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.
From the first moments of the universe to the formation of atoms ...
A poison that was initially considered a solution to disease-bearing insects and harmless to humans and animals became lethal
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...
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
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.
01/19/2016 Deep cosmic surveys hope to explain the mysterious accelerating expansion of the universe. Licia Verde
08//23/22 There is much anticipation about the LHC Run 3 that is now underway. What will the newest technical expansion of the LHC reveal? Markus Klute
10/19/10 How photosynthesis --and life-- emerged in Earth's ancient chemical environment. Tanja Bosak and Alexander Petroff
01/20/15 The decimation of honeybee colonies is also a public health warning about pesticides. Chensheng (Alex) Lu
12/17/14 An international expert explains how coastal ecosystems function and how they are adjusting to current stresses. Brian Helmuth
06/03/14 A major authority on ocean sediments discusses what these deposits tell us about past and present climate. Richard Murray
10/08/21 The typical American diet, heavy on processed food and excess sugar, is associated with high levels of diabetes 2, heart disease and other conditions. What is a genuinely good diet and how does it promote health? Walter Willett
02/03/20 Despite great medical accomplishments in ancient civilizations, then medical advances from the 17th century on, the connection between germs and disease was unknown.
05/14/13 Why public acceptance of wind power can differ from one community to another. Maria Petrova
06/28/12 A co-author of the new book from the Union of Concerned Scientists describes how individuals can substantially reduce their carbon footprints while creating a healthy lifestyle...Jeff Deyette
A leader in the development of quantum computers explains, in this book, his model of the universe as a quantum computer
An astrophysicist who specializes in developing complex simulations to test hypotheses of the early universe