A new law in Zambia makes free education much harder for future governments to take away
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There’s a particular kind of law that changes nothing overnight. The classrooms look the same the morning after it passes. The teachers haven’t changed. The children getting on buses are the same children who got on buses yesterday. But something has Read More...
How Paraguay cut its poverty rate from over 50 to 16 percent in two decades
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In 2005, more than half of Paraguay’s population lived in poverty. By 2025, that share had fallen to 16 percent. A third of the country’s population crossed that threshold over two decades; around 300,000 more did so in just the last two years. A World Read More...
What is degrowth and how can it help tackle climate change in an inclusive way?
We are indeed finding ourselves in a geological epoch – aka the Anthropocene – when human activity has become so earth-shaking it is throwing entire ecosystems and the planet’s climate out of balance. As the science behind global warming is becoming ever harder to dismiss, humanity is facing Read More...
This smart jumpsuit tracks infant brain development
The human brain doubles in size in the first year of a person's life. This time is vital to building a foundation for future learning, health, and development and is where many underlying neurological conditions will reveal themselves. Recognizing and treating these conditions as early as possible Read More...
Fake poop helps tiny endangered owls find new homes
Following decades of human encroachment into California’s grasslands, the once common Western Burrowing Owl is now considered endangered. In an effort to protect the tiny birds from new building developments in US regions like Silicon Valley, local conservationists have been trying for years to Read More...
Doctors used music to prevent neurodevelopmental disorders in premature babies
While advances in neonatal medicine have increased the chance of survival of premature babies, these children still remain at high risk of developing brain development disorders. This is because the vast majority of neural growth for a baby occurs during the last trimester of pregnancy. When this Read More...
These entrepreneurs are turning slums into safer places to live
Slums have long represented a great development challenge as they are by definition areas in which the inhabitants lack fundamental resources such as adequate sanitation, improved water supply, durable housing or adequate living space. For centuries, demolishing these settlements was seen as the Read More...
How laughter evolved and how it makes us human
Blaine Greteman | August 2009 issue Two Neanderthals walk into a bar, order drinks, sit down and listen to the chattering, laughing crowd. Suddenly, one turns to the other and whispers, "Try to stay cool, but this sounds like one of those Homo sapiens joints." How would a Neanderthal know he was Read More...
Microjustice: Helping those who are excluded from the legal system
More than 4 billion people don’t have access to even the most basic legal protections. The microjustice movement is giving them a voice. Carmel Wroth | April 2009 issue When he was 63, Pascual Aquino Mamani fell almost 45 feet from the roof of a house he was building outside La Paz, Bolivia, and Read More...
It’s all in their heads
Our brains don't mature until our 20s. Knowing that could change how you talk to young people. David Servan-Schreiber | November 2008 issue Ben, 18, borrows his father’s car to go on a trip with friends. At 2 a.m., he’s driving more than 100 mph (160 km/h) on a country lane, the music blaring, Read More...