The skin compound that makes some more delicious to mosquitoes than others
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Mosquitoes don’t pick targets randomly. They run a multi-stage sensory scan, and new research is beginning to explain what that scan detects and why it favors some people over others. “It’s not a misconception: mosquitoes are attracted to some people Read More...
How pigeons find their way home: the answer is a magnetic compass in the liver
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For decades, researchers looked for the seat of magnetoreception in all the obvious places: the eyes, the inner ear, the beak. A study just published in Science points somewhere none of them expected. The organ doing the magnetic navigation work in homing Read More...
Biologists uncover secrets of parachuting salamanders
A recent study published in Current Biology sheds light on a peculiar adaptation of California’s wandering salamanders, Aneides vagrans. These amphibians are commonly associated with streams, rocks, and decaying logs. The wandering salamander, however, is commonly found in trees and even jumping Read More...
This “extreme” plant could be the beginning of climate-resistant crops
We tend to think of crops as delicate and temperamental, that they require a lot of care and particular conditions to grow in. While this is certainly true for, say, avocados, which require incredible amounts of water naturally found in tropical rainforests, some crops evolved to live and thrive in Read More...
80 endangered spotted tree frogs return to the Australian wild
While it might not seem like much because of its size, the spotted tree frog is a critical species for the biodiversity of its Australian habitats. Of the almost 300 of these endangered frogs released into the wild, only about 10 survived the wildfires of 2019 and 2020. This was disheartening, to Read More...
The chemical compound of love: oxytocin turns lions into kittens
Love’s effect can sometimes be mystifying. A tender embrace from a friend or the adoring eyes of a pet can bring us back from anger or sadness at almost any time. Affection soothes the beast inside all of us, and it can even be tracked scientifically. What we feel when we experience love is Read More...
Yellow-bellied marmots stop aging in hibernation
The Optimist Daily has written a lot about the importance of sleep, how it can renew your energy levels or make you happier. What if we told you that it also halted the aging process? You would have to go into hibernation to make that happen, so it might be a bit out of humans’ reach for now. Read More...
Biodiversity means respecting animals' agency
Depending on where you live, there can be a great deal of concern about the local animals, wandering into the road or eating your garbage. For conservationists, there’s a concern for the animals themselves. Conservationists and wildlife managers these days are looking for new ways to protect wild Read More...
Scientists discover an octopus from before the dinosaurs
They are alarmingly intelligent and can solve puzzles. They can change their color to blend into their surroundings and they can squeeze themselves through tiny spaces. Is it any wonder that octopuses, being some of the most adaptable creatures on the planet, may even pre-date the Read More...
Rare yellow penguin is mystifying biologists
In December 2019, Belgian wildlife photographer Yves Adams had an exceptional stroke of luck while on a remote island in South Georgia. Adams was leading a two-month photography expedition through the South Atlantic and had decided to stop on a South Georgia beach. It was then that he caught Read More...