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.
Global demand for fossil fuels will peak in 2023, says thinktank
Global demand for fossil fuels will peak in 2023, an influential thinktank has predicted, posing a significant risk to financial markets because trillions of dollars’ worth of oil, coal and gas assets could be left worthless. Explosive growth in wind and solar will combine with action on climate Read More...
Waymo’s self-driving cars hit 10 million miles
Alphabet’s self-driving car company Waymo has spent years testing its autonomous vehicles on public roads. What started as a trickle of miles driven each day has exploded in the past few Read More...
Innovative material regenerates itself by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air
Scientists at MIT have developed a pioneering material that absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and uses it to restore itself. The material, which undergoes a chemical reaction similar to the process of photosynthesis in plants, could be used to make pavement that heals Read More...
This cheap mineral is making LED lighting technology far more efficient
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) may be the most energy efficient light-generating technology we have now, but scientists have found a way to make them even more efficient. Using perovskite, a mineral found abundantly in the Earth’s mantle, as the semiconductor, the LED can produce light more Read More...
Uber-funded research project pushes new ways to measure safety of driverless cars
A typical driving test considers basic skills: Can you parallel park? Do you merge safely? Do you know to yield to pedestrians? No such government exam is required for cars driven by a computer. The idea has been dismissed by federal officials who oppose regulation and industry leaders who say they Read More...
Israel commits to 100 percent electric vehicles, ICE ban by 2030
From 2030, residents of Israel will no longer be able to buy cars fueled by petrol or diesel, the Israeli government has announced. Instead, only electric cars will be available for Read More...
A study that shows that homeopathy works, causes outrage in the academic world
An Italian study has found evidence that homeopathy can be effective in treating pain in rats. The study has sparked a fierce scientific debate as homeopathy groups worldwide welcomed the results, but other researchers in Italy were not convinced by the way the study was carried Read More...
Amsterdam's canal boats are going electric
As we glide silently up Amsterdam's busy waterways on an unseasonably warm autumn morning, boat company owner Rik Kooij, 38, admits that "canal water runs in my veins". Ever since his mechanically-minded grandfather renovated a bicycle, then a motorbike, then a boat back in the 1920s, Mr. Kooij's Read More...
The desolated scene of Chernobyl is producing energy once more
After suffering the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, the land surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear plant has been devoid of human settlement and was thought to remain like this for another 24,000 years. In 2016, however, Ukrainian official came up with the idea of installing a solar farm on Read More...
First gene treatment therapy for blindness undergoes successful trial
Scientists in the UK have managed to restore the vision of people suffering from choroideremia, the most common form of inherited blindness. By injecting patients with a virus containing a lacking gene into the rear of their eyes, patients were able to experience significant gains in their vision. Read More...