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.
Huge regions of apparent nothingness throughout the universe are full of surprises....
The explanation for the geological relationship between continents was originally heresy
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 basic chemical elements of life on Earth are the most abundant elements in the universe...Are the conditions right elsewhere?
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.
07/19/16 A look at how major ideas in science are often initially resisted, and a view of the invisible cosmos. Priyamvada Natarajan
05/20/14 Max Tegmark discusses the topic of his book: the multiverse and the mathematical nature of reality.
07/10/12 In probably the most extreme environmment on Earth, organisms are thriving. Peter Girguis explains how.....
03/18/14 Cells make decisions that turn out to be random. Jané Kondev explains the implications of that surprising discovery.
04/26/16 Scientists are now able to study in detail the dynamic volcanic activity of the deep ocean ridges. Here are some amazing discoveries. Daniel Fornari
09/20/21 The distinguished scientist and author of "Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life" explains the destructiveness of industrialized agriculture and shows how to feed the world while restoring the soil and environment. David Montgomery
09/27/16 Advances in nanotechnology are revolutionizing medicine. A leader in the field describes recent developments and his commitment to making them available to a wide public. Sameer Sonkusale
01/30/18 A comprehensive approach to public health: the body, the environment, the culture, the conditions. Sandro Galea
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
An expert on the physical mechanisms of cells explains the implications of the random decisions cells make.