Search
Total number of posts: 23642
Your gut biome may be responsible for your food cravings
Scientists continue to discover more and more processes that the gut microbiome influences. This population of microbes - including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their genes - naturally live inside animal guts, interacting with the host body and each other to regulate processes. Researchers have Read More...
Insects and lab-grown meat could reduce environmental impact by 80 percent
We at The Optimist Daily have written a lot before about the environmental benefits of lab-grown meat and insects as an alternative protein source, and the body of research for this cultural and scientific protein shift keeps growing. A new study published in Nature Food found that replacing Read More...
Is flossing actually important, and how often should we do it?
It’s probably safe to say that most are committed to brushing their teeth at least twice a day (though whether most people also reach the recommended two minutes is another story). However, when it comes to flossing, it’s way more common for people to drop the ball. The American Dental Read More...
How autonomous cars may predict road behavior in the future
To safely deploy autonomous vehicles on our roads, we first must ensure that they can accurately predict the movement of pedestrians, cyclists, and other fellow drivers. With so many people and vehicles on the roads today, though, behavior prediction can be a really daunting task. MIT researchers Read More...
Your questions about adaptogens answered
Health buzzwords are used all over the place - bio-organic, all-natural, pasture-raised - but do we know what they really mean? Well, today we are going to dive into one particular word being thrown around a lot at the moment: adaptogens. What are adaptogens? "Adaptogenic" means to regulate or Read More...
MIT team creates high-quality, paper-thin loudspeaker
We live in a time when concepts are turned on their heads. We’re starting to pull carbon out of the atmosphere, instead of emitting it. We’re adapting our cities to wildlife, instead of trying to kick animals out. And we’re making technology more efficient by making it smaller, instead of the Read More...
Whales' "grumbles" give a glimpse into their lives
The sea is still largely unexplored and not understood, with a recent study revealing that two-thirds of seafloor life is waiting to be discovered. Even the species that are well studied are still shrouded in mystery and there is lots of work to be done in understanding sea life biology, migration Read More...
Here’s how to prepare for allergy season
Spring is well underway, bringing with it migrating birds and blossoming trees. For some, spring also marks the start of allergy season. According to the CDC, 19.2 million adults and 5.2 million children in the U.S. suffer from seasonal allergies or hay fever. Due to climate change, pollen Read More...
The formula of “flow”: how we get in the zone at work
We’ve all experienced the fulfilling experience of “flow.” This is the immersive and usually elating state of mind we reach when we are creatively moving from one sentence to another deep into a writing project, reacting thoughtlessly and rapidly in a basketball game, or even operating at Read More...
5 cities celebrating the earth by “plogging”
If case you haven’t heard, “plogging” combines physical exercise and cleaning up your town and environment. It started in Sweden — “plogging” being a portmanteau of the Swedish phrase “plocka upp,” meaning to “pick up,” and jogging — and the craze has caught on around the Read More...