Repository of problems worth solving
World Solve is a public institutional repository for identifying real unresolved problems across science, society, health, governance, economics, and local systems. Each entry is intended to be citable, inspectable, and actionable.
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4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Hurricanes and tornadoes can still shift path or intensity with little warning, leaving communities scrambling to evacuate. More precise, longer-range forecasting could save lives and billions in property damage every year.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
precise
haven
developed
weather
models
enough
predict
extreme
storms
far
whether
systems
climate
philosophy-ethics
african
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Neuroscience can map which brain regions activate during thought, but nobody can explain why that activity produces subjective experience at all. This gap separates our understanding of the brain from any real understanding of the mind.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
brain
don
know
consciousness
arises
physical
matter
understanding
neuroscience
map
whether
resolved
determine
mathematics-logic
haven
have
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Space contains vast amounts of metals and water that could support future industry and settlement, but the cost of extraction and transport remains far too high. Making this affordable could unlock a new resource economy beyond Earth.
science-space
global-unspecified
yet
mine
resources
asteroids
moon
profitable
scale
space
contains
vast
whether
philosophy-ethics
haven
mathematics-logic
climate-environment
affordable
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
We know roughly when life began, but not the exact chemical steps that turned non-living matter into something that could reproduce. Solving this would also tell us where else in the universe life might arise.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
don
fully
understand
first
living
cells
originated
earth
life
know
whether
resolved
mathematics-logic
haven
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
We can now detect many dangerous asteroids years in advance, but we still lack a proven way to redirect or destroy one heading for Earth. One unlucky strike could cause damage on a civilization-ending scale.
science-space
global-unspecified
earth
haven
figured
out
reliably
protect
large
asteroid
impact
now
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
way
know
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
According to our best theories, matter and antimatter should have destroyed each other completely after the Big Bang. Yet matter clearly won out, and we still don't know why.
science-space
global-unspecified
matter
explain
exists
all
instead
nothing
according
our
best
theories
know
don
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
open
United States, North America
Thousands of pieces of space junk are already circling the planet, threatening satellites and future missions. Left unresolved, orbit could become too cluttered and risky to safely launch into.
science-space
north-america
united-states
orbit
don
have
affordable
way
remove
dangerous
debris
earth
thousands
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
agreed
open
United States, North America
Even our fastest probes would take tens of thousands of years to reach the nearest star system. Without a breakthrough in propulsion, interstellar travel remains purely theoretical.
science-space
north-america
united-states
reach
haven
built
spacecraft
nearby
stars
human
lifetime
even
our
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Some volcanoes give warning signs, but many erupt with little notice, putting nearby populations at serious risk. Better prediction could prevent mass casualties near active volcanoes worldwide.
health-biology
global-unspecified
accurately
forecast
volcanic
eruptions
happen
volcanoes
some
give
warning
signs
whether
philosophy-ethics
haven
mathematics-logic
resolved
early
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Gravity should be pulling everything together over time, yet distant galaxies are accelerating away from each other. This mystery, blamed on dark energy, remains one of the biggest open questions in physics.
science-space
global-unspecified
don
understand
universe
expansion
speeding
instead
slowing
down
gravity
pulling
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
know
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Growing crops in space or on other planets means dealing with low gravity, radiation, and limited water and soil. Without solving this, any permanent settlement beyond Earth stays dependent on costly resupply missions.
science-space
global-unspecified
earth
grow
food
efficiently
enough
support
long-term
human
settlements
off
long
whether
missions
philosophy-ethics
medical
psychological
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Outside Earth's magnetic field, cosmic radiation raises cancer risk and can damage the brain and body over time. This is one of the biggest blockers to sending humans to Mars safely.
science-space
global-unspecified
radiation
haven
found
way
shield
astronauts
long
space
missions
outside
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
open
United States, North America
Seismologists can identify risky zones but not the exact moment a quake will strike. A few minutes of reliable warning could save thousands of lives in earthquake-prone cities.
climate-environment
north-america
united-states
warning
save
lives
predict
earthquakes
enough
seismologists
identify
risky
zones
global-unspecified
haven
whether
disaster
philosophy-ethics
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Dark matter and dark energy make up roughly ninety five percent of the universe, yet we've never directly detected either. Everything we can see and touch is a small fraction of what's really out there.
science-space
global-unspecified
universe
energy
don
know
mass
actually
dark
matter
make
roughly
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fusion promises nearly limitless clean energy, but every experiment so far has needed more power to run than it generates. Cracking this would end the global energy crisis outright.
science-space
global-unspecified
energy
fusion
yet
build
reactor
produces
consumes
sustained
periods
promises
climate-environment
whether
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
systems
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Gravity describes the large scale universe well, and quantum mechanics describes the tiny scale well, but the two don't fit together mathematically. A unified theory would finally explain what happens inside black holes and at the birth of the universe.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
don
theory
gravity
quantum
mechanics
have
working
unifies
describes
scale
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
know
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Every search so far has come back empty, but our tools for detecting distant life are still crude. Knowing the answer would reshape biology, philosophy, and how we think about our place in the universe.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
life
have
never
proven
whether
exists
anywhere
beyond
earth
our
resolved
know
haven
mathematics-logic
possible
don
People displaced by climate impacts from Poland have no dedicated legal migration pathway under current international frameworks, leaving many in prolonged legal limbo.
climate-environment
europe
poland
legal
pathway
people
improving
access
climate-displaced
displaced
climate
impacts
global-unspecified
society-governance
philosophy-ethics
whether
migration
under
Students in low-connectivity regions of Global cannot benefit from most digital learning platforms, which assume continuous internet access unavailable in their communities.
technology-computing
digital
learning
low-connectivity
regions
delivering
offline-capable
tools
students
cannot
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
low
access
society-governance
economics-resources
remains
Remote forest concessions in Myanmar are difficult to monitor for illegal logging due to limited satellite resolution refresh rates and insufficient ground-truthing capacity by local enforcement.
science-space
asia
myanmar
illegal
logging
remote
forest
concessions
tracking
difficult
monitor
due
global-unspecified
society-governance
philosophy-ethics
climate-environment
