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.
VW opens EV battery recycling plant in preparation for an electric future
As the electric revolution is making headway unabated, manufacturers are thinking about what to do with their electric vehicle batteries when the devices reach the end of the road. This is an important consideration given that lithium-ion batteries require a lot of materials, many of which are rare Read More...
International cyber team takes down world’s most dangerous malware
Emotet has been described as the most dangerous malware in the world, but thanks to a joint effort between cybersecurity teams in eight countries, the malware has been successfully taken down. The malware previously infected users’ data through email attachments and once it gained access to Read More...
General Motors will only produce electric vehicles by 2035
America’s biggest automaker, General Motors (GM), has been rather slow in embracing electric vehicles. Of the 2.55 million vehicles sold last year by GM, only about 20,000 of those were electric vehicles. With that said, GM seems to be going all-in on electric after the automaker announced plans Read More...
Designer turns animal skin and bones into biodegradable food packaging
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: it truly doesn’t make sense from an environmental standpoint that we package fresh products with a limited lifespan in indestructible plastic. That’s why we were excited to see a new packaging design from Icelandic designer Valdís Read More...
Two historic New York City bridges to feature designated cycling paths
Since the start of the pandemic last year, an increasing number of cities worldwide have seen an uptick in the number of people embracing cycling as a means of transportation. In New York, for example, cycling has increased by 52 percent over the city’s bridges. To recognize the important role Read More...
Finnish city launches world’s first urban ski-sharing program
We’ve all heard of bike-sharing programs, but have you ever heard of a public ski-sharing program. In the Finnish city of Lahti, a first-of-its-kind program is being rolled out that allows residents to borrow some skis for a quick cross-country ski trip to the store when snow hits the city. Read More...
MIT scientists are figuring out how to grow wooden furniture in a lab
We’ve written a whole lot about cell-cultured meat grown in a lab, but today we’re here to tell you about an entirely different lab-grown endeavor: lab-grown wood. In an attempt to mitigate the environmental harm of the logging industry, scientists at MIT are growing wood-like plant tissue from Read More...
Boeing wants all its planes to fly on sustainable fuels by 2030
Aviation giant Boeing announced this week that it wants to have all its aircraft to fly on sustainable fuels by 2030. For safety reasons, the aviation industry regulations currently dictate planes can only use up to a 50/50 blend of conventional jet and sustainable fuels, but Boeing has said it Read More...
Scientists discover how to 3D-print “bones” with living cells
Anyone who has had the experience of undergoing knee replacement surgery will tell you how long and painful such an operation is. In the near future though, bone replacement surgery may not have to be such a distressing ordeal after scientists from UNSW Sydney figured out how to 3D-print bones, Read More...
US Government commits to transitioning all federal vehicles to EV models
As part of a broader federal campaign to promote the transition to green energy and create 1 million new jobs in the auto industry and corresponding supply chains, the US federal government has announced plans to transition all government vehicles to all-electric models. Announced earlier this Read More...