Science touches so many aspects of modern life that it's hard to keep up. Through our programs and this website, Science for the Public provides up-to-date information about scientific innovations, discoveries, and issues that are shaping modern knowledge.
Section #1 explains the AI basics: GenAI, AGI, ASI; GPT; how AI is "trained"; AI errors, AI "consciousness"; and AI hype
Section #2 explains the multiple impacts of AI: AI databases; copyright; jobs; cognition
Section 3 discusses important AI threats: AI deceptions; political AI; military AI; and AI disobedience
Section 4 describes the warnings of many AI leaders and experts: that the potential damage of AI is very real, and that governmental controls are absolutely necessary.
Most of the mass of the universe is invisible and undetectable and is known only by its effects....
We think of "matter" as stuff made of atoms. That kind of matter is an insignificant amount . Something like 84 percent of the matter in the universe is invisible and unidentifiable "dark matter."
Mounting evidence suggests a link between chemicals in consumer products and breast cancer.
What's so important about an atmosphere? Find out here.
Many of the most important advances in scientific understanding were initially rejected or ignored.
In an era of global science, other nations are increasing their science budgets. Why aren't we?
Hibernation, dormancy, suspended animation, revival from apparent death; the line between life and death...
07/18/23 The actual nutritional value of our food depends on the quality of soil in which it is grown. Healthy soil, healthy people, healthy planet. David R. Montgomery & Anne Biklé
09/17/24 How migratory creatures navigate so accurately to their seasonal destinations, sometimes thousands of miles away, is still often a mystery. What do scientists know, and what are they still trying to discover? Charles Walcott
03/19/24 A prominent biologist explains the crucial importance of biodiversity for life on Earth, and how the sixth mass extinction fractures that stability. Michael Reed.
12/20/16 A guide to fundamentals of astrophyics at a time of many exciting --and sometimes puzzling-- discoveries. Priyamvada Natarajan
09/18/12 As these mathematicians explain, with numerous examples, the deepest truths of Nature are mathematical. Tom Mrowka and Gigliola Staffilani
08/30/18 Boston-area artists Susan Heideman and Michelle Lougee discuss their fascinating exhibit, "The Life of Forms."
12/14/20 Ecological systems are the archetypal complex systems. And regardless of scale and diversity --from microbial systems to rain forests—they share common patterns and dynamics. James O'Dwyer
11-28-23 GBH Forum Network webinar: 12 Noon (EST) Our planet is subject to more than 50 earthquakes a day. How do scientists analyze this activity and can they predict the most threatening quakes? Brendan Meade
10/25/16 A combination of climate change, industrial fishing, and seafood trade now threaten basic health in many developing nations. Christopher Golden
08/16/18 A visit to the Alan Jasanoff Lab at MIT to learn how brain scientists are developing new techniques and devices to improve brain imaging.
09/10/19 From ancient traditions to modern pharmaceutical labs, certain plants have been valued for their therapeutic qualities. The Weng Lab analyzes the unique chemistry --and evolution-- of such plants. Jing-Ke Weng
03/29/22 An innovation attracting great interest: an abundant, inexpensive clay might be used to remove the greenhouse gas methane from the atmosphere. Desiree Plata
02/09/24 GBH Forum Network webinar (noon ET) The extreme level of atmospheric CO2 is well beyond a “capture and storage/sequestration” solution, yet the hype persists that some clever extraction innovation will resolve the problem. Charles Harvey
An interdisciplinary perspective on the biogeochemical relationships of ocean cycles
One of the most extraordinary -and comprehensive- theoretical physicists of our time