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.
Paradoxical objects that underscore the mystery of the universe, black holes seem the ultimate destructive force, but may be essential to the stability of galaxies...
a fiber valued for its many practical applications has a long history of deadly impact
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?
Partly in order to understand its amazing complexity, and partly in order to advance medical therapies. So, how do you create a viable cell?
01/07/25 Why climate scientists are very concerned about the global heat trend, how they analyze it, and what must be done. Mathew Barlow & Jeffrey Basara
09/26/23 Clouds protect the planet and play an essential role in climate dynamics. How will the rapidly heating planet affect that relationship? Daniel Cziczo
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
01/14/25 Dark matter accounts for some 27 percent of the universe but is invisible. One promising technique to reveal it is the analysis of gravitational lensing that very occasionally aligns galaxy clusters. Jacqueline McCleary
12/02/19 Most of the matter in the universe is invisible --and scientists still do not know what it is. This is a brief story of how the idea of dark matter was very slowly accepted.
10/05/17 A tour of the fascinating world of mushrooms. This is way beyond the supermarket. David Hibbett
07/10/19 Nectar and pollen are sources of food for bees, but some of these sources may also help to reduce certain pathogens. Lynn Adler
02/20/18 The inherent conflict between profit from one of California's major crops and the impact on environment and health. Julie Guthman
12/12/23 Belmont Media Center. Runoffs from agriculture, industries and other sources accumulate in many waters and cause harmful algae blooms (HABs), including the red tides that are increasingly common. Algal blooms are now occurring in every coastal state in the U.S., and are a major threat to marine organisms --and people. Patricia Glibert
10/2014 Many common toxins in the environment significantly harm the fetal brain. Philippe Grandjean
05/30/23 Language acquisition despite the absence of a critical brain region for language demonstrates the remarkable adaptability of the human brain. Evelina Fedorenko
05/29/13 The award-winning D-Lab's unique approach to improving lives in the poorest nations. Amy Smith
11/12/13 A panel of experts presents the known scientific, health and environmental facts about fracking. Phartiyal_Pallavi, Aaron Bernstein, William Moomaw, Andrew Rosenberg
A well-known natural history writer's analysis of the Ice-Age extinctions in America
A very engaging authority on planet formation, binary star systems, and runaway stars