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.
05-20-25 For individuals paralyzed by injury, stroke or ALS, brain-computer-interface (BCI) devices can enable movement and even speech. However, there are concerns: specifically, that such technology could be developed for mind control. Lukas Meier
05/27/25 (rescheduled) Thousands of satellites orbit Earth. At the end of their missions, they drop into and burn up in the stratosphere, depositing ash that contains oxides and pollutants that are affecting both the ozone layer and the planet's climate. Atmospheric scientists are working to analyze the aerosols and their worrisome impact. Daniel Cziczo
04/08/25 Numerous types of cancer are increasing today and scientists are trying to identify the causes. That's why cancer research is one of the most important concerns of modern science. We learn how the research is done and also why federal funding for this work is essential. Gerald Denis
03/11/25 Due mainly to climate change and wasteful agricultural practices, the supply of freshwater is rapidly diminishing across the globe. To provide water for the world’s huge population, governments must quickly develop advanced conservation and sustainability policies. Jay Famiglietti
02/18/25 Is there life beyond Earth? So far, despite the discovery that there are billions of planets in our galaxy, and our increasingly sophisticated probes for life, we still don’t know. Life and the conditions for its emergence are both very complex phenomena. Mario Livio
Paradoxical objects that underscore the mystery of the universe, black holes seem the ultimate destructive force, but may be essential to the stability of galaxies...
The evidence for a 4-billion-years-old Earth was a serious contradiction of the widely held Biblical view
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 fine line between animate and inanimate, and between quasi-life and 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
01/14/25 Dark matter accounts for some 27 percent of the universe but is invisible. One promising technique to reveal it is the analysis of gravitational lensing that very occasionally aligns galaxy clusters. Jacqueline McCleary
10/04/22 The most sophisticated telescope ever created is now producing its first deep-space images, revealing an astonishing universe. Silas Laycock
08/15/19 Dark matter is believed to comprise five-sixths of the matter in the universe, but cannot be "seen." Now, technical innovations offer closer observation and maybe new physics. Tracy Slatyer
11/22/10 Einstein completely changed our understanding of the universe. Here's how. Tereasa Brainerd
03/08/16 Reconstructing the relationship between biological evolution and geology, climate, environment. Andrew Knoll
04/09/10 Molecules in meteorites met with an optimal chemical environment on Earth. Alonso Ricardo
10/25/16 A combination of climate change, industrial fishing, and seafood trade now threaten basic health in many developing nations. Christopher Golden
03/18/19 An explanation of the complex relationship between the oceans and atmosphere, and how that balance makes the planet function. Amala Mahadevan
01/27/12 vThe Neural Prosthesis Lab at Boston University demonstrates the Brain-Computer-Interface: a communication device for the severely impaired. Frank Guenther
05/24/12 Genomic medicine will revolutionize health care, but it also introduces a challenge for data management. John Quackenbush
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
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
A major text on the deep relationship between life and planetary environment
