Today’s Solutions: December 24, 2024

Science

From mathematics and AI to medicine and psychology, The Optimist Daily features the latest news on discoveries, technological advances, and breakthroughs in the world of science. Our Science section is here to engage and enlighten you.

Armillaria ostoyae growing from bark covered in green moss.

The secrets behind the ferocity of fungi exposed

Armillaria ostoyae is one of the toughest tree-killing fungi on the planet. It assembles with black tentacle-like structures called rhizomorphs, which leach onto trees and suck out their nutrients. The reason the fungi is so hard to kill has previously baffled scientists, with farmers hacking Read More...

Tornado in a field

So what is the relationship between climate change and tornadoes?

Following devastating tornadoes in the United States this week, many are wondering, are these events fuelled by climate change? While wildfires and extreme rainfall have direct links to a changing climate, things are a bit more complex with tornadoes. Although the weather has a direct impact on Read More...

Robot with a red light on its head facing a maze.

Robots with ‘human like’ brains able to escape maze

Mazes are commonly used in psychology to assess the behavior of rats and mice. As scientists create more and more human-like robot brains, they thought it was time for the machines to have a turn. Robot vs. maze Teams from the Eindhoven University of Technology and the Max Planck Institute for Read More...

Headshot of Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram

Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram is making safe surgery more equitable

Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram attributes her concern for medical inequity to her exposure to war-torn Lebanon as a child. There she saw how people suffered because they lived in inaccessible places, didn’t have the opportunity to connect with highly specialized medical professionals, or couldn’t Read More...

A group of purple wildflowers next to an array of solar panels

This is how solar parks could be used to boost pollinator numbers

While solar parks are an integral part of our green energy transition, they are sometimes the subject of controversy over claims that they are an eyesore, spoil productive land, and harm nature. However, a new study has found that, if managed properly, solar parks can actually help provide habitats Read More...

Habitat for Humanity house

Prefab home design weaves sustainability and affordability together

In a quiet residential neighborhood in Brant County, Ontario, lies a home that outperforms neighboring houses not only in sustainable design, but also in affordability. Boasting Passive House standards — a highly energy-efficient building standard — the new house is an experiment for Habitat Read More...

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

'Ghost particle' spotted for the first time in Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), nicknamed the world’s greatest atom smasher, is the most powerful particle accelerator in the world. Consisting of a 27 kilometer long ring of superconducting magnets, it sits in a tunnel 100 meters underground at CERN, a research facility in Switzerland. The Read More...

Frozen sign that reads

Drones help scientists gather winter climate data from Gulf Stream

Collecting weather data along the Gulf Stream in severe winter conditions is a challenge, to say the least, for traditional ships with human crews. To make the process easier and more efficient, Saildrone, headquartered in Alameda, California, manufactures surface vehicles that use renewable Read More...

Man receiving a plaster from a medical professional after getting a vaccination.

New mRNA flu vaccine shows success in clinical trials

When the common cold returns each year, so does the rise in flu cases. For younger, healthy people, all this means is the sniffles and a day in bed, but as we get older or develop other health conditions, these seasonal diseases can have a more dramatic, sometimes deadly impact on our Read More...

US will stop financing fossil

US will stop financing fossil fuel projects abroad

The US government has officially halted federal aid to overseas fossil fuel projects. The new policy comes after the US joined nearly 40 other countries in a COP26 pledge to end foreign fossil fuel financing by the end of 2022. The funding change will mean no more US financing for coal plants, Read More...