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.
Seismologists use whale calls to map out the seafloor
Whales are famous for their deep, loud calls that travel for miles in the ocean. In fact, the bellows of fin whales can be heard from 600 miles away. Researchers are now looking to those whale calls to help them map out elusive sections of the deep seafloor. Seafloor imaging is used to study Read More...
This robot could help our efforts of planting 1 trillion trees
From helping us sort waste to monitoring endangered species, robots have been increasingly supporting our efforts to safeguard a better future for our environment. Now, some of them are looking to help us combat climate change by accelerating our reforestation efforts. An Estonian company, called Read More...
Fully foldable cells could be a game-changer for the future of solar tech
When you think of solar panels, one of the first things that likely come to mind are solid, flat square slabs destined to find their place under the sun on a rooftop or at a solar farm. But the technology is steadily evolving to become more flexible, and a team of scientists at Pusan National Read More...
Lufa is using tech skills to scale up urban farming
Rooftop farms are gaining momentum as a solution for providing local and sustainable food to high-density communities. Located on top of a former Sears warehouse in Montreal, Lufa Farms is another innovative urban farming initiative, but with a tech-savvy twist. Rather than selling their Read More...
Three countries to reach Mars' orbit by the end of this month
The pandemic has restrained life here on Earth, but it hasn’t stopped humans from pushing boundaries in space. In fact, spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates, China, and The United States are all scheduled to reach Mars this month after launching from Earth last summer. All three countries Read More...
We could soon use hills as batteries to store solar and wind energy
While solar and wind power are now the cheapest sources of energy across the world, energy storage remains one of the biggest hurdles preventing a full switch to renewables. This is because it’s still quite expensive to use batteries for storing power. A startup, however, has figured out a new Read More...
This electricity-free device can cool buildings in an eco-friendly way
Air conditioners are among the world’s hungriest energy consumers, and as the planet becomes warmer and the demand for cooling systems increases, the strain on the environment from air conditioners is only expected to grow. In a bid to find a way to passively cool our buildings, researchers at Read More...
This New Yorker built a new vaccine appointment website with less than $50
When New York City began distributing Covid-19 vaccines, senior residents eagerly started trying to make appointments to receive one. Unfortunately, the registration websites were glitchy and confusing, especially for older citizens with limited tech skills. Even Huge Ma, a 31-year-old software Read More...
This technology allows plants to communicate with farmers
Scientists at the Swiss deep tech company Vivent have created technology that allows us to know exactly what our plants need. Before this, farmers have relied on secondary indicators for finding problems with their crops, looking, for example, for signs of drought by checking out their roots. But Read More...
MIT researchers create origami-like patch to seal internal injuries
MIT researchers have developed a biodegradable medical patch that could soon help robot surgeons mend internal injuries and could ultimately lead to wider use of robots in medicine. Today, bioadhesive patches are already in use for surgeries that intend to seal internal damage, but the problem is Read More...