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 ...
What is so obvious to us was not understood until Ben Franklin's famous 1752 demonstration.
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..
01/07/25 Why climate scientists are very concerned about the global heat trend, how they analyze it, and what must be done. Mathew Barlow & Jeffrey Basara
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
05/09/12 Did the ancient moon have a magnetic field like Earth's? And why do scientists need to know? Benjamin Weiss
01/26/16 An explanation of the most spectacular explosions in the universe, and their possible impact on life. Raul Jimenez
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
02/13/18 Important factors that influence the way people think about climate change. Brian Helmuth and John Coley
08/23/21 In his latest book for the general public, an esteemed geologist makes the dynamics of our planet and its lifeforms accessible to all. A must-read for all who care about our Earth. Andrew Knoll
12/10/13 TB cells do not all respond to antibiotics. Discovering why is the key to effective treatment. Bree Aldridge
01-23-24 GBH Forum Network webinar (1 PM ET). In his newest book, Sandro Galea emphasizes that the field of public health is committed as much to preventing disease as to treating it. Public health includes the social factors that frame our lives. To develop a foundation for better health requires a rational policy dialogue. Sandro Galea
02/04/14 Materials scientist Javier Fernandez discusses the "plastisphere" crisis and how it motivated the development of biodegradable "shrilk."
03/29/22 An innovation attracting great interest: an abundant, inexpensive clay might be used to remove the greenhouse gas methane from the atmosphere. Desiree Plata
Biologist and Environmental Planner; co-author with David R. Montgomery of two excellent books on soil health, regeneration --and the relationship to healthy food.
A young researcher whose work is raising awareness of the complex dependence of marine ecosystems on seagrasses