New technique may soon enable human-like sensation in prosthetics
Replicating the familiar sense of human touch is one of the most pressing challenges facing roboticists who are working on improving bionic limps. That problem may soon be solved, however, thanks to a team of researchers that has recently developed a new tactile sensing method that could augment Read More...
Veterans and wild mustangs find mutual healing in upstate New York
In the village of Honeoye Falls, New York, an unusual partnership is taking root. 200 acres in the town is home to nonprofit EquiCenter, an equine therapy center focused on supporting veterans with PTSD and rehabilitating wild mustangs with a mutually beneficial training program. Many of the Read More...
How to keep food fresh for travel, according to a flight attendant
As travel starts to make a come-back, so do all the bothersome little tasks that go with it, such as figuring out how to pack as much as possible without going over the weight limit, how to deal with liquid beauty products that you want to put in your carry-on, and how to prep food on the go Read More...
August 10, 2021
Today we're talking about how a simply parking policy can boost green transportation and a novel material making heat energy transfer more efficient. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
August 10, 2021
Today we're talking about how a simply parking policy can boost green transportation and a novel material making heat energy transfer more efficient. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
Novel material converts waste heat to electricity with record efficiency
Researchers at Northwestern University have come up with an extremely high-performing thermoelectric material that may be the most efficient yet at converting waste heat into electricity. Thermoelectric systems generate electricity by using a temperature gradient. When one side of special material Read More...
Simple parking policy incentivizes employees to take greener routes to work
A key goal of public transportation is to reduce the number of cars on the road and therefore improve air quality and reduce emissions, especially in urban areas, but a small detail in the US federal tax code is actually working against this goal. The federal tax code has an exemption for Read More...
Clare Celeste's vibrant art is a reminder of how precious nature is
Many of us are already aware that we are facing a human-induced climate crisis that puts our world in a precarious position. However, presenting the problem with dry facts, pages of research, and endless spreadsheets and charts fails to stir our souls into action. That’s where art comes into Read More...
The Optimist View: Honoring the Animals
"It's not whether animals will survive, it's whether man has the will to save them." - Anthony D. Williams BY Amelia Buckley [caption id="attachment_1405688" align="alignleft" width="225"] Ram in Glacier National Park[/caption] Coming around a bend along a trail in Glacier National Park, I Read More...
This hotline makes it easy for anyone to demand climate action
Activists will encourage you over and over again to call your representatives to spur action on a specific issue, but if you’re not familiar with the process, you might be asking yourself: How exactly do I call my representatives? Fortunately, a new project now makes it easier than ever to demand Read More...