discoveries

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

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'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...

As Ants Took Over, Mammals Evolved 12 Times to Eat Them

That's 12 distinct times, a study has found

(Newser) - The combined weight of all the planet's ants and termites outpaces that of all living wild mammals. That wasn't the case in the Cretaceous, when they accounted for less than 1% of Earth's insects. As their numbers changed, some mammals reinvented themselves in order to eat...

How Much You Move a Better Predictor of Longevity Than Age
For Those Seeking
a Longer Life,
Get a Move on It
NEW STUDY
Jul 19, 2025 5:25 PM CDT

For Those Seeking a Longer Life, Get a Move on It

Wrist trackers show that daily activity beats out metrics like how old you are in predicting longevity

(Newser) - A new study suggests that the best indicator of how long you'll live isn't buried in a complex list of medical tests or hidden among the hundreds of biomarkers that longevity-obsessed tech millionaires track. Instead, it comes down to a much simpler metric: how much you move...

Ancient Chinese Culture Is Oldest Known Matriarchy

DNA links burial sites to women-led family lines

(Newser) - New DNA analysis has uncovered a 4,750-year-old female-led society in ancient China. Researchers say it is the oldest known matrilineal society, reports the South China Morning Post . A study published in Nature centers on the Fujia site in Shandong province—a region often cited as a cradle of...

Science Finds People Want to Date Their Pets (Kind of)

New study reveals nearly a third of pet owners would go out with the AI version of their cats, dogs

(Newser) - Man's best friend = man's artificial-intelligence-created lover? That's the gist of a new study that shows a significant number of pet owners wouldn't mind dating their pets if an AI version of them could be created, reports the New York Post . According to the MetLife survey...

The Fossil in Front of Him Looked Eerily Like Another

Fossil slab split in half a century ago reveals a new species, the oldest known tree-dwelling reptile

(Newser) - A chance encounter in a London museum has led to the identification of a new prehistoric species, thanks to the keen eye of paleontologist Victor Beccari. While examining reptile fossils at the city's Natural History Museum, Beccari noticed a skeleton that looked strikingly familiar. His memory of a...

Pieces From Wonder of the Ancient World Are Recovered
Pieces From One of Seven
Ancient Wonders Are Raised
in case you missed it
Jul 12, 2025 10:00 AM CDT

Pieces From One of Seven Ancient Wonders Are Raised

Stone blocks that were part of Lighthouse of Alexandria are pulled from the sea

(Newser) - Long-lost stone blocks from the legendary Lighthouse of Alexandria, once a beacon to ancient mariners and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, have been hoisted from the Mediterranean. The blocks, submerged for centuries in Alexandria's harbor, are being digitally scanned as part of an effort...

Museum's Dino Bone Find 'Like Hitting a Hole in One From the Moon'

It was found deep under Denver museum's parking lot

(Newser) - A Denver museum known for its dinosaur displays has made a fossil bone discovery closer to home than anyone ever expected—under its own parking lot. It came from a hole drilled more than 750 feet deep to study geothermal heating potential for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science....

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