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.
One of the best indicators that the universe began with a bang is the radiation it left behind...
What is so obvious to us was not understood until Ben Franklin's famous 1752 demonstration.
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...
01/14/21 Mathematics is the foundation of everything in Nature: structures, dynamics, processes. Understanding that foundation changes our perception of Nature. Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan
06/18/24 WGBH Forum Network webinar. CERN’s Large Hadron Collider has made very significant discoveries (including the Higgs boson), but physicists now need to expand the probe. Tulika Bose
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
09/28/10 Some mysterious, invisible stuff is holding galaxies together. Peter Fisher
12/09/14 From the beginning of the universe to complex life: an explanation of the development of the cosmos. Eric Chaisson
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.
04/26/21 The evolution of the human language apparatus, comparison of human language and animal communication, and explanation of the Neanderthal language controversy. Philip Lieberman
10/18/21 A prominent researcher-author-public advocate discusses the environmental and health issues of agrochemicals, especially glyphosate (Roundup). Sheldon Krimsky
09-03-24 The book Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal by Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin is one of the most important books on our urgent global issue. Robert Pollin discusses the economic factors underlying the climate crisis and the strategy needed to shift to a Global Green New Deal which will restore the planet and civilization. Robert Pollin
05/08/18 Truly innovative research: nano-tech devices for medicine and environment. Sameer Sonkusale
12/12/19 Jonathan Levy of Boston University School of Public Health describes how urban air pollutants such as vehicle exhaust affect our health.
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
05/21/15 Conversion to wind and solar power is entirely possible now in the U.S. Mara Prentiss
An expert on the physical-chemical-biological components of wetland and salt marshes ecosystems.
