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.
Mushrooms can break down plastic in weeks and turn it into organic material
Apart from the great abilities of fungi to remove pollutants from soil and enable the conversion of waste into biofuels, there’s yet another good reason to love the mushroom – it can break down plastic. In 2012, scientists at Yale University discovered that a mushroom strain by the name of Read More...
Poop-to-power projects provide sanitation solutions to the developing world
Most people don’t give a second thought to the poop they flush away. But perhaps they should, because the energy contained within our repellent remains is impressive. If you let poop fester—and you probably shouldn’t in polite company—bacterial digestion will produce a methane-rich Read More...
You can take a walk around the Large Hadron Collider with Google Street View
Deep beneath the border between France and Switzerland lies the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world famous particle accelerator created to help us discover the origins of life. The ring-shaped LHC is comprised of a series of icy-cold superconducting magnets that accelerate particles destined to Read More...
New power system from Mitsubishi lets your car share power with your home
There are ample benefits that come with owning an electric car, but the ability to power your home with it has yet to be one. That’s set to change later this year as Mitsubishi has announced it will sell a system that lets you share power between your home and electric car. The systems feature Read More...
‘Smart’ windows could significantly reduce our reliance on air conditioners
Air conditioners consume a great amount of electricity, making them both a financial and an environmental burden. The good thing is scientists are increasingly coming up with innovative ways to slash down our over-reliance on these cooling machines. For instance, just this week we wrote about a Read More...
Geothermal energy used to be limited to places near volcanoes. Not anymore
Geothermal power is the best of both worlds. It is flexible, like natural-gas power, providing energy whenever needed. And it’s green, like wind and solar power, producing almost no emissions. So, why isn’t everyone using geothermal energy if it’s so good? Places like Iceland and Indonesia Read More...
By 2035, Atlanta will power all its buildings with clean energy
Atlanta is known for many wonderful things, but sustainability is not one of them. In fact, the city currently gets less than 10 percent of its energy from “clean” sources while ranking fourth-worst in the country when it comes to energy affordability. For a city that gets as much sunlight as Read More...
Belgian scientists have come up with a solar panel that produces hydrogen
Heating homes and buildings with oil, propane, or natural gas costs a lot of money and pumps a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. How great would it be if there was a solar panel that would convert sunlight into clean burning zero emissions hydrogen to keep us all toasty warm at home and at Read More...
Study: policies are leading to CO2 emission decreases in 18 countries
A new study that looked at the carbon footprint of 18 countries between 2005 and 2015 found that with the right measures and policies in place, governments that turn away from fossil fuels towards renewables could achieve good progress in reducing their CO2 emissions. Researchers found that many Read More...
This coal giant is switching to climate-friendly assets—despite Trump
Glencore was one of the coal mining giants that were set to benefit greatly from President Trump’s generous laws favoring coal. But instead of grabbing the opportunity with both hands and pushing coal energy forward, Glencore has put a cap on its coal production and announced it will switch its Read More...