Miscellaneous
This interactive map paints a clear picture of the world as it is
A data scientist has managed to paint an accurate picture of the world as it is with the help of an interactive map. The map compares the actual size of certain countries with that projected by the most popular map in the world. The classic Mercator projection distorts land size so that countries Read More...
Scientists discover a drug mix that prevents the rapid growth of cancer cells
Molecular scientists have managed to fabricate a medical cocktail which can dismantle the mechanism that fuels the growth of cancer cells. The drug is produced by combining a commonly used diabetes drug with a 50-year-old hypertension medication, which when administered together can inhibit tumor Read More...
Scientists managed to develop an antibiotic from wasp venom
Scientists at MIT have found a potent antibiotic derived from wasp venom that could kill microbes resistant to conventional antibacterials. It was already known that wasp and bee venom contains peptides that kill bacteria, but these compounds have also proven to be toxic to human cells. Read More...
Thousands of Ethiopians join together for the country’s first Car Free Day
Thousands of people, both young and old, have joined in the streets of Ethiopia’s capital to mark the country’s first Car Free Day. Major roads have been temporarily closed to allow for the mass transit where people walked and exercised together. The event was held to promote healthy living, Read More...
London unveils terminals that accept contactless donations to help the homeless
Thanks to the U.K.'s capital’s mayor, people in London will be able to donate to charities through contactless payments at public terminals. The scheme aims at helping charities combat homelessness, and currently includes 35 terminals which take £3 donations by card. This is a remarkable Read More...
Airbnb removes 200 settlement listings from the West Bank
The hospitality service decided to stop its operations in Israel’s disputed territory after continuous pressure from anti-settlement groups and human rights advocates. The West bank is host to 200 Airbnb listings, some in settlements which even Israeli authorities question the legality Read More...
Possibility: Milk without the moo
From The Optimist Magazine Fall 2015 Our parents knew milk comes from cows. Our children may think, as the joke goes, milk comes from the supermarket. Their grandchildren, however, may think it comes from breweries. A pair of young, vegan bio-engineers in the U.S. are producing milk in a radical Read More...
Possibility: Keeping refugees afloat
From The Optimist Magazine Fall 2015 A quarter of a million. That’s the number of immigrants and asylum seekers who have already tried to get to Europe in 2015 by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. It’s the highest number on record, according to the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees. Thousands Read More...
This is what Tibetan monks and Navy SEALs have in common
Abraham Maslow once famously said, “When all you’ve got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” What he meant was, when it comes to problem-solving, we tend to get locked into using familiar tools in expected ways. The technical term for this is the Law of the Instrument. Give someone Read More...
Research finds common grass could help boost food security
Australian researchers have discovered that the common Panic grasses could hold the secret to increasing the yields of cereal crops and help feed the world with increasing temperature extremes and a population of nearly 10 billion people by 2050. The findings, published in Nature Plants, show the Read More...