Today’s Solutions: May 04, 2026

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.

The U.K. just went 55 hours wi

The U.K. just went 55 hours without using coal for the first time in history

Coal, which fueled the world’s biggest economies for more than a century, is increasingly losing out to renewables. The latest example of how one of the dirtiest fossil fuels is being squeezed out of the market came this week in Britain, which went for a record 55 hours without any of its power Read More...

The cost of electric busses is

The cost of electric busses is plummeting—thanks to China

China’s wild binge of solar manufacturing drove down the costs of solar panels, both by oversupplying the market and by hastening economies of scale. In effect, the country voluntarily took on the costs of pushing solar panels onto the “S-curve” of rapid growth, a strategy that will greatly Read More...

Glass generating electricity p

Glass generating electricity put into mass production

A form of glass which generates electricity has put into mass production in Sichuan's capital, Chengdu after 8 years of research and Read More...

Researchers have developed a t

Researchers have developed a treatment that heals cavities without fillings

Everyone who’s been through a session of cavity fillings at the dentist office knows how unbearable it can be. That’s why it’s a relief to hear that researchers have developed a treatment that can help tooth cavities heal without any fillings. The treatment, which is made of peptides, helps Read More...

Scientists accidentally create

Scientists accidentally create mutant enzyme that eats plastic bottles

The breakthrough, spurred by the discovery of plastic-eating bugs at a Japanese dump, could help solve the global plastic pollution Read More...

Study: Tesla batteries stay in

Study: Tesla batteries stay in tip-top shape even after 160,000 miles

Data gathered collectively by hundreds of Tesla owners in Europe showed that the batteries used for Tesla’s electric cars perform surprisingly well even after heavy usage. Electric batteries tend to degrade over time, but Tesla’s battery packs retain more than 90 percent of their initial Read More...

German minister to carmakers:

German minister to carmakers: Invest in electric cars or lose out

The German automotive industry must invest heavily in electric car technology and develop battery production facilities in Europe to keep up with global competitors, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said in a newspaper Read More...

Thin film converts heat from e

Thin film converts heat from electronics into energy

Nearly 70 percent of the energy produced in the United States each year is wasted as heat. Much of that heat is less than 100 degrees Celsius and emanates from things like computers, cars or large industrial processes. Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a thin-film Read More...

Ola will add 10,000 electric r

Ola will add 10,000 electric rickshaws to its India fleet over the next year

Ola announced today that it will add 10,000 electric auto-rickshaws to its fleet in India over the next 12 months. The program, called “Mission: Electric,” is part of its ambitious plan to put one million electric vehicles on the road by 2021. The company launched a trial EV program last Read More...

Beetle inspires scientists to

Beetle inspires scientists to create first eco-friendly white coating material

For humans to see a surface as white, all wavelengths of light hitting and then shining back off the object have to reflect back equally. Making white products, such as white paint, requires titanium or zinc oxide to even out this reflectivity. While effective at producing a shine, these additives Read More...