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US to return Gilgamesh tablet and 17,000 other looted artifacts to Iraq
During a period of unrest in Iraq in 2003, looters stole tens of thousands of ancient artifacts that were later smuggled out of the country, including the 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, a rare portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem, known as the earliest Read More...
Food transport to become much greener thanks to solar-powered reefers
Transporting food to your local supermarket typically requires refrigerated trailers (also known as reefers). These are usually cooled by diesel fuel, with an idling diesel tractor burning about a gallon of fuel per hour and releasing about 22.4 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a Read More...
Single antibody shot could provide Lyme disease immunity
Wilderness hikes are a summertime favorite, but in regions where Lyme disease is present, one tick bite can have lifelong health impacts. Even with preventative measures such as wearing full-coverage clothing and scanning skin for ticks regularly, around 475,000 people contract the disease each Read More...
Little connections can make big cities a refuge for those with depression
Big cities tend to have the reputation of being exhausting and impersonal as everyone rushes around anonymously amidst busy streets. However, researchers at the University of Chicago found that the fleeting (and often forgotten) connections people make in a city can actually help make urban Read More...
Phytomining is the sustainable makeover the mining industry needs
Mining is one of the most heavily polluting industries, especially when it comes to water contamination, but Malaysia’s Kinabalu Park is home to a mine that looks a little different. In this mine, nickel is extracted from leafy green plants with a fraction of the environmental Read More...
Berkeley is the first city in the US with long-term plans to go vegan
Last week, the City Council of Berkeley passed a resolution to cut the number of animal product purchases in the city in half by the year 2024. However, this is just the beginning as the long-term goal of this resolution is the eventual phasing out of all purchases of animal products and replacing Read More...
August 5, 2021
We're tackling some tough topics today with tips for navigating relationships with unvaccinated friends and family, as well as how to raise kids to be more spatially aware. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
August 5, 2021
We're tackling some tough topics today with tips for navigating relationships with unvaccinated friends and family, as well as how to raise kids to be more spatially aware. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
Sierra Leone abolishes capital punishment
On Friday 23, 2021, Sierra Leone became the 23rd country in the continent of Africa to abolish capital punishment after MPs voted unanimously to end the death penalty (which is largely a remnant of colonial legal codes). Under the 1991 constitution, criminals could be sentenced to death in Read More...
Tips for navigating boundaries with unvaccinated friends and family
Not everyone is comfortable with getting vaccinated against Covid-19... and chances are, someone in your family or social circle has chosen not to take the shot. While this is their personal choice, it can make navigating gatherings tenser, especially as variants continue to surge across the Read More...