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.
No events are scheduled for June or July
05/27/25 (rescheduled from April) Thousands of satellites orbit Earth. At the end of their missions, they drop into and burn up in the stratosphere, depositing ash that contains oxides and pollutants that are affecting both the ozone layer and the planet's climate. Atmospheric scientists are working to analyze the aerosols and their worrisome impact. Daniel Cziczo
05-20-25 For individuals paralyzed by injury, stroke or ALS, brain-computer-interface (BCI) devices can enable movement and even speech. However, there are concerns: specifically, that such technology could be developed for mind control. Lukas Meier
04/08/25 Numerous types of cancer are increasing today and scientists are trying to identify the causes. That's why cancer research is one of the most important concerns of modern science. We learn how the research is done and also why federal funding for this work is essential. Gerald Denis
The kind of matter made of atoms accounts for a tiny fraction of the mass of the universe...
Each particle has a opposite form, its anti-particle, a discovery that has had wide-ranging effects
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...
01/14/25 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
10/04/22 The most sophisticated telescope ever created is now producing its first deep-space images, revealing an astonishing universe. Silas Laycock
02/18/25 Is there life beyond Earth? So far, despite the discovery that there are billions of planets in our galaxy, and our increasingly sophisticated probes for life, we still don’t know. Life and the conditions for its emergence are both very complex phenomena. Mario Livio
01/26/16 An explanation of the most spectacular explosions in the universe, and their possible impact on life. Raul Jimenez
11/07/16 The latest news from this year's exciting work at the Large Hadron Collider in CERN. Tulika Bose
11/13/13 Ancient infant teeth reveal the importance of weaning patterns in human evolution. Tanya Smith
10/19/10 How photosynthesis --and life-- emerged in Earth's ancient chemical environment. Tanja Bosak and Alexander Petroff
06/11/24 WGBH Forum Network webinar. Industrial agriculture (“Big Ag”) is a major contributor to global warming, environmental destruction, and disruption of good farming traditions. There is a better way to feed the world without destroying the planet. Tim Wise
04/25/17 Some ways to show how marine organisms actually experience climate change. Brian Helmuth
04/23/19 More than one in five Americans now takes a psychiatric medication. But long-term results are poor. Robert Whitaker, author of several books on this subject, discusses the problems of these meds and describes more effective initiatives.
08/21/18 Producers of perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFAS) withheld for decades the facts about the health and environmental threats of these ubiquitous toxins. Philippe Grandjean
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
An excellent resource on cosmology for the general reader, co-authored by one of the greatest theoretical physicists of our time
A leader in the discovery of the underlying common structure of diverse complex systems, including the Web, social networks, and disease patterns