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.
Most of the mass of the universe is invisible and undetectable and is known only by its effects....
Lynn Margulis's theory of how microbe combinations led to complex cells in evolution was rejected by the scientific establishment for years.
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 discovery of organisms thriving in extreme temperatures and conditions deep undersea, deep in the Earth, deep in the ice suggests that life, once it emerges, is extraordinarily resilient..
01-10-23 An explanation of one of the most important factors in our planet's climate: ocean-atmosphere relationship. Amala Mahadevan
03/11/25 Due mainly to climate change and wasteful agricultural practices, the supply of freshwater is rapidly diminishing across the globe. Governments must quickly develop advanced conservation and sustainability policies. Jay Famiglietti
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
10/04/22 The most sophisticated telescope ever created is now producing its first deep-space images, revealing an astonishing universe. Silas Laycock
04/30/13 One of our foremost physicists discusses two projects: the cyclic universe and quasicrystals
12/17/15 The compelling search for entirely new forms of life elsewhere in our solar system and the universe. David Toomey
08/05/13 A visit to the Barabási Lab at Northeastern University to learn how scale-free complex networks affect scientific perspectives
06/14/21 Seagrasses feed and protect many marine species. They stabilize shorelines. They reduce ocean acidification. Can seagrasses endure ocean warming? Barnabas Daru
12/22/15 Can the great Himalaya ecosystem adapt to the dual assault of rapid development and climate change? Maharaj Pandit
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
02/21/23 There is increasing concern about the impact of social media on mental health, especially among young people. What causes this problem and how should it be addressed? Jacqueline Sperling
07/19/21 A carbon capture innovation that can produce useful, products, including non-polluting transportation fuels. Sami Khan
12/20/11 Desalination offers a solution to the water shortage problem... John Lienhard V
Biologist and Environmental Planner; co-author with David R. Montgomery of two excellent books on soil health, regeneration --and the relationship to healthy food.
Her research probes the nature and extent of life on Earth in one of its least explored corners, the sub-seafloor habitat beneath the ocean floor.