Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function. It can be generally defined as the set of interconnected structural elements that provide framework supporting an entire structure of development. It is an important term for judging a country or region's development.
The term typically refers to the technical structures that support a society, such as roads, bridges, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, telecommunications, and so forth, and can be defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions."
Viewed functionally, infrastructure facilitates the production of goods and services, and also the distribution of finished products to markets, as well as basic social services such as schools and hospitals; for example, roads enable the transport of raw materials to a factory. In military parlance, the term refers to the buildings and permanent installations necessary for the support, redeployment, and operation of military forces.
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Science & Society News
November 13, 2025
Nov. 11, 2025 — Historians have traced myths about the Black Death’s rapid journey across Asia to one 14th-century poem by Ibn al-Wardi. His imaginative maqāma, never meant as fact, became the foundation for centuries of misinformation about how the plague ...
Nov. 10, 2025 — New research from UBC Okanagan mathematically demonstrates that the universe cannot be simulated. Using Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, scientists found that reality requires “non-algorithmic understanding,” something no computation can ...
Nov. 5, 2025 — Most U.S. adults don’t realize alcohol raises cancer risk, and drinkers themselves are the least aware. Scientists say targeting these misbeliefs could significantly reduce alcohol-related cancer ...
Nov. 3, 2025 — Scientists have discovered that a “longevity gene” found in people who live beyond 100 can reverse heart aging in models of Progeria, a devastating disease that causes children to age rapidly. By introducing this supercentenarian gene into ...
Oct. 31, 2025 — People living in socially and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods may face higher dementia risks, according to new research from Wake Forest University. Scientists found biological signs of Alzheimer’s and vascular brain disease in those from ...
Oct. 30, 2025 — From mini-brains to spider-inspired gloves and wolf apple coatings, scientists are turning eerie-sounding experiments into real innovations that could revolutionize health and sustainability. Lab-grown brain organoids may replace animal testing, ...
Oct. 26, 2025 — Researchers found that life expectancy growth in wealthy nations has dramatically slowed since 1939. Once driven by major reductions in child mortality, longevity gains are now limited by slower progress in older-age survival. The study suggests no ...
Oct. 26, 2025 — Researchers have uncovered microbial evidence in the remains of Napoleon’s soldiers from the 1812 Russian retreat. Genetic analysis revealed pathogens behind paratyphoid and relapsing fever, diseases likely contributing to the army’s massive ...
Oct. 25, 2025 — Inside your body, an intricate communication network constantly monitors breathing, heart rate, digestion, and immune function — a hidden “sixth sense” called interoception. Now, Nobel laureate ...
Oct. 13, 2025 — Vast amounts of valuable research data remain unused, trapped in labs or lost to time. Frontiers aims to change that with FAIR² Data Management, a groundbreaking AI-driven system that makes datasets reusable, verifiable, and citable. By uniting ...
Oct. 13, 2025 — Overdose deaths from fentanyl mixed with stimulants have skyrocketed among seniors, increasing 9,000% in just eight years. Once thought to affect mainly the young, the opioid epidemic’s fourth wave ...
Oct. 11, 2025 — Men’s heavy drinking is fueling a hidden crisis affecting millions of women and children worldwide. The harms, from violence to financial instability, are especially severe where gender inequality is high. Experts warn that alcohol policies must ...
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Nov. 13, 2025 — Footprints preserved on ancient dunes show Neanderthals actively navigating, hunting, and living along Portugal’s coastline. Their behavior and diet suggest a far more adaptable and socially ...
Nov. 11, 2025 — Researchers have rediscovered a long-lost Babylonian hymn from 1000 BCE, using artificial intelligence to piece together fragments scattered across the world. The hymn glorifies ancient Babylon’s ...
Nov. 10, 2025 — In Peru’s mysterious Pisco Valley, thousands of perfectly aligned holes known as Monte Sierpe have long puzzled scientists. New drone mapping and ...
Nov. 7, 2025 — An 18th-century mechanical artwork depicting Mount Vesuvius’ eruption has finally erupted — 250 years later. University of Melbourne students reconstructed Sir William Hamilton’s imaginative ...
Nov. 4, 2025 — Researchers uncovered a 2.75–2.44 million-year-old site in Kenya showing that early humans maintained stone tool traditions for nearly 300,000 years despite extreme climate swings. The tools, ...
Nov. 4, 2025 — After the collapse of the Chalcolithic culture around 3500 BCE, people in Jordan’s Murayghat transformed their way of life, shifting from domestic settlements to ritual landscapes filled with ...
Nov. 3, 2025 — Researchers found that embodying a digital, childlike version of one’s own face helps unlock vivid childhood memories. This illusion strengthens the connection between bodily self-perception and ...
Nov. 3, 2025 — Okayama scientists have crafted a new wine grape, Muscat Shiragai, merging the wild Shiraga and Muscat of Alexandria. The variety is part of a larger collaboration between academia, industry, and ...
Nov. 2, 2025 — Spacetime isn’t something that exists; it’s a model for describing how events happen. Treating events as objects creates philosophical confusion and fuels misconceptions, such as time-travel ...
Oct. 28, 2025 — Scientists found that gluten is key to spaghetti’s strength, acting like a microscopic safety net that prevents disintegration. Advanced imaging revealed how gluten-free pasta collapses more easily ...