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....
A poison that was initially considered a solution to disease-bearing insects and harmless to humans and animals became lethal
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 long reign of bacteria, the eventual branching and diversification, symbiogenesis, the dramatic mass extinctions and resurgence of life...
05/14/24 WGBH Forum Network Webinar. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), specifically designed to measure the universe's expansion, has now produced the largest and most precise 3D map for the expansion analysis. And the first results of the survey are amazing. Paul Martini
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
10/23/24 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and other advanced technologies are providing unprecedented data about the early universe. Astronomers are developing a new understanding of how the earliest stars and galaxies emerged. Julian Muñoz
05/20/14 Max Tegmark discusses the topic of his book: the multiverse and the mathematical nature of reality.
05/09/12 Did the ancient moon have a magnetic field like Earth's? And why do scientists need to know? Benjamin Weiss
01/20/15 The decimation of honeybee colonies is also a public health warning about pesticides. Chensheng (Alex) Lu
10/10/18 The acquisition of even one language is very complicated. But there are some --called hyperpolyglotals-- who learn dozens of languages. How does the brain do this? Evelina Fedorenko
01/10/17 A fascinating look at the vital role of seagrass in marine ecosystems............ Barnabas Daru
06/11/24 WGBH Forum Network webinar. Industrial agriculture (“Big Ag”) is a major contributor to global warming, environmental destruction, and disruption of good farming traditions. There is a better way to feed the world without destroying the planet. Tim Wise
04/11/11 The public should be more familiar with the broad implications of forensic DNA. Sheldon Krimsky.
01/21/20 The unique features of the nano-scale are revolutionizing medical research and medical care. Here is the why and the how of that revolution. Sameer Sonkusale
03/06/18 Irrefutable evidence for why we should --and can-- transition to renewable energy without delay. Mara Prentiss
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
A major text on the deep relationship between life and planetary environment
A leading physicist explains how to implement renewable energy in the US --now!