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.
Huge regions of apparent nothingness throughout the universe are full of surprises....
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..
10/24/23 Imagine a future world in which clean electricity is available anywhere you go. The generic Air-gen effect innovation means that this future world can become a reality. Jun Yao
01/09/24 GBH Forum Network Webinar. Innovations in bio-engineering are revolutionizing medicine. Preservation of tissues, organs, sperm/eggs can be preserved in several different ways for future use. It's a real challenge, but the methods are improving quickly. Mehmet Toner.
10/11/22 Geothermal energy is an ideal source of renewable energy, but it can be hard to access. Here's a plan. Paul Woskov
12/14/21 The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is the most advanced probe of the relationship between dark energy and the expansion of the universe. A unique project in astronomy. Arjun Dey
12/20/16 A guide to fundamentals of astrophyics at a time of many exciting --and sometimes puzzling-- discoveries. Priyamvada Natarajan
03/27/18 The "mind" is not an isolated entity; it is connected to a physical-social environment. Alan Jasanoff
11/13/13 Ancient infant teeth reveal the importance of weaning patterns in human evolution. Tanya Smith
02/19/17 Sea-level patterns over 2000 years and the situation now. Andrew Kemp
05/10/11 Sometimes even severely polluted land can be restored. Some case histories... Justin Hollander
08/21/12 Endocrine disruptors such as BPA cause developmental problems and disease. How does this damage occur? Ana Soto and Carlos Sonnenschein
05/08/18 Truly innovative research: nano-tech devices for medicine and environment. Sameer Sonkusale
12/05/23 GBH Forum Network webinar (noon). By 2050, some 75 percent of the world population will live in cities. Future urban design will emphasize not only innovative architecture and engineering, but optimal environmental and social aspects of city dwelling also. The urban future might also include settlements beyond Earth. Justin Hollander
06/25/13 The cooling systems of power plants use an enormous percentage of our diminishing freshwater supply. What's the solution? John Rogers
Philip Warburg's books on renewable energy represent the views of diverse people and groups.
The lead climate analyst in the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), who provides the reliable information that is much needed.