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
July 29, 2025
July 27, 2025 — Between 2020 and 2024, COVID-19 vaccines saved 2.5 million lives globally, preventing one death for every 5,400 doses. A groundbreaking worldwide study led by researchers from Università Cattolica and Stanford University reveals that most lives ...
July 27, 2025 — Scientists at the University of Toronto have developed a new non-stick material that rivals the performance of traditional PFAS-based coatings while using only minimal amounts of these controversial ...
July 25, 2025 — AI-generated videos are becoming dangerously convincing and UC Riverside researchers have teamed up with Google to fight back. Their new system, UNITE, can detect deepfakes even when faces aren't ...
July 24, 2025 — Even people who never caught Covid-19 may have aged mentally faster during the pandemic, according to new brain scan research. This large UK study shows how the stress, isolation, and upheaval of lockdowns may have aged our brains, especially in ...
July 22, 2025 — A surprising discovery from Emory University shows that psilocin, the active metabolite of psychedelic mushrooms, can delay cellular aging and extend lifespan. Human cells lived over 50% longer, and mice treated with psilocybin not only lived 30% ...
July 18, 2025 — In a groundbreaking UK first, eight healthy babies have been born using an IVF technique that includes DNA from three people—two parents and a female donor. The process, known as pronuclear ...
July 18, 2025 — President Trump s diagnosis of Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) has brought renewed attention to a frequently overlooked yet dangerous condition. CVI affects the ability of veins especially in the legs to return blood to the heart, often leading ...
July 16, 2025 — Medieval medicine is undergoing a reputation makeover. New research reveals that far from being stuck in superstition, early Europeans actively explored healing practices based on nature, observation, and practical experience—some of which ...
July 14, 2025 — A massive spike in young children accidentally ingesting nicotine pouches has alarmed poison control researchers, with a 763% rise reported between 2020 and 2023. Unlike other nicotine products, ...
July 13, 2025 — Movement helps your mood, but it's not one-size-fits-all. Exercising for fun, with friends, or in enjoyable settings brings greater mental health benefits than simply moving for chores or obligations. Researchers emphasize that context — who ...
July 9, 2025 — Less than a quarter of us hit WHO activity targets, but a new UCL study suggests the trick may be matching workouts to our personalities: extroverts thrive in high-energy group sports, neurotics ...
July 8, 2025 — A new UCL study reveals that aligning workouts with personality boosts fitness and slashes stress—extroverts thrive on HIIT, neurotics favor short, private bursts, and everyone benefits when enjoyment leads the ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
July 26, 2025 — What would happen if a nuclear war triggered a climate-altering catastrophe? Researchers have modeled how such a scenario could devastate global corn ...
July 24, 2025 — Italian students taking oral exams have a better shot at success if they’re scheduled around midday, according to new research. Analyzing over 100,000 assessments, scientists found a clear bell ...
July 23, 2025 — When imagining the future, optimists' brains tend to look remarkably alike, while pessimists show more varied neural activity. This neurological alignment could explain why optimists are often more ...
July 19, 2025 — Ancient Iranians hosted epic feasts with wild boars that had been hunted and transported from distant regions. These animals weren’t just ...
July 18, 2025 — Despite our strong belief in dogs' ability to sense good from bad in people, new research shows they may not actually judge human character, at least ...
July 18, 2025 — Neanderthals living just 70 kilometers apart in Israel may have had different food prep customs, according to new research on butchered animal bones. ...
July 17, 2025 — A shocking study reveals that many leaders of nuclear-armed nations—including US presidents and Israeli prime ministers—were afflicted by serious health problems while in office, sometimes with ...
July 17, 2025 — Neanderthals living in two nearby caves in ancient Israel prepared their food in surprisingly different ways, according to new archaeological evidence. Despite using the same tools and hunting the ...
July 17, 2025 — A groundbreaking study from Flinders University reveals that it's not just making eye contact that matters, but precisely when and how you do it. By studying interactions between humans and virtual ...
July 9, 2025 — Long-tailed macaques given short videos were glued to scenes of fighting—especially when the combatants were monkeys they knew—mirroring the human draw to drama and familiar faces. Low-ranking ...