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.
The kind of matter made of atoms accounts for a tiny fraction of the mass of the universe...
Bruno was burned at the stake for asserting that the Sun was one of countless stars in an infinite universe
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?
The fine line between animate and inanimate, and between quasi-life and life. ....
01/14/21 Mathematics is the foundation of everything in Nature: structures, dynamics, processes. Understanding that foundation changes our perception of Nature. Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan
06/18/24 WGBH Forum Network webinar. CERN’s Large Hadron Collider has made very significant discoveries (including the Higgs boson), but physicists now need to expand the probe. Tulika Bose
07/16/19 The destabilization of Earth's complex carbon cycle is associated with past mass extinctions. This mathematical model predicts a coming sixth mass extinction. Daniel Rothman
08/28/20 The universe is expanding at an incredible rate, and dark energy is thought to be the cause. Astronomers observe and measure this mystery with very sophisticated equipment. Paul Martini
03/15/18 How realistic is the time-travel concept and how would time machines work? David Toomey
04/09/10 Molecules in meteorites met with an optimal chemical environment on Earth. Alonso Ricardo
02/23/16 Tracing ancient genetic changes through extinctions and speciation events to reconstruct our DNA history. Betul Kacar
04/12/21 The accelerating Arctic and Antarctic glacial melts will affect sea levels and land masses in different areas of the globe --often far from the polar regions. Natalya Gomez
08/31/15 Dudley Foster, the Woods Hole engineer closely associated with the Alvin's history, describes explorations of this famous deep-sea submersible. Dudley Foster
11/06/14 Viral infections that were once obscure are potentially global threats in a highly linked world. New tools are being deployed to identify and block these diseases. John Connor
03/20/13 The potential danger of long-term use of ADHD drugs. Robert Whitaker
05/18/22 Just how effective is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), the much-promoted solution to the excess atmospheric CO2 from fossil fuels? June Sekera and Neva Goodwin
03/06/18 Irrefutable evidence for why we should --and can-- transition to renewable energy without delay. Mara Prentiss
A leading theoretical mathematician explains the crucial role of mathematics in understanding Nature
