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.
Stellar death explosions produce massive gas and dust clouds, and some of that detritus becomes solar systems ...
The origin of the heavy elements was not understood until the 1950s
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 basic chemical elements of life on Earth are the most abundant elements in the universe...Are the conditions right elsewhere?
09/26/23 Clouds protect the planet and play an essential role in climate dynamics. How will the rapidly heating planet affect that relationship? Daniel Cziczo
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
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
04/14/2014 The investigation of how super-galaxies form is expected to provide insight into other mysteries such as dark matter and dark energy. Arjun Dey
01/14/21 Mathematics is the foundation of everything in Nature: structures, dynamics, processes. Understanding that foundation changes our perception of Nature. Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan
10/08/19 A cell's size and the proportions of its components are strictly determined, but where do the rules come from? Scientists are still trying to figure that out. Jané Kondev
12/09/09 Genetic material in ancient fossils yields an amazing profile of extinct organisms. Chris Organ
04/22/16 The excess CO2 in Earth's atmosphere will remain for hundreds of years. An atmospheric scientist explains the need to reduce that excess as we shift to renewable energy. Daniel Cziczo
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
10-17-23 WGBH Forum Network webinar PFAS, a group of chemicals added to many everyday products, became a concern years ago among medical researchers, but governmental agencies were slow to impose regulations. Philippe Grandjean
04/23/24 Promoted for years as a means to strengthen bones and lower risk of multiple diseases, improved studies by JoAnn Manson and others revealed that Vitamin D supplements were not very effective at all. Natural sources, including sunshine, are much better. It’s important to understand why. JoAnn Manson
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
A leading geologist who connects the relationship between rocks and life
An innovative astronomer and developer of cutting-edge instruments for optical/infra-red astronomy