What the ideal sleep schedule is for every sleep chronotype
Getting enough good quality sleep is crucial for our overall health, but unfortunately, there isn’t a standardized sleeping schedule that will work for everyone. That's because, much like personality types, each person falls into one of four different “sleep chronotypes,” and each chronotype Read More...
Can you guess the number of black holes in our universe?
The all encompassing death of a giant star collapsing in on itself, sucking in everything in its path including light and time, is a mind boggling thing to get your head around. That’s why black holes have captured human’s fascination ever since we discovered them in 1971. It is important for Read More...
Start a weekly fitness journal to help you maintain motivation
Now that we are nearing the end of the first month of the year, it may be a good time to assess how our new year's resolutions are going. If your goal for the new year was to work out more, then starting an end-of-the-week fitness journaling practice can help you stay committed to it, even when Read More...
Ease menopause by listening to music
Going through menopause can be an extremely challenging time, where the world you’ve known for most of your life is turned upside down. Not every person's experience of menopause is the same, with symptoms ranging in frequency and severity. These include depression, sexual dysfunction, joint and Read More...
This bio-rover is essentially driven by a marimo ball
What is marimo? Marimo is arguably one of nature’s most bizarre creations. Commonly known as algae balls or moss balls, these algae bundles are typically found on lake floors in Japan and Northern Europe. Their fuzzy spherical shape is the result of gentle currents rolling the algae over and Read More...
Guaranteed income for poor mothers boosts infant brain activity
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that uses data from the Baby’s First Years study, put forth results that offer a strong argument for the implementation of basic or guaranteed income payments for families. The study demonstrates that infants in Read More...
Goldie the porcupine pufferfish is thriving after emergency dental work
Did you know that porcupine pufferfish teeth, which are known as beaks, never stop growing throughout the fish’s life? “They’re usually kept short naturally, as they’re worn down on their regular diet of hard-shelled foods,” explains veterinary surgeon Daniel Calvo Carrasco, a specialist Read More...
Newly discovered rainfrog named after climate activist
While studying the local diversity of amphibians and reptiles in eastern Panama back in 2012, a group of researchers identified a new species of frog, which was then named after well-known climate activist Greta Thunberg. Leading the expedition was Konrad Mebert from the State University of Read More...
Gene-therapy could treat leading cause of blindness
Throughout the past decade, it seems like science is getting closer to the reality of gene therapy. Here at The Optimist Daily, we’ve reported on a number of potential uses for the practice, including; curing blindness, reducing obesity, ending malaria, allowing cross species organ transplants, Read More...
Levitating ice leads to deeper understanding of energy
Believe it or not, scientists have been levitating water since the 18th century. The Leidenfrost effect was first described in 1751 by a German doctor and theologian, who named the phenomenon after himself. Using a high temperature plate of 150˚C, he observed that a water droplet could be made to Read More...