discoveries

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

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Most Distant Star in Universe May Not Be a Star After All

New JWST data hints that Earendel could be lots of stars banded together in a cluster

(Newser) - Astronomers have called into question the identity of the most distant star in the universe ever detected, Earendel, first spotted by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 2022. New research using the agency's James Webb Space Telescope suggests this far-flung light source, located 12.9 billion light-years away...

Scientists Discover 'Tiny, Weird, Feral' Whale

This prehistoric whale had razor teeth, bulging eyes, and a face only evolution could love

(Newser) - Long before whales were majestic, gentle giants, some of their prehistoric ancestors were tiny, weird, and feral. Researchers this week officially named Janjucetus dullardi, a cartoonish creature with bulging eyes the size of tennis balls, in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Unlike today's whales, the juvenile specimen...

Toothpaste May Soon Get a Boost From Your Hair
Toothpaste May Soon Get
a Boost From Your Hair
new study
Aug 15, 2025 7:40 AM CDT

Toothpaste May Soon Get a Boost From Your Hair

Study finds that the protein keratin, found in hair and wool, fights tooth decay

(Newser) - Toothpaste and mouthwash could soon get a surprising upgrade—from your own hair. A new study in Advanced Healthcare Materials suggests the protein keratin, which is found in human hair and sheep's wool, is more effective at repairing and protecting tooth enamel than current treatments, reports the BBC...

Blowing Into Conch Shell May Ease Sleep Apnea Symptoms
Have Sleep Apnea?
Blow on a Conch Shell
NEW STUDY
Aug 14, 2025 3:00 PM CDT

Have Sleep Apnea? Blow on a Conch Shell

Small study finds fewer apnea events, less daytime fatigue after subjects blew into a conch shell

(Newser) - A small study out of India suggests that blowing into a conch shell—a practice rooted in Indian tradition—may provide relief for people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, the most common sleep-tied breathing disorder . OSA is a condition where throat muscles block the airway during sleep,...

ADHD Drugs May Lower Risks Beyond Symptoms
ADHD Drugs May Do
More Than Help ADHD
NEW STUDY
Aug 14, 2025 7:29 AM CDT

ADHD Drugs May Do More Than Help ADHD

Largest study yet links such medications to lower real-world risks, including suicidal behavior

(Newser) - A new study out of Sweden suggests that medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could help reduce more than just the core symptoms of the condition. For their research published in the BMJ journal , scientists looked at medical records for nearly 150,000 people diagnosed with ADHD and...

Watchdog Slams 'Ineffective' ChatGPT Guardrails for Teens

Center for Countering Digital Hate says AI chatbot offers kids detailed plans for self-harm, drug use

(Newser) - ChatGPT will instruct 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, tell them how to conceal eating disorders, and even compose a suicide letter to their parents if asked, per new research from a watchdog group. The AP reviewed three-plus hours of interactions between ChatGPT and researchers posing as vulnerable teens....

Cockatoos Have Dozens of Dance Moves at Their Disposal
Researchers
Count 30
Cockatoo
Dance Moves
NEW STUDY
Aug 8, 2025 8:54 AM CDT

Researchers Count 30 Cockatoo Dance Moves

Scientists also find in new research that parrots dance just for fun

(Newser) - Think you've got better moves than a parrot? New research suggests you may want to reassess that. A study published in PLOS One has catalogued 30 distinct dance moves performed by cockatoos, with 17 of them never previously documented. The findings come from analyses of 45 online videos...

'The Tomato Is the Mother of the Potato'
'The Tomato Is the
Mother of the Potato'
NEW STUDY
Aug 2, 2025 7:30 AM CDT

'The Tomato Is the Mother of the Potato'

'Next time you eat potatoes, thank a tomato,' genome researcher says

(Newser) - "Next time you eat potatoes, thank a tomato," says genome biologist Sanwen Huang. A new study published in Cell has upended what scientists thought they knew about the potato: It turns out potatoes evolved from tomatoes. Huang and his team says the modern potato likely appeared about...

Dementia Diagnosis Often Lags for Years After First Symptoms

Delays tied to misdiagnosis, stigma, health care system gaps, per new research

(Newser) - A new study led by University College London reveals that people with dementia typically wait 3 1/2 years from initial symptoms to hear an official diagnosis—a delay that stretches to 4.1 years for those facing early-onset forms, reports the Independent . The analysis, published in the International Journal ...

Ancient Greeks Offered the Gods a Sticky 'Superfood'
Ancient Greeks Offered the
Gods a Sticky 'Superfood'
NEW STUDY
Jul 31, 2025 12:38 PM CDT

Ancient Greeks Offered the Gods a Sticky 'Superfood'

Scientists confirm honeycomb offering in ancient jars at Paestum, formerly Poseidonia

(Newser) - A decades-old archaeological mystery has finally been cracked: A strange sticky residue found in 2,500-year-old bronze jars unearthed in southern Italy is now confirmed to be ancient honeycomb. Researchers had long suspected the jars—discovered in a sixth-century BC underground shrine in Paestum—contained honey, an offering to...

In Deepest Parts of Ocean, Scientists Find a Surprise

Extensive communities of mollusks, tubeworms are discovered at 31K under the surface

(Newser) - An underwater voyage has revealed a network of creatures thriving at the bottom of deep-sea ocean trenches. In these extreme environments, the crushing pressure, scant food, and lack of sunlight can make it hard to survive, reports the AP . Scientists know that tiny microbes prosper there, but less is known...

Liver Cancer Cases Could Nearly Double by 2050
Liver Cancer Cases Could
Nearly Double by 2050
NEW STUDY
Jul 29, 2025 7:04 AM CDT

Liver Cancer Cases Could Nearly Double by 2050

Obesity, alcohol, hepatitis are the main drivers worldwide—but 60% of cases may be preventable

(Newser) - A new global study points to a striking stat: About 60% of liver cancer cases—currently killing more than 700,000 people worldwide each year—could be prevented by tackling a handful of risk factors. Published in the Lancet journal , the study highlights chronic hepatitis B and C, heavy...

Ancient Roman Mystery: Truly Giant Shoes

Were there giants living at Magna? Or, perhaps, some very cold Syrians?

(Newser) - Archaeologists excavating a Roman fort in northern England have uncovered a puzzling trove of enormous ancient shoes—leaving experts stumped as to why these 2,000-year-old sandals are so much bigger than the rest. Since May, the team working at the fort known as Magna, just south of the...

A Surprise Find About Ancient 'Terror Birds'

Fossil suggests these apex predators sometimes ended up as prey, too

(Newser) - A fossil discovery in Colombia is reshaping how scientists view the prehistoric pecking order. Researchers examining a 13-million-year-old bone from a so-called "terror bird"—a flightless creature known for its imposing size and lethal beak—have found evidence that even those apex predators sometimes ended up on...

Earthquake Fault Slip Caught on Video for the First Time
First Video of a Fault Slip Sent
Chills Down Researcher's Spine
in case you missed it
Jul 27, 2025 6:53 AM CDT

First Video of a Fault Slip Sent Chills Down Researcher's Spine

'It shows something that I think every earthquake scientist has been desperate to see'

(Newser) - A CCTV camera in Myanmar captured incredible footage during the country's March earthquake . A fault slip was caught on video for the first time and researchers say it will do a lot to improve their understanding of earthquakes, the Smithsonian reports. The video shows the ground shaking before it...

Why Some Families Seem to Have Only Boys or Girls
Why Some Families Seem
to Have Only Boys or Girls
NEW STUDY
Jul 26, 2025 7:30 AM CDT

Why Some Families Seem to Have Only Boys or Girls

Research finds that family patterns involving siblings influence the odds

(Newser) - A Harvard University study is challenging the long-held assumption that the odds of having a baby boy or girl are a simple coin toss. Drawing on records from more than 58,000 women in the Nurses' Health Study, researchers uncovered a pattern, per NPR : In families with at least...

Emerging From the Sands of Oahu, a Glimpse of the Past

Petroglyphs that are hundreds of years old are visible on Hawaiian island for first time in years

(Newser) - Hawaiian petroglyphs dating back at least a half millennium are visible on Oahu for the first time in years, thanks to seasonal ocean swells that have peeled away sand covering a panel of more than two dozen images of mostly human-looking stick figures. The petroglyphs are easy to spot during...

Grand Canyon Gives Up New Species From 'Goldilocks Zone'

Site was an evolutionary hotbed 500M years ago, per fossil research on recently found penis worm

(Newser) - A previously unknown species of penis worm navigated what's now the Grand Canyon half a billion years ago—making up part of a fascinating, first-of-its-kind discovery at the iconic US site. By dissolving fist-size rocks discovered along the Colorado River within the canyon, researchers led by the University of...

World's Smallest Known Snake Rediscovered

'After a year of searching, you begin to get a little pessimistic'

(Newser) - For nearly two decades, no one had spotted the world's smallest known snake. Some scientists worried that maybe the Barbados threadsnake had become extinct, but one sunny morning, Connor Blades lifted a rock in a tiny forest in the eastern Caribbean island and held his breath. "After a...

Optimists' Brains Really Do Think Alike
Optimists' Brains
Really Do Think Alike
NEW STUDY
Jul 22, 2025 10:44 AM CDT

Optimists' Brains Really Do Think Alike

Brain scans reveal similar brain activity in the more upbeat among us

(Newser) - If you tend to see the glass as half full, your brain may have more in common with other optimists than you think. A new study from researchers at Japan's Kobe University suggests that people with positive outlooks actually share similar patterns of brain activity when imagining the...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser