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 Montreal Protocol saved Earth’s protective ozone layer
When discussing climate change, the ozone layer is often brought up as a critical component, but what does the ozone layer actually do? Essentially, the ozone layer is a protective barrier that protects our planet from the sun’s harmful rays. It is like nature’s sunscreen. Earlier this Read More...
Maryland inaugurates first gas station to redesign itself into an EV charging point
Sick and tired with the way fossil fuel companies structure contracts with gas stations, a gas station owner by the name of Depeswar Doley did something drastic: he waved goodbye to these companies and converted his gas station in Maryland into the first EV-only fueling station. In a state with Read More...
Telling people what product their trash will turn into can boost recycling rates
We don’t mean to bring on the negativity, but US recycling rates are abysmal. About 75% of American waste is recyclable, yet just 30% of it is actually recycled. The figures are even worse with materials like plastic. Less than 10% of plastics disposed of in the U.S. in 2015 were recycled. Read More...
Lime is incentivizing its contracted employees to scoot into renewables
If you live in an urban area or college town, you’ve likely seen fleets of electric scooters popping up on your sidewalks. These fun and convenient scooters have a carbon footprint of less than half the size of cars, but one company is working to make this footprint into a toeprint. The most Read More...
This is how conservationists are saving the world’s coral reefs
It’s no news that coral reefs around the world are suffering greatly from the effects of climate change. Sea level rise, intensifying tropical storms, warming waters, and ocean acidification – when combined, all of these impacts dramatically alter coral reef ecosystems, leading to devastating Read More...
New York Harbor sees whale populations rebound due to cleaner waters
Over the last couple of decades, due to high levels of pollution and overfishing, the waters surrounding New York City have become devoid of some of their original marine inhabitants, such as the humpback whale. But, thanks to successful environmental policies, the gorgeous mammals are back in the Read More...
Solar panels are helping US farmers make ends meet
Since the start of the trade war between the US and China, there have been many people affected by the dispute, but small farmers have been bearing the brunt of it. The tit-for-tat tariffs applied by both countries to each other’s goods have cut demand for American crops, putting many small Read More...
Dutch airline KLM will replace short-haul flight with rail service to cut emissions
It’s as straightforward as that: flying less is essential to curbing the aviation industry’s heavy carbon footprint. And, while sometimes there are no ways around it, replacing short-haul flight operations with other means of transportation can have a significant positive impact on the Read More...
New NASA telescope project will allow us to foresee what the dinosaurs could not
Most of us probably don’t worry about asteroids on a daily basis, but for NASA, this is one of the threats to our planet that must be considered. In an effort to avoid meeting the same fate as the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, NASA is planning to launch a space telescope to monitor for Read More...
Video game detects early symptoms of dementia that medical tests aren’t able to
Detecting Alzheimer’s at an early stage gives patients the best chance to adjust, prepare, and plan for the future. The only problem is that diagnosing the disease can be very difficult. In search of a more effective method of detecting the disease, researchers from Germany created a virtual Read More...