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.
How the world’s biggest battery could help solve blackouts in California
California aims to run its grid entirely on fossil-fuel-free energy by 2045 and has been closing down dirty power plants and ramping up renewables at a steady clip. But while fuels can supply a steady stream of energy, the sun and wind are intermittent. That’s where the Gateway Energy storage Read More...
Major hedge fund dumps oil companies for lobbying against climate action
That oil, gas, and mining companies extract resources while damaging the environment is already bad enough, but what is absolutely unacceptable is that some of these companies lobby against climate action. That’s why a Nordic hedge fund worth more than $90bn (£68.6bn) has dumped its stocks in Read More...
This tiny space rock holds clues about the planet’s evolution
Back in 2012, a team of Japanese and Belgian researchers in Antarctica found a golf ball-sized space rock resting in the snow. Now, NASA astronauts have had a chance to study a piece of that meteorite, Asuka 12236, and they say it may hold new clues about the development of life. Inside the Read More...
Green recovery: Italy offers $600 subsidy to those wanting to buy a bike
Italy may soon see fewer cars and more bicycles on its roads thanks to a new initiative that will offer a hefty subsidy to anyone wanting to buy a bike. The move is part of the country’s €55bn post-pandemic recovery plan designed to boost Italy’s economy and entails offering €500 ($600) to Read More...
Google rolls out new real-time wildfire boundary maps
Having accurate wildfire data during an active blaze can help save lives and inform critical evacuation decisions. Amidst the wildfires ravaging California, Google Maps has launched a new service that provides real time wildfire boundary data. The program was piloted last year in California Read More...
From fertility to diabetes: 6 ways smartphones can help track health
The processing power of today’s smartphones, along with their high-quality cameras and an array of ever-improving sensors, makes them potentially useful in the medical world for diagnosing different conditions quickly. Let’s take a look at a few early-stage but highly promising examples. A Read More...
These solar-powered barges can scoop up 50 tons of plastic from rivers each day
While removing the plastic waste that currently contaminates the ocean today will be crucial for protecting marine ecosystems, it is arguably more important that we stop any more plastic trash from entering the ocean. Fortunately for humanity, The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit taking on plastic waste Read More...
Your company can make clean energy a work-from-home perk with this program
Remote work can provide plenty of advantages—flexibility for families, no commute, increased productivity—but it also comes with some downsides, like higher home energy use and no more free coffee or other office perks. Now, businesses can offer clean energy as a work-from-home benefit, and Read More...
Dr. Spot: Meet the robot dog testing coronavirus patients
At one point or another, you must have seen Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots while surfing the web. Spot robots are these somewhat creepy four-legged robot dogs that are designed to nimbly navigate areas wheeled robots cannot, either autonomously or via remote control. From herding sheep in New Read More...
Doctors set to trial experimental treatment for abdominal cancer patients
The unfortunate truth for abdominal cancer patients is that once tumors start to grow on the lining of a cancer patient's abdomen, there's little hope of long-term survival. The good news is that could soon change as researchers are ready to put an experimental cancer treatment to the test in a US Read More...