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.
Restored Vermeer painting reveals a cupid hanging on the wall
Two months ago, we wrote about how researchers in the Netherlands used AI to restore Rembrandt’s masterpiece The Night’s Watch, enabling millions of visitors at Amsterdam’s Rijkmuseum to enjoy the painting as the author originally intended it. In a more recent development in the world of Read More...
Arctic scientists stumble upon the world’s northernmost island
Can you imagine discovering an entirely new island? Does it even seem possible that there are places on this earth that have yet to be discovered? Well, indeed there are! It was recently reported that researchers seeking data about microscopic life in the Arctic stumbled upon a previously Read More...
3 Motivating findings from the IPCC report
As we’ve discussed before on The Optimist Daily, the newest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is far from reassuring. It illustrates that the planet is warming faster than expected and without immediate action, we will face extreme consequences. However, there Read More...
Solar domes could help provide a solution to the global water crisis
We have previously written about the problem of water scarcity and some of the emerging solutions aimed at solving it. Today, we’d like to share with you yet another innovative technology that works to solve the global water crisis. The novel technology, developed by London-based Solar Water Read More...
Policy changes and activism render Texas abortion reporting site inactive
Website host GoDaddy has taken down Texas Right to Life’s abortion whistleblowing website for violating its terms of service. GoDaddy specifically cites Section 5.2, which states “You will not collect or harvest (or permit anyone else to collect or harvest) any User Content (as defined below) Read More...
Study: Solar could account for 40 percent of US power by 2035
Currently, just three percent of US electricity comes from solar power, but that could soon change as the Energy Department’s Solar Futures Study finds that 40 percent of all electricity could be generated by solar by 2035. In addition to upping solar contributions, the study finds that 95 Read More...
How a self-taught electrician in Malawi brought electricity to his village
According to UN-backed Sustainable Energy for All, only 11 percent of Malawi’s population of 19 million people have access to electricity, making it one of the least electrified nations in the world. The people of the Yobe Nkosi village are part of the 96 percent of the country’s rural Read More...
In South Korea, one oil company is shifting its focus to offshore wind
In a bid to perhaps make up for decades of fueling climate change, the Shell corporation began the development of a massive floating wind farm off the coast of South Korea. It owns an 80 percent share in the proposed project, with the remainder split between South Korean interests and a Swedish Read More...
What's interoception and how does it affect our self-image?
The sayings “trust your gut,” and “follow your heart” may ring truer than we thought. A new study by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University demonstrates a link between negative body image and weak brain responses to signals from the gut and heart. The researchers believe that these newly Read More...
People don’t understand climate jargonーscience communication could help
There are many hurdles ahead as we adjust our world towards a carbon neutral future, but one of the biggest may perhaps just be communicating to the everyday citizen what climate change is and how we address it. A recent study found that some of the most common terms used to discuss the climate Read More...