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.
Stellar death explosions produce massive gas and dust clouds, and some of that detritus becomes solar systems ...
The evidence for a 4-billion-years-old Earth was a serious contradiction of the widely held Biblical view
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.
06/26/20 The particle collisions at the Large Hadron Collider represent a search for a new physics in the form of new particles or forces that account for unknowns about the cosmos. Markus Klute
12/06/22 The only way to understand the emergence of the earliest structures in the universe is through complex computer simulations. Here's how they are created and tested. Mark Vogelsberger
03/18/14 Cells make decisions that turn out to be random. Jané Kondev explains the implications of that surprising discovery.
06/01/23 Although all life depends on microbial ecosystems, there are many unknowns about the mechanisms by which these ecosystems develop and evolve in diverse environments. Otto Cordero
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
08/16/18 A visit to the Alan Jasanoff Lab at MIT to learn how brain scientists are developing new techniques and devices to improve brain imaging.
09/10/19 From ancient traditions to modern pharmaceutical labs, certain plants have been valued for their therapeutic qualities. The Weng Lab analyzes the unique chemistry --and evolution-- of such plants. Jing-Ke Weng
10/19/20 The Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Lab produces cost-saving, practical innovations that make a real difference for developing nations: home-use desalination, drip irrigation -and many other solutions. Amos Winter
11/16/20 The structure of a humble marine organism inspires mechanical engineers and architects in the design of skyscrapers, massive bridges and other challenging projects. Matheus Fernandes
An international spokesman for the environment, for alternative energy to replace fossil fuels, and a rational public policy
An applied computational scientist and professor of earth & planetary sciences, known for his advanced models of earthquake patterns over time