discoveries

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

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&#39;Gaydar&#39; Isn&#39;t Real, but It is Dangerous
'Gaydar' Isn't Real,
but It Is Dangerous
new study
Sep 9, 2015 7:25 PM CDT

'Gaydar' Isn't Real, but It Is Dangerous

The 'myth' of gaydar legitimizes stereotypes, according to study

(Newser) - Not only is everyone's "gaydar" permanently on the fritz, this faulty gay-identifying equipment can actually be dangerous. That's according to a study published in July in the Journal of Sex Research. The Washington Post reports psychologist William Cox and his team of researchers found gaydar doesn't...

New Info on Whereabouts of Nazi Gold Train

Nazi train could be buried, booby trapped, or simply not exist

(Newser) - Nazi gold fever has never been higher in the Polish city of Walbrzych following today's announcement that a tunnel—potentially containing a rumored Nazi train laden with 300 tons of gold, precious stones, and guns—was discovered nearby, CNBC reports. Officials describe the discovery as "a railway tunnel...

Prehistoric 'Frankenviruses' Could Rise Again

Viruses, buried in permafrost, could be revived with climate change

(Newser) - A 30,000-year-old "giant virus" could be brought back to life thanks to a surprise discovery 100 feet deep in Siberia's permafrost. The virus, Mollivirus sibericum or "soft virus from Siberia," qualifies as giant because it is 0.6 micrometers and can be seen under a...

Studies Say We've Been Lining Up All Wrong

Last-come-first served is unfair but efficient, researchers claim

(Newser) - Researchers have figured out a way to reduce wait times everywhere lines are found—from the DMV to Disneyland. Unfortunately, their ideas are unlikely to ever be implemented because of people's unbreakable allegiance to the concept of fairness. Quartz reports on two research papers published in 2012 and 2014...

50% of US Adults Have Diabetes or Prediabetes

And one-third of people with the disease don't know they have it

(Newser) - More than half of all adult Americans have diabetes or prediabetes—a condition marked by abnormally high blood sugar levels—according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Live Science reports survey results between 2011 and 2012 showed more than 12% of US residents...

Here's What Caused Earth's First Mass Extinction

Let's see what happened to the docile Ediacarans

(Newser) - Biologists have long debated how the planet's first mass extinction took place 540 million years ago. Was it a huge meteorite or terrifying volcanic eruption, typical of Earth's other mass extinctions? Nope, per a recent paper that says it offers the first "critical test" of the theory...

Huge Stone Monument Found Buried Near Stonehenge

One researcher calls the find of 90 large stones 'archaeology on steroids'

(Newser) - An English "super-henge" just became more super. Durrington Walls, one of the largest known henges and located less than 2 miles from Stonehenge, was believed to have been built in the Neolithic period around 4,500 years ago, and the way it aligns to the solstices like Stonehenge led...

Want to Show Some Emotion? Send an Email
Want to Show Some Emotion? Send an Email
NEW STUDY
Sep 7, 2015 11:42 AM CDT

Want to Show Some Emotion? Send an Email

New research says writing process may cause emotional arousal in sender

(Newser) - If you want to convey something affectionate or romantic and you can't do it in person, it may be better to send an email than leave a voicemail. So report researchers at Indiana University Bloomington in the journal Computers in Human Behavior after analyzing both the messages being sent...

New Test Can Predict When You&#39;ll Die
 New Test Can 
 Predict When 
 You'll Die 
STUDY SAYS
Sep 7, 2015 10:31 AM CDT

New Test Can Predict When You'll Die

'Gene signature' can be used to predict onset of diseases

(Newser) - "Health" and "age" are two distinct concepts, and no matter how old you are chronologically, a simple blood test can help determine what King's College London researchers call your "biological age"—which may be able to predict your longevity, the BBC reports. A study published...

Eye Exercises Can Reduce Our Natural Blind Spots
Eye Exercises Can Reduce Our Natural Blind Spots
NEW STUDY
Sep 6, 2015 2:05 PM CDT

Eye Exercises Can Reduce Our Natural Blind Spots

And, that's great news for people losing their vision

(Newser) - Your blind spot could shrink using simple exercises, say researchers who think they could help prevent blindness and possibly even restore sight to those who've lost it. All humans have blind spots due to the lack of photoreceptors where the optic nerve passes through the retina. But we don'...

A Small Shock Could Zap Your Motion Sickness
A Small Shock Could Zap Your Motion Sickness
NEW STUDY
Sep 6, 2015 7:50 AM CDT

A Small Shock Could Zap Your Motion Sickness

Scientists think they could eradicate travel misery within a decade

(Newser) - Motion sickness is, some scientists think, caused by conflicting messages that our ears and eyes send to our brain when we are in motion. In three out of 10 of us, it can be downright debilitating, resulting in cold sweats, dizziness, severe nausea, and more. But now researchers at Imperial...

New Device Pumps Life Into 'Dead' Hearts

It could raise the number available for transplant by a third

(Newser) - The number of hearts available to thousands of Americans requiring a transplant every year could increase by up to 30% if a new piece of medical technology developed in Massachusetts is approved for use in the US, the MIT Technology Review reports. TransMedics' Organ Care System—known as "heart...

Here&#39;s Why Your Cat May Not Care When You Leave
Here's Why Your Cat May
Not Care When You Leave
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 6, 2015 6:29 AM CDT

Here's Why Your Cat May Not Care When You Leave

New study shows domestic cats don't show signs of secure attachment to humans

(Newser) - There are a lot of cats in the United States. Perhaps close to 95 million live with us as pets, reports the Times-Picayune . But does our affection for these feline friends move in just one direction? New research in the journal PLoS One suggests that domesticated cats are more independent...

Divers Risk Lives to Find the World's Deepest Cave

Team hopes to prove Czech cave bests current record holder in Italy

(Newser) - Polish divers are putting their lives on the line to prove an underwater cave in the Czech Republic is the deepest in the world—hundreds of feet lower than depths survivable by humans, National Geographic reports. Krzysztof Starnawski, leader of the dive team, has been exploring the Hranická Propast cave...

Alcoholics' Cure? 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including an explanation of why your cat could take you or leave you

(Newser) - A possible breakthrough on the alcohol abuse front and "green" coffee make the list:
  • Could This Discovery End Alcoholism? : Texas A&M scientists say a cure for alcoholism could be on the horizon thanks to new brain research. It centers on a dopamine receptor that, once activated by alcohol,
...

Why This Swipe at a Drone Says a Lot About Chimps

Tushi planned and executed her attack, say researchers

(Newser) - A chimpanzee that famously knocked a flying drone out of the air with a stick earlier this year wasn't reacting out of fear or annoyance but rather executing a pre-planned and deliberate attack. That's according to a new study in Primates . "This episode adds to the indications...

Got the Blues? You're Less Likely to See This Color

Sad people less likely to identify colors on blue-yellow axis: study

(Newser) - Got the blues? You probably aren't seeing blues clearly. That's the takeaway from a new study that finds how a person views the color blue may actually depend on mood, reports Medical Daily . Not all colors were affected in the same way. Researchers at the University of Rochester...

Insurer Announces Major HIV Breakthrough

Daily pill prevented HIV infection for all patients in new study

(Newser) - Big news in the fight against HIV: Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco's biggest private insurer, says that over a 32-month period, not a single one of its clients taking Truvada contracted HIV. Truvada is the name of the daily pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, pill that the CDC recommended for use...

Could This Discovery End Alcoholism?
 Could This 
 Discovery End 
 Alcoholism? 
NEW STUDY
Sep 3, 2015 12:57 PM CDT

Could This Discovery End Alcoholism?

Blocking D1 receptors in brain blocks alcohol cravings: study

(Newser) - Scientists say a cure for alcoholism could be on the horizon thanks to the remarkable discovery of neurons in the brain that play a role in whether one glass of wine turns into a bottle. Texas A&M researchers explain the part of your brain known as the dorsomedial striatum...

How Your Coffee Grounds Can Help Save the World

Heating used grounds with potassium hydroxide enables methane storage

(Newser) - As if coffee isn't amazing enough already. A team of researchers—who, yes, got the idea over a cup of coffee—are reporting in the journal Nanotechnology that soaking spent coffee grounds in potassium hydroxide and then heating the grounds in a furnace creates a material that can store...

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