New Discoveries: Reports on the Latest Scientific Discoveries - Page 190

Inside the Rare Case of the Woman Who Has No Fear

Jan 21, 2015 6:46 AM CST

Inside the Rare Case of the Woman Who Has No Fear

SM has been studied since the '90s

(Newser) - Would it be like to live a life completely void of fear? NPR's Invisibilia tackled that question in its second episode by talking to Antonio Damasio, a University of Southern California neuroscientist who has treated a woman—referred to as SM—with an inability to feel fear. SM suffers...

Researchers
Making Mario
Think for Himself

Jan 20, 2015 11:22 AM CST

Researchers Making Mario Think for Himself

He can 'learn' to collect coins, jump on bad guys

(Newser) - Before you know it, your video games could be playing themselves. Researchers in Germany are working on giving Nintendo's best-known character a form of artificial intelligence, the Verge reports. Their goal is a "Living and Conversing Mario Agent" that can act on commands given not with a gamepad...

How Raindrops
Get Their Smell

NEW STUDY

Jan 20, 2015 8:33 AM CST

How Raindrops Get Their Smell

MIT researchers reveal the mechanism that releases the earthy smell of fresh rain

(Newser) - If you think rain has a distinct scent, you're not imagining it. Petrichor, that earthy smell that accompanies light showers, could be the result of raindrops releasing aerosols, which are tiny amounts of liquid suspended in gas, reports MIT News . "Rain happens every day—it’s raining now,...

Gen. Sherman's
War Spoils May
Sit at Bottom
of SC River

Jan 20, 2015 6:35 AM CST

Gen. Sherman's War Spoils May Sit at Bottom of SC River

Tar-cleanup project in Congaree River could expose munitions

(Newser) - In 1954, a gas-producing plant closed near the Congaree River in Columbia, SC. But its presence lingers, in the form of roughly 40,000 tons of "taffy-like" black tar that need to be removed from the river. The State reports on a most unusual side effect of damming the...

The Elderly
Are Falling
More Often

new study

Jan 19, 2015 7:10 PM CST

The Elderly Are Falling More Often

Study sees 8% increase, but reasons remain murky

(Newser) - Elderly Americans are apparently falling more often, but researchers don't know why. A new study says adults aged 65 and up self-reported a noticeable increase in falls between 1998 and 2010, reports Eureka Alert . Queried every two years, the percentage of seniors who said they'd fallen at least...

Early Humans Ate
Animals We Call Pets

new study

Jan 19, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Early Humans Ate Animals We Call Pets

Human bite marks found on small-carnivore remains

(Newser) - Europeans have dined on dogs, foxes, badgers, and wild cats, a new study says—although admittedly it's been a while. Researchers base this on ancient small-carnivore remains discovered in a Spanish cave, the Telegraph reports. Dating back 3,100 to 7,200 years, the remains show signs of human...

Bones in Huge Greek Tomb From at Least 5 Corpses

In Mystery
Greek Tomb,
Bones From
5 Corpses

Jan 19, 2015 2:45 PM CST

In Mystery Greek Tomb, Bones From 5 Corpses

Among the remains found at Amphipolis: newborn, 60-year-old woman

(Newser) - A giant tomb found in Greece's Macedonia region over the summer contains more than simply sphinxes and a mosaic. Researchers say bones found at the ancient Amphipolis site are from at least five people—including a newborn and a 60-year-old woman, the country's Culture Ministry said in a...

'Oldest Known
Gospel' Found
in Mummy
Mask

Jan 18, 2015 2:59 PM CST

'Oldest Known Gospel' Found in Mummy Mask

Researchers say Mark fragment pre-dates 90AD

(Newser) - Ancients apparently used various papyrus documents to create mummy masks—including what may be the earliest known fragment of a New Testament gospel, LiveScience reports. Confirming information that leaked in 2012, professor Craig Evans says he's among the researchers who peeled apart the glued layers of a mummy mask...

How Recess Can
Make Kids Eat
More Veggies

study says

Jan 18, 2015 9:07 AM CST

How Recess Can Make Kids Eat More Veggies

Just let them play before lunch

(Newser) - Researchers have come up with a way to get kids to chow down on 54% more fruits and vegetables, and it's remarkably straightforward: Just have them go out for recess before lunch rather than afterward. Researchers studied 2,500 elementary-schoolers in Utah receiving fruits and veggies at lunch as...

Temperature
Might Explain
Zebras' Stripes

Jan 17, 2015 1:35 PM CST

Temperature Might Explain Zebras' Stripes

Researchers investigate continuing mystery

(Newser) - There are all kinds of explanations out there for why zebras have stripes, ranging from tricking lions to putting off bugs . A new study helps clarify the situation: Zebras' stripes appear to be linked to temperature, National Geographic reports. Zebras living in warmer temperatures have more stripes than their cousins...

Wisconsin Crater
Yields One of the
Rarest Minerals

Jan 17, 2015 7:50 AM CST

Wisconsin Crater Yields One of the Rarest Minerals

450M-year-old reidite find is most ancient yet

(Newser) - Reidite is one of the rarest minerals on earth—it's been found in only four places. The most recent is Rock Elm, Wisconsin, where scientists discovered the material in a crater, Phys.org reports. The crater has been around since the geologic period known as the Middle Ordovician, and...

Two Planets
May Lurk
Beyond Pluto

Jan 17, 2015 6:38 AM CST

Two Planets May Lurk Beyond Pluto

Astronomers can't otherwise explain behavior of objects way out there

(Newser) - It might soon be time to change all those grade-school dioramas of the solar system again: Astronomers think at least two more planets exist, reports Universe Today . In two studies from the UK and Spain, scientists say the planets' existence is the only way to explain why objects are behaving...

5 Most Incredible
Discoveries of the Week

Jan 17, 2015 5:31 AM CST

5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including a Mars probe missing since 2003 and a 'sinister dolphin' found in Scotland

(Newser) - A Scottish sea monster and a poker-playing bot that most people will never beat make the list:

Mars Probe Lost for a Decade Shows Up : The Beagle 2 began its fall to Mars on Dec. 19, 2003, with a scheduled Christmas Day landing—but it was never heard from again.

...

Michigan Neighbors
Unearth Mastodon
Bones in Backyard

Jan 16, 2015 12:12 PM CST

Michigan Neighbors Unearth Mastodon Bones in Backyard

They dig up more than 40, will donate to museum

(Newser) - Eric Witzke's home is in Bellevue Township, Michigan, but he is clearly not the first one to roam his yard. While he and neighbor Daniel LaPoint were excavating a backyard pond, they happened upon more than 40 mastodon bones, reports ABC News . An expert from the University of Michigan...

Lost Mars Probe
Found Intact
After 11 Years

Jan 16, 2015 7:55 AM CST

Lost Mars Probe Found Intact After 11 Years

Scientists: Beagle 2 mission was 'a great success' after all

(Newser) - The British-built Beagle 2 began its fall to Mars on Dec. 19, 2003. It was expected to land on the Red Planet on Christmas Day and begin its search for alien life (its name is a nod to Charles Darwin's HMS Beagle). But it was never heard from again....

Mysterious
132-Year-Old
Rifle Found in
National Park

Jan 15, 2015 7:24 AM CST

Mysterious 132-Year-Old Rifle Found in National Park

Who left the Winchester Model 1873 in Great Basin National Park?

(Newser) - It was "the gun that won the West"—and it may have been leaning against a tree for more than a century. While surveying Nevada's Great Basin National Park in November, an archaeological crew spotted a Winchester Model 1873 in the woods. It was a lucky sighting:...

Working Too Hard May Make You Hit the Bottle Harder

STUDY SAYS

Jan 14, 2015 11:51 AM CST

Working Too Hard May Make You Hit the Bottle Harder

People who work more than 48 hours a week consume 'risky' alcohol amounts: study

(Newser) - Working more than a standard 40-hour workweek (if that "standard" still even exists) won't only shave away at your R&R time: It may also cause you to drink more, the Guardian reports. Researchers found that individuals who put in 49 to 54 hours a week were 13%...

Key to Babies'
New Memories: Naps

NEW STUDY

Jan 14, 2015 9:01 AM CST

Key to Babies' New Memories: Naps

Researchers find babies who napped soon after an activity remembered it better

(Newser) - It's long been thought that napping is an important part of a baby's growth—both physically and mentally. Now new research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that naps help babies form new memories, and that when a nap directly follows a new activity...

Deepest Life on Earth
Possibly Spotted

Jan 13, 2015 7:41 PM CST

Deepest Life on Earth Possibly Spotted

Bacteria may be able to survive 12 miles below Earth's surface

(Newser) - Life has a way of persisting in the unlikeliest of places—not just in the ocean's deepest spot, the Mariana Trench , but possibly even miles below the Earth's surface. Following up on a Yale grad student's initial fieldwork dating back to 1997, researchers from the university are...

BPA Alternative
Might Be Even Worse