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
Fishing vessels operating far offshore remain hidden from labor inspectors, leading to severe physical abuse and human rights violations of migrant crews.
society-governance
asia
taiwan
labor
rights
fishing
crews
haven
created
transparent
auditing
systems
deep-sea
governance
economics-resources
health-biology
global-unspecified
exclusion
High natural fluoride concentrations in deep groundwater cause irreversible skeletal fluorosis among rural children who lack alternative drinking water.
economics-resources
asia
india
groundwater
fluorosis
rural
haven
solved
crisis
causing
crippling
bone
deformities
global-unspecified
water
access
urban
public
Newly planted young mangrove saplings are routinely washed away by increasingly intense storms before establishing deep root structures.
climate-environment
asia
myanmar
mangrove
haven
protected
coastal
restoration
projects
being
destroyed
severe
unseasonal
degraded
global-unspecified
along
restoring
whether
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Chronic pelvic pain often has no clearly identifiable cause even after extensive testing, leaving many patients with limited treatment options. A deeper understanding of its underlying causes remains needed.
health-biology
global-unspecified
chronic
pelvic
pain
patients
yet
fully
explain
treat
large
share
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
haven
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Agencies tasked with overseeing complex fields like AI or cybersecurity sometimes have few employees who deeply understand the technology they're regulating. This expertise gap can lead to rules that are either too vague or poorly targeted.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
cybersecurity
agencies
technology
expertise
government
dealing
regulation
often
lack
staff
real
philosophy-ethics
whether
society-governance
haven
african
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Complicated issues like constitutional changes or international agreements are occasionally put to a simple yes or no vote, even though the details matter enormously and most voters can't research them fully in advance. This risks major decisions being made on incomplete understanding.
society-governance
global-unspecified
referendums
sometimes
bypass
careful
deliberation
deeply
complex
policy
questions
complicated
decisions
evidence
local
communities
philosophy-ethics
whether
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fewer people are voting even in countries with a long history of democratic participation, suggesting something deeper than simple apathy is at play. Understanding and reversing this trend remains an open challenge for democratic governance.
society-governance
global-unspecified
voter
turnout
keeps
declining
established
democracies
despite
decades
civic
education
whether
philosophy-ethics
democratic
climate-environment
resolved
mathematics-logic
open
United States, North America
Almost all current reusable rocket technology is built for missions close to Earth, while deep space missions still rely on expensive, largely disposable hardware. Extending reusability further out could reshape space exploration economics.
science-space
north-america
united-states
reusable
earth
yet
build
affordable
spacecraft
capable
routine
trips
beyond
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
space
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
International law sets minimum obligations toward refugees, but whether wealthier nations have a deeper moral duty beyond the legal minimum remains a genuinely contested ethical question.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
whether
nations
have
moral
duty
refugees
beyond
international
law
don
resolved
determine
know
haven
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Allowing payment for organs or surrogacy could increase availability and help people in need, but also raises concerns about exploitation of the poor. Society remains deeply divided on where ethical limits should sit.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
ethical
organs
haven
settled
whether
allow
markets
exist
things
like
resolved
know
determine
mathematics-logic
don
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Infertility affects a significant share of couples trying to conceive, and treatments like IVF don't work for everyone or every cause. A deeper understanding of underlying causes could open new, more effective treatment paths.
health-biology
global-unspecified
infertility
yet
cure
forms
affecting
both
men
women
affects
significant
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
way
don
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Cosmic radiation gradually damages electronics, and there's no way to send a repair technician to fix something millions of miles away. More radiation-hardy systems are essential for missions lasting a decade or more.
science-space
global-unspecified
electronics
missions
haven
figured
out
keep
spacecraft
reliable
during
years-long
whether
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
systems
long
space
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fast radio bursts flash briefly and then vanish, and we still don't fully understand what causes them. Some theories point to exotic stars, but no explanation is fully confirmed yet.
science-space
global-unspecified
don
explanation
radio
have
full
strange
repeating
signals
detected
deep
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
determine
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Every kilogram of fuel launched from Earth adds enormous cost to a mission. Producing fuel on-site from ice or soil could make deep space missions dramatically more affordable.
science-space
global-unspecified
fuel
haven
found
cheap
way
produce
rocket
local
resources
moon
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
climate-environment
make
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Earth's magnetic field protects us from solar radiation, but the dynamo process that generates it deep underground is still only partly understood. This matters for predicting how long that protection will last.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
magnetic
earth
don
fully
understand
fields
form
behave
inside
planets
whether
philosophy-ethics
science-space
know
mathematics-logic
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Some sequences and structures appear chaotic without ever settling into repetition, and proving whether repetition is truly avoidable in specific systems remains unresolved. This connects deeply to dynamical systems and number theory.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
whether
don
know
every
sufficiently
well-behaved
mathematical
pattern
must
eventually
philosophy-ethics
resolved
haven
possible
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Primes appear scattered with no obvious repeating pattern, and finding a true predictive formula, rather than just an approximation, remains unsolved. This is closely tied to the deeper mysteries of the Riemann Hypothesis.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
formula
haven
proven
whether
there
always
predicts
next
prime
number
know
possible
every
philosophy-ethics
mathematical
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Irrational numbers have infinite, non-repeating digits, and while we can calculate them to enormous precision, no simple predictive pattern for their exact sequence has been found. This touches on deep unresolved questions in number theory.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
pattern
digits
irrational
numbers
haven
determined
whether
possible
find
predicting
know
resolved
philosophy-ethics
every
mathematical
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Ramsey-type problems ask whether order must always emerge within sufficiently large or complex systems, and while some cases are proven, the general boundaries remain incompletely mapped. This connects deeply to combinatorics and the philosophy of mathematical order.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
structure
whether
mathematical
must
always
don
know
every
finite
certain
haven
resolved
philosophy-ethics
possible
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Even our best physical models rely on approximations or idealized assumptions, and whether a truly complete and exact mathematical simulation is even theoretically possible remains unresolved. This touches on the deep relationship between mathematics and the physical world.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
any
physical
whether
possible
exact
mathematical
haven
resolved
fully
simulate
philosophy-ethics
know
every