discoveries

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

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Even Some Activity Keeps Death at Bay for Couch Potatoes

And one hour wipes out death risk from 8 hours of sitting, scientists say

(Newser) - If you think squeezing an hour of exercise in per day can't come close to making up for the other 23 hours when you're relatively sedentary—and so you don't bother at all—rethink that strategy. A study by Cambridge University and the Norwegian School of Sports...

Study: Being Out of Shape Nearly as Deadly as Smoking

And it's more dangerous than high cholesterol and blood pressure

(Newser) - Being physically unfit is more damaging to living a long life than everything except smoking, according to a study published Wednesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology . And as the Huffington Post puts it: "We all know how evil smoking is." Researchers measured the maximum oxygen intake...

Wine and Stinky Shipwreck Cheese, Anyone?

Not really sure of best pairing for gooey 340-year-old 'dairy product' from Swedish warship

(Newser) - For 340 years, the Swedish ship Kronan has languished at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, the 126-gun warship's permanent resting place after it was sunk right before a 1676 skirmish with Denmark and the Netherlands, Atlas Obscura reports. It was found in 1980, and since then it's...

North America Only Has One Wolf Species Left
North America Only Has
One Wolf Species Left
NEW STUDY
Jul 28, 2016 7:41 AM CDT

North America Only Has One Wolf Species Left

It's the gray wolf; all others are hybrids: study

(Newser) - The US government recognizes three wolf species in North America: the red wolf, eastern wolf, and gray wolf. Two, it turns out, aren't true wolf at all. In a new genetic study , scientists at UCLA say the gray wolf is the last wolf species on the continent and all...

Cure for Deadly 'Superbug' May be Hiding in Our Noses

'Totally unexpected'

(Newser) - A team of German bacteriologists says our noses may contain more than boogers; there might also be a cure for the "hospital superbug" MRSA hiding up there, the Guardian reports. According to the Los Angeles Times , MRSA kills about 11,000 US patients every year and sickens another 80,...

Severe Birth Defects Don&#39;t Mean Death Sentence
Severe Birth Defects Don't Mean Death Sentence
NEW STUDY
Jul 27, 2016 11:21 AM CDT

Severe Birth Defects Don't Mean Death Sentence

Canadian study suggests birth defects aren't as lethal as doctors previously advised

(Newser) - Parents of newborns with rare genetic conditions used to hear that severe birth defects were "incompatible with life." Support groups and social media showing the exceptions have changed the landscape—and so has mounting research suggesting not all such babies will die, the AP reports. The latest study...

Archaeologists Make Surprise Find Under Mayan Temple

They find water tunnels, maybe in hope of helping ruler reach the underworld

(Newser) - When researchers grew concerned about underground anomalies detected near the Mayan ruins of Palenque in Mexico, they began a dig to figure out whether the pyramid was in danger of collapse. This week, researchers announced that what they found was no anomaly but rather a small canal system, reports the...

There's a New Whale Species, and It's a Big One

24-foot 'raven' beaked whale found in Alaskan waters led to discovery of new species

(Newser) - When a 24-foot whale carcass washed up on the beach of a remote Alaskan island in 2014, a researcher was pretty sure it was a dark version of a Baird's beaked whale, National Geographic reports. But per a new study published in Marine Mammal Science , it was an entirely...

Planet's Deepest 'Blue Hole' Has Been Found

Scientists announce discovery in South China Sea

(Newser) - "Blue holes" are mystifying to look at, the large, deep pits appearing a shade of blue that's just as deep and in stark contrast to the shallow waters around them. And what we've long considered the planet's deepest—the 663-foot Dean's Blue Hole in the...

This Is Where Your Earliest Ancestor Came From

'LUCA' likely arose near deep-sea vents, says study

(Newser) - The first name on your family tree—in fact, on the family tree of every living creature—should technically be LUCA. As the New York Times explains, the acronym stands for the Last Universal Common Ancestor, an organism that lived about 4 billion years ago and became the ancestor of...

Nasty Parasite in Cat Poo May Be a Cancer Fighter
Nasty Parasite in Cat Poo
May Be a Cancer Fighter
NEW STUDY
Jul 26, 2016 8:31 AM CDT

Nasty Parasite in Cat Poo May Be a Cancer Fighter

In mice, it fights ovarian tumors

(Newser) - Again and again, research on the parasite toxoplasma gondii, commonly found in cat feces, reveals just how nasty and widespread it is. It's linked to rage disorder , might boost one's risk of schizophrenia and other mental disorders, and in an odd and probably fatal twist, makes the mice...

Blood-Stained Leaves Hold Truth of King Albert's Death

Forensic geneticist says DNA analysis disproves 'mise-en-scene' theories

(Newser) - As far as souvenirs go, they were gory ones: bloodied leaves and stones collected during the wee hours of Feb. 18, 1934, by Belgian villagers who lived near Marche-les-Dames. King Albert I had set off on a solo climb amid the area's 600-foot-tall peaks on the 17th, having instructed...

A New Blue: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a big new leap in brain research

(Newser) - A cool new color and helpful information for those who indulge in marijuana were among the notable discoveries of the week:
  • Chemists Stumble Onto First New Blue in 200 Years : A professor and students at Oregon State inadvertently discovered a striking new shade of blue in the lab while trying
...

New Theory May Explain Mrs. Lincoln's Odd Behavior

Doctor thinks Mary Todd Lincoln suffered a vitamin deficiency

(Newser) - She's been described as perhaps the most troubled first lady to set foot in the White House, with fearsome moods, depression, and paranoia. Now a doctor says he may have uncovered the secret to Mary Todd Lincoln's behavior: a vitamin deficiency. Interestingly, this latest theory in Perspectives in ...

Scientists Map 97 New Areas of the Human Brain

'A huge leap in neuroscience'

(Newser) - It's not quite the leap from an 18th-century atlas to Google Maps, but it's close. The Verge reports scientists from Washington University in St. Louis have created a new map of the human brain that includes 97 areas never before identified. They published their findings Wednesday in Nature...

In Ancient Scottish Chapel, Evidence of a Witch Prison

Aberdeen church has an iron ring set in stone

(Newser) - The remains of some 2,000 people lie beneath Scotland's East Kirk of St. Nicholas church, but an iron ring set in the stone pillar of the chapel could link directly back to a spookier past: the documented trial and execution of 23 women and one man accused of...

Chemists Stumble on First New Blue in 200 Years

Pigment also makes possible a new spectrum of colors that could be mixed using it

(Newser) - Back in 2009, a materials science professor and his students were, in a sense, playing with fire in a lab at Oregon State University—well, mixing chemicals and heating them to temperatures above 2,000 degrees anyway—when they accidentally created a new blue. The happy accident occurred during an...

Whales Grieve for Their Young Like Human Parents

'They know something is wrong': study co-author

(Newser) - Whales are known for their intelligence —and now they may become known for their emotions and parental instincts, too. A study in the Journal of Mammalogy has found that at least seven species of toothed whales—including killer, sperm, and short-finned pilot whales, as well as four dolphin varieties—...

Scientists Determine How Much Pot Is in a Joint
Scientists Determine How
Much Pot Is in a Joint
new study
Jul 18, 2016 12:51 PM CDT

Scientists Determine How Much Pot Is in a Joint

It's less than past estimates

(Newser) - "Of course I know how to roll a joint," said Martha Stewart in 2013. But if she did it properly, how much pot would she use? A new study attempts to answer that question. Reporting in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence , the researchers point out that the...

Biblical Surprise: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including another about van Gogh's famous ear

(Newser) - A potentially major discovery about the infamous Philistines and another that may change your view of dinosaurs were among the most notable of the week:
  • Huge Find Could Reveal the Truth About Goliath's People : Out of Israel comes a major find related to the little-known Philistines, some of the
...

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