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.
The kind of matter made of atoms accounts for a tiny fraction of the mass of the universe...
The correct interpretation of light spectra from stars was presented by a young researcher whose evidence was initially rejected.
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..
01/14/21 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
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.
11/28/17 A very exciting investigation of the possible role of ultraviolet radiation in the emergence of life --on Earth and elsewhere. Sukrit Ranjan
11/08/21 Advanced technology reveals a super-abundance of planetary systems in the universe. And astronomers are investigating how these systems form as well as their amazing diversity. Joan Najita
02/10/16 The author of "Our Robots, Ourselves" discusses the limits of robot autonomy. David Mindell
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.
01/07/25 Why climate scientists are very concerned about the global heat trend, how they analyze it, and what must be done. Mathew Barlow & Jeffrey Basara
02/24/15 What causes the massive plankton blooms that are necessary for stabilizing Earth's CO2 balance, and how does the process work? Amala Mahadevan
04/08/14 A world authority on how environmental toxins affect brain development brings the evidence to the general public. Philippe Grandjean
04/20/17 A tour of some innovative medical nano-devices at the Tufts University Nano Lab. Sameer Sonkusale
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
10/16/12 How university educational outreach programs encourage high school students' interest in science. Irene Porro
An international expert on climate change and environmental policy who emphasizes the need for global action on climate change
