discoveries

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

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By This New Measure, Plants Rule the Earth
By This New Measure,
Plants Rule the Earth
NEW STUDY
May 22, 2018 9:40 AM CDT

By This New Measure, Plants Rule the Earth

They outweigh all other life on the planet, by a mile

(Newser) - A first-of-its-kind study reveals that humans make up a minuscule portion of life on the planet. As in 0.01%, reports the Guardian . The flip side of that? Despite the scant figure, humans have reshaped the animal kingdom, helping wipe out about 83% of mammals and half of all plants...

She'd Vaped for Just 3 Weeks. Then, a Trip to the ER

Teen spent 5 days on ventilator after she suffered respiratory failure

(Newser) - News of one scary vaping experience follows another. Days after authorities confirmed a Florida man died when his vape pen exploded , sending projectiles into his brain, a study published in the journal Pediatrics tells of an 18-year-old Pennsylvania woman who ended up in an emergency room with a cough and...

Legendary Ancient City Found by Accident

Mardaman in modern-day Iraq is nearly 5K years old

(Newser) - Archaeologists who've spent five years digging up an ancient city in Iraq's Kurdistan region have finally learned its name—and it's legendary. Mardaman, once the capital of a Mesopotamian province and its own independent kingdom, is believed to have begun as early as 4,800 years ago...

In One of Planet&#39;s Most Remote Spots, a Plastic Bag
Plastic Bag Found in
Truly Depressing Spot
new study
May 15, 2018 10:45 AM CDT

Plastic Bag Found in Truly Depressing Spot

Not even the bottom of the Mariana Trench is safe from our trash

(Newser) - "Single-use plastic reached the world's deepest ocean trench at 10,898 m," states the study plainly, referring to that great scourge: the plastic bag. National Geographic reports that a review of the Deep-Sea Debris Database, an assemblage of photos and videos taken during roughly 5,000 dives...

There May Be a Way to Stop People From BSing
There May Be
a Way to Stop
People From BSing
NEW STUDY
May 14, 2018 12:40 PM CDT

There May Be a Way to Stop People From BSing

Simply calling them out on the facts usually works, suggests a new study

(Newser) - Why do people BS, and what can make them stop doing it? A new study suggests the bull tends to flow when people feel social pressure to have an opinion on something—even if they don't fully understand the subject, per Poynter . And it's worse if people don'...

Utah Couple Doing Yard Work Find Skeleton&mdash;From Ice Age
Couple Finds 'Cow' Remains in
Yard—Except It's Not a Cow
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 13, 2018 10:05 AM CDT

Couple Finds 'Cow' Remains in Yard—Except It's Not a Cow

Utah skeleton is actually that of a Pleistocene Era horse

(Newser) - When Laura and Bridger Hill started doing yard work at their home in Lehi, Utah, last September to prep for a retaining wall, the last thing they expected was to stumble across Ice Age-era remains. But that's exactly what happened, with the couple telling the New York Times they...

In the 'Most Under-Observed' Ocean, a Mammoth Wave

78-foot wave recorded Tuesday in Southern Ocean

(Newser) - The northern hemisphere still has it beat, but the southern hemisphere can now claim a new record when it comes to tallest wave. A solar-powered buoy placed near New Zealand's Campbell Island in the Southern Ocean on Tuesday recorded an eight-story wave that measured 78 feet in height, beating...

Hunt for MH370 Turns Up Indian Ocean's Deepest Wrecks

They're 2.3 miles below the ocean's surface

(Newser) - A four-year search of the depths of the Indian Ocean has failed to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. But the unprecedented sonar hunt for the missing airliner might be close to solving 19th-century mysteries—the locations of two sailing ships that vanished with cargoes of coal, reports the AP . Maritime...

This Is the Longest Line You Can Sail Without Hitting Land

It goes more than 19K miles, from Pakistan to Russia

(Newser) - Feel like getting away on the open sea for a long while? Get yourself a boat and head to Pakistan's coastal town of Sonmiani. From there, you can embark on the longest sailable straight line possible, reaching Russia's Karaginsky District some 19,940 miles away, according to researchers....

Tiny Frogs&#39; No. 1 Option: Hold in Pee All Winter
Tiny Frogs' No. 1 Option:
Hold in Pee All Winter
NEW STUDY
May 2, 2018 9:20 AM CDT

Tiny Frogs' No. 1 Option: Hold in Pee All Winter

Behold the wood frog, which literally freezes to 'death' and comes back to life

(Newser) - If you've ever been unable to find a bathroom in a moment of need, you know the gotta-go feeling. That's nothing compared to the wood frog, which doesn't urinate all winter; in Alaska, that's eight months without peeing, reports the AP . Scientists have figured out how...

Giant Antarctic Ice 'Cork' Is Deteriorating

Scientists prepping for $27.5M study of Thwaites Glacier, how sea level rise will be affected

(Newser) - An Antarctic glacier is losing so much ice that it contributed to about 4% of the planet's total sea level rise in recent years—and scientists are now concerned this rapid melting could remove one of the few "corks" keeping the West Antarctic Ice Sheet at bay. That'...

Archaeologists Uncover &#39;Last Child of Pompeii&#39;
'Extraordinary Find' Made
in Pompeii Bath House
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 29, 2018 7:07 AM CDT

'Extraordinary Find' Made in Pompeii Bath House

Child's body is the first uncovered in decades

(Newser) - Almost 2,000 years ago, a child sheltered in Pompeii's central bath house complex as nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted terrifyingly, spewing vast amount of hot ash and pumice. The child's body was undisturbed until this year, when archaeologists using ground-scanning tools were surprised to find it just inches...

'Fake' Coin Will Actually Make Owner 'Quite Rich'

Turns out it's one of a handful of rare $5 Liberty Head Half Eagles, minted in 1854

(Newser) - In what a currency expert tells the San Francisco Chronicle is the equivalent of "finding an original Picasso at a garage sale," a rare coin from the California gold rush has been unearthed—said to be one of only four still in existence. The Independent reports the unnamed...

This Might've Been the Largest Child Sacrifice Ever

Remains of 140 children, 200 young llamas found in Peru

(Newser) - Decades before it was felled by the larger Inca civilization around 1475 AD, the Chimu people in what is now northern Peru gathered more than 140 children on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and slaughtered them all. Archaeologists who've uncovered the remains of boys, girls, and 200 young...

Museum Shocked to Discover Giant Egg in Collection Is Real

It's one of fewer than 40 elephant bird eggs held by public institutions

(Newser) - The Buffalo Museum of Science has been sitting on a rare find. A collections manager with the museum discovered an elephant bird egg nestled away in a cabinet for more than half a century and erroneously labeled as a cast. The egg is 1 foot long, more than 2 feet...

After 5th-Century Massacre, Bodies Were Left to Rot
After 5th-Century
Massacre, Bodies
Were Left to Rot
new study
Apr 25, 2018 10:40 AM CDT

After 5th-Century Massacre, Bodies Were Left to Rot

Archaeologists find a grim end at Sandby borg

(Newser) - "In most cases where human remains have been found in connection with … scenes of brutal violence, the bodies have been buried in mass graves. This is not the case at Sandby borg," write the authors of a new study published in the journal Antiquity . The Swedish site,...

Uranus Discovery Fulfills Cosmic Punchline

Clouds smell like rotten eggs thanks to smelly gas hydrogen sulfide

(Newser) - Scientists using the huge telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano have discovered the world's most obvious space joke. "Uranus smells like farts" is an actual, and correct, headline making the rounds, as here and here . But as the BBC explains, it's no joke. It seems the...

Artificial Sweeteners May Not Be Sugar-Free Bliss We Hoped For

Scientists find they lead to biochemical changes in rats signaling diabetes, obesity down the road

(Newser) - Guzzling diet soft drinks may seem like an easy workaround if you can't kick soda but want to fend off health problems spurred by sugar. A new study presented at the Experimental Biology conference over the weekend suggests otherwise—specifically when it comes to diseases like Type 2 diabetes....

Treasure Tied to King Bluetooth Found on German Island
Teen Stumbles on
Treasure Tied to
King Bluetooth
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 22, 2018 6:04 PM CDT

Teen Stumbles on Treasure Tied to King Bluetooth

Pearls, jewelry, coins unearthed by archaeologists in weekend dig

(Newser) - "Bluetooth" may strike you as an entirely modern word, but it's one found in the pages of history by way of Danish king Harald Gormsson, or "Harry Bluetooth", as he was known—and treasure connected to him has reportedly just been found. The Guardian reports 13-year-old Luca...

Study of Famous Dodo Reveals Surprise Death

Oxford's specimen was shot in the back of the head, scan reveals

(Newser) - Scientists used the latest forensic scanning technology to look inside the world's most famous dodo specimen in the hope of learning more about the anatomy of the bird that went extinct on Mauritius 350 years ago. "In our wildest dreams we never expected to find what we did,...

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