumblebee in North America today is 46% less than in the 1970s, reports NPR . Europeans also have worse odds of...

Researchers Listen to Penguins, Hear a First
Researchers Listen
to Penguins, Hear a First
new study
Feb 6, 2020 8:51 AM CST

Researchers Listen to Penguins, Hear a First

Traits such as shorter syllables found for first time outside primates

(Newser) - When it comes to language, penguins and humans appear to have a thing or two in common. Researchers studied the calls of African penguins and found that their vocal patterns follow two distinct patterns that until now have never been seen outside primates, reports the Ecologist . First, the penguins' most...

There's a Creature That Didn't Move for 2,569 Days

Researchers studied the olm over 8 years

(Newser) - There's a kind of cave-dwelling salamander that a Hungarian scientist describes to the New Scientist as "hanging around, doing almost nothing." But "almost" might be a little too generous. A team led by Gergely Balazs of Eotvos Lorand University studied a group of olms found in...

Fireflies May Soon Go Dark Due to a Big Triple Threat

Researchers warn of possible extinction due to habitat loss, artificial light, and pesticides

(Newser) - There’s a "quiet apocalypse" happening among insect populations around the world, and fireflies may soon be the next to see their lights dimmed for good. New research out of Tufts University published in the journal BioScience warns that the world’s 2,000 or so species of the...

This May Fix a Weak Point of Fingerprint Analysis
This May Fix a Weak Point
of Fingerprint Analysis
new study
Feb 3, 2020 9:40 AM CST

This May Fix a Weak Point of Fingerprint Analysis

Study suggests prints can be dated within 24 hours

(Newser) - Fingerprints may have changed the game in police work since they were first used more than a century ago, but they still have a weak spot: Detectives can't tell precisely when they were left, per ScienceDaily . Generally, police can tell if a print has been left within the last...

Bermuda Triangle &#39;Victim&#39; May Have Been Found
Bermuda Triangle 'Victim'
May Have Been Found
in case you missed it
Feb 1, 2020 2:00 PM CST

Bermuda Triangle 'Victim' May Have Been Found

Michael Barnette believes SS Cotopaxi rests off Florida coast

(Newser) - A ship thought to have disappeared a century ago in an area known as the Bermuda Triangle turned up in the Gobi Desert in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Now it has reportedly been found for real. The SS Cotopaxi set out to carry coal from...

Study Suggests Surprising Reason to Quit Smoking
Study Suggests
Surprising
Reason to Quit
Smoking
new study
Jan 30, 2020 10:05 AM CST

Study Suggests Surprising Reason to Quit Smoking

Researchers say the lungs of ex-smokers can repair some of the damage

(Newser) - A new study presents this not-so-surprising fact: Nine out of every 10 cells in the lungs of smokers show some degree of mutation, reports the AFP . But then came the surprise: The lungs of former smokers seem to be able to repair some of the damage, according to the study...

Psilocybin May Ease Anxiety for a Surprisingly Long Time

Cancer patients still feeling positive effects almost 5 years later

(Newser) - About five years ago, a study found that cancer patients who took one dose of the compound found in magic mushrooms had much less anxiety. A followup study suggests the psilocybin's effect is still in place, reports NBC News . The study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests that psilocybin...

Archaeologists May Have Found Rare 'Witch Bottle'

Could be a talisman used by Union troops in Virginia to ward off evil spirits

(Newser) - On the one hand, it might just be an old bottle that was used to store nails. But archaeologists who found it suspect something far more intriguing: They think Union soldiers used it as a "witch bottle" during the Civil War to fend off evil spirits, per a news...

Stories 961 - 980 | << Prev   Next >>