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 ...
The origin of the heavy elements was not understood until the 1950s
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 necessary ingredients and conditions; formation of life's molecules; Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) ....
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.
11/08/21 Advanced technology reveals a super-abundance of planetary systems in the universe. And astronomers are investigating how these systems form as well as their amazing diversity. Joan Najita
10/27/15 A report on the 2015 experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, now at unprecedented 13 TeV energy. Tulika Bose
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
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
06/14/21 Seagrasses feed and protect many marine species. They stabilize shorelines. They reduce ocean acidification. Can seagrasses endure ocean warming? Barnabas Daru
10/03/23 A distinguished pioneer in stem cell research for oral conditions, wound healing and diabetes explains the issues and the advances in this field, and the importance of science communication for the public. Jonathan Garlick
11/15/11 Important insights into the brain from research on anesthesia, coma and sleep. Emery N. Brown
08/02/22 A unique innovation based on photosynthesis, the bionic leaf can potentially produce energy and fuel inexpensively --and in a localized manner. Daniel Nocera
05/07/19 How effective are offshore wind farms in nations that have developed them, and why has the US been especially slow to adapt such an important energy resource? Andrew Myers
A splendid discussion of the initial resistance to --and ultimate acceptance of—many fundamental concepts of modern astrophysics/astronomy
An expert on freshwater use, the freshwater crisis, and the potential of alternative energy