Health
Finding good health news amidst a pandemic can be quite daunting. That’s not the case with The Optimist Daily, where positive news is in high supply. Our Health section covers the latest good news from the health sector, featuring solutions ranging from mental and physical health to immunity, nutrition, and cutting edge medical research.
FUTURE OF FOOD: Finding a fresh food solution with the help of the world’s saltiest plants
“Daily, our eating turns nature into culture, transforming the body of the world into our bodies and minds.” - Michael Pollan What do you picture when you hear the word halophyte? No, it’s not an obscure virus or the name of Elon Musk’s new futuristic car. Halophyte literally means “salt Read More...
Need to solve a hard problem? New research suggests “sleeping on it” will help
Have you ever had a big decision to make and someone tells you to “sleep on it.” Well, a new study suggests that might just be the best advice a person could give you. At Northwestern University, a team of researchers designed an experiment to test whether cueing music associated with Read More...
These vegan and edible bowls are cutting down plastic waste from food packaging
According to the UN, we produce about 300 million tons of plastic waste every year - nearly the equivalent to the weight of the entire human population - but only 14 percent of that is recycled, while the rest ends up in landfills and polluting our oceans. Food packaging, particularly, is one of Read More...
How Peru’s wild potatoes can save their domesticated relatives
Yesterday we shared a story about scientists who explore the world in search of ancient, diverse plant life. Today we bring you a story perhaps a little closer to home: the tale of the humble potato. Facing climate change and a growing population, The Crop Wild Relatives Project set out to catalog Read More...
Breakthrough treatment kills prostate cancer with the help of sound waves
Treating prostate cancer through traditional means such as surgery or radiotherapy carries certain risks, with some patients experiencing impotence, urinary problems, and bowel trouble, among other unwanted side effects. Now, a new procedure using ultrasound techniques may soon be available to Read More...
Researchers successfully create first artificial neurons
Neurons are our brain’s signaling system. These complex systems are constantly firing and communicating to facilitate brain responses. These neurons have always been something we could only find in the brain, but thanks to a recent scientific breakthrough, a team of researchers from the Read More...
How to make fitness a part of your family’s routine
Like many life habits, our relationship with exercise is often formed at a young age. Showing your kids that a healthy, active lifestyle is fun and rewarding both physically and mentally is key to forming a lifelong relationship with good health. So, how can you foster a culture of active health in Read More...
Why you might want to skip your favorite seasonal coffee drink this winter
The holiday season is the time of year where coffee shops get most creative with their drinks, spicing them up with things like cinnamon, caramel, and whatever else gives that holiday feel. That may sound nice (and certainly delicious), but the problem is that these seasonal drinks are overloaded Read More...
Are glass milk bottles making a comeback in the UK?
What happened to the days where the so-called “milkman” would come by your house and drop off glass bottles of milk? Well, single-use plastics and cheaper packaging came around and eliminated the demand for recyclable glass bottles. Soon enough, disposable milk packaging became the norm. But Read More...
The key to curing antibiotic resistant infections may lie beneath the surface of the sea
When it comes to fighting the infections of the future, bacteria found under the sea may just be the solution. Researchers from Friedrich Schiller University in Germany have discovered marine bacteria that could potentially be used to create new antibiotics. In an age of antibiotic-resistant Read More...