Explore peer-reviewed research from UN SDG 4: Quality Education Collection.
How can science support inclusive and equitable education?
PNAS and PNAS Nexus publish high-impact peer-reviewed research on learning outcomes, education access, and evidence-based policy. Explore the UN SDG 4 Research Collection: https://ow.ly/KEL350YGHCK
#SDG4 #EducationForAll #EdResearch
A black hole’s gravity bends light rays from a star far behind it, so that the star not only seems to brighten, but also seems to be in a different place. The star (yellow circle, middle left) sends light (solid yellow line) toward the black hole (black dot), which bends the light so that observers on Earth (blue circle) see the star appear elsewhere (yellow circle, lower left). Image credit: Lucy Reading-Ikkanda (artist).
A solitary #BlackHole unbound to any #star. Studying these celestial objects could offer fresh insights into the fates of massive stars. A PNAS Core Concept piece: https://ow.ly/zM4S50YFL6B
#LoneBlackHoles #astronomy #RomanSpaceTelescope #HubbleTelescope #JWST #NASA #ESA
2025 Cozzarelli Prize Class I Winner: “Physics-tailored machine learning reveals unexpected physics in dusty plasmas.” Authors: Wentao Yu, Eslam Abdelaleem, Ilya Nemenman, and Justin C. Burton
Join us in celebrating our 2025 Cozzarelli Prize–winning paper for Class I: Physical and Mathematical Sciences, “Physics-tailored machine learning reveals unexpected physics in dusty plasmas.” Read the article here: https://ow.ly/fKrP50YH7aH
European beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaf showing scorching induced by heat and drought. CREDIT: Alyssa T. Kullberg.
A five-year experiment subjected European beech and downy oak to various combinations of heating and drought to simulate future climates. Both species could cope with heat—but heat in combination with drought scorched the trees’ leaves. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/3fk850YFISW
PNAS – QnAs with Yukiko Yamashita. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. National Academy of Sciences Member.
In a recent PNAS QnAs, Yukiko Yamashita explores how stem cells maintain the ability to both differentiate and revert, revealing new insights into cell identity and regeneration. Her work sheds light on mechanisms that could inform future disease research. Read more: https://ow.ly/zppo50YGHkU
Researchers tracked individual diatoms—unicellular photosynthetic microalgae with rigid silica cell walls—as they glided along a surface using mobile adhesive strands that protrude through slits in their cell walls, known as raphes. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/3GnU50YFJwL
Total US nondefense research spending as a percentage of total discretionary spending has seen a major decrease since 2001. Image credit: Based on data from refs. 20 and 21.
Opinion: With #China making impressive strides, here’s how we revive #science in America in the coming years. In PNAS Front Matter: https://ow.ly/hB0e50YFKRN
#ScienceEnterprise #ScienceFunding #SciencePolicy #patents #SciencePublishing #NIH #NSF #NASA #STEM #ECRs
If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em?
Really?
Our new opinion piece in @pnas.org defends that the so-called invasivorism is not an effective management strategy. In most cases, it is not even a strategy
Great team, led by @oficialdegui.bsky.social
@ebdonana.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Location of the 50 datasets from tropical and subtropical regions. These datasets were used to examine the effects of the surrounding landscape on avian SARs. Birds were surveyed in forest remnants created by either river damming (aquatic matrix) or clear-cut deforestation (terrestrial matrix). The overall sampling effort included data obtained from 1,005 forest remnants, comprising 336 forest islands and 669 forest fragments.
One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “High-quality surrounding landscapes mitigate avian extirpations from forest remnants.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/bHrj50YGHM3
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/jPBV50YGHLX
About 34 million years ago, the passageway between Australia and Antarctica played an important role in ocean circulation. CREDIT: Hanna Knahl and Patrick Scholz (Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany).
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is among Earth’s strongest. Models show that the opening of the Drake Passage and the Tasman Gateway more than 33 million years ago were not enough to start the current. Alignment with westerly winds was needed. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/LWGY50YFIc1
Juvenile desert recluse spider. CREDIT: Tom Astle (photographer).
The bite of sicariid spiders such as the brown recluse can cause tissue necrosis. Crystal structures of the Chilean six-eyed sand spider’s venom toxin reveal how the toxin breaks apart cells—information that could help develop treatments. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/u5aw50YFJlR
The red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus),displayed on a bed of ice at a seafood market, each labeled with a price tag, and blue protective gloves placed on the ledge of display. Image credit: Shutterstock/Chen Te.
Opinion piece: We need to demystify #invasivorism as a #ManagementStrategy. Marketing #InvasiveSpecies as products won’t save threatened #ecosystems. In PNAS Front Matter: https://ow.ly/lM7R50YGGRi
#biodiversity #EcosystemServices #conservation #RedKingCrab #BlueCrab #AsianCarp #Lionfish
Damage caused by larvae of potato tuber moths. CREDIT: Yulin Gao.
How to speak potato: Like most plants, potatoes release volatile chemicals for communication and defense. A study identifies specific compounds released by potatoes that repel and attract the potato tuber moth pest. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/fjCG50YFHVp
Pictured are robust woodpeckers (Campephilus robustus) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Image credit: Gabriel Brutti (photographer).
In this issue: How the audience shapes honey bee waggle dances; recent Antarctic sea ice trends; and water, mineral, and organic matter interactions on Bennu. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/Oo8B50YFLzA
Maps showing the percent of plans in each county discussing each of five value themes. Bottom right: Bar chart showing percent of community wildfire protection plans discussing each of the top 20 values.
Most US community wildfire protection plans prioritize protecting the built environment and human health, with relatively small proportions of plans discussing the natural environment, economy, or cultural services. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/gQiL50YFIJ3
Cinnabar, a vibrant, mineralized form of mercury sulfide, was often used to coat lacquerware in ancient China. Image credit: Veke.eu/Shutterstock
China’s past #cinnabar use left a #mercury signature written in human #bone. In PNAS Journal Club: https://ow.ly/hvK950YFKpU
#HanDynasty #TangDynasty #TraditionalChineseMedicine #China #archaeology
Nanomotors can use the body’s adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as fuel to move and to activate quiescent neural stem cells in the brains of mice with Parkinson’s disease, alleviating the mice’s movement dysfunction. In PNAS: ow.ly/ZLRM50YFHTw
The helical anisotropically reinforced polymer (HARP) actuator is a class of artificial muscles for robots. Every HARP is built from a core inside a tube, with the tube then coiled into a helix. Pressure inside the tube causes the structure to contract. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/9k2e50YCqOE
Ratio of predicted sagebrush Mg from silicate sources vs. precipitation.
One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “Depth of nutrient uptake by deep-rooted plants is regulated by water availability.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/IBTl50YCsrZ
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/vjRt50YCss2
Image credit: Quentin Martinez.
A new PNAS Science Sessions episode explores how skull structures and genetic data help reconstruct olfactory ability—shedding light on the behavior and ecology of ancient mammals. Listen now: https://ow.ly/9Y8M50YEw6e
Elderly farmer harvesting potatoes by hand. Stock photo.
Age-related decline in muscle function is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, according to a study in mice and humans. Exercise reverses impairments via structural, functional, and enzymatic remodeling of skeletal muscle mitochondria. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/5a1i50YCqKb
Pictured are microfluidic brain-on-chip devices. Maxime Poinsot et al. used a biologically grounded brain-on-chip platform to explore the development and organization of long-range projections from the mammalian cerebral cortex to the striatum.
Read highlights in this week’s issue of PNAS: We explore the population structure of Neandertals, examine RNA-based treatment for viral infection in shrimp, and analyze anthropogenic phosphorus cycle and sustainability strategies. Explore now:
Simulated fractional contribution to the dust depositional flux change over the Northern Hemisphere and attributed to sources in East Asia, Central Asia/Arabia, Northern Africa, and the Sahel for the glacial–interglacial signal (top row) and the abrupt dust signal, the last glacial maximum with a North Atlantic cooling–last glacial maximum (lower row).
Greenland ice cores from the last glacial maximum, around 26,000–19,000 years ago, exhibit pulses of mineral dust that were thought to originate from storms in Asian deserts. Earth system modeling suggests some dust also comes from Africa. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/BBGp50YCqLq
Font-de-Gaume's artworks were discovered by a teacher in a nearby village in September 1901. Image credit: Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie / Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France and Anne Maigret
New research confirms Paleolithic origins of the stunning Font-de-Gaume cave art using noninvasive imaging and radiocarbon dating—a major breakthrough in prehistoric studies.
In Smithsonian Magazine: https://ow.ly/Epfl50YEwHJ
In PNAS: https://ow.ly/NvfP50YEwzE
Magnified image of a human hair. Stock image.
A method dubbed “HairTime” allows researchers to determine a person’s internal circadian clock phase from a few of their hairs, revealing whether someone is a night owl, a morning lark, or, perhaps, a person working the night shift. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/anu250YEvsv
Combine harvester moving through a golden wheat field during harvest, with dust rising behind it under an open sky. Image credit: Shutterstock/Fotokostic.
Wary of #ClimateChange, scientists are strengthening #CropResilience—but hidden #PlantBiology trade-offs could impact #productivity & #nutrition. 🌱
A PNAS News Feature: https://ow.ly/Fk8Q50YCrSo
#ClimateResilience #soybeans #wheat #HeatWave #photosynthesis #condensates
Structural model derived from molecular docking data. Predicted protein-protein interactions between hemagglutinin of a viral strain and the dermcidin peptide. The functional trimeric hemagglutinin ectodomain is displayed with its three monomers assembled and represented in cartoon (front monomer) and surface (lateral-back monomers). Globular and stalk domains are colored in different shades of orange and purple, respectively, and the fusion peptide is highlighted in red. Dermcidin is rendered in cartoon and colored in teal. CREDIT: Sonia Belmonte-Ballester / Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV-CSIC).
One-fifth of people infected with influenza remain asymptomatic. A study identifies a protein found in saliva and sweat that may shape susceptibility to influenza: the antimicrobial peptide dermcidin. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/LyI050YCqwc
Explore peer-reviewed research from the UN SDG 5: Gender Equality Collection.
PNAS and PNAS Nexus publish high-impact, peer-reviewed research on gender dynamics in health, labor, leadership, and representation. Explore the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 Research Collection: https://ow.ly/oUsv50YCUgG
#SDG5 #GenderEquality #ScienceAndSociety
Total nondefense R&D outlays in the United States, shown here from 1962 to 2026, have dipped in recent years. Image credit: Based on data from refs. 18 and 19.
Opinion: Here’s how to revive #science in America. In PNAS Front Matter: https://ow.ly/qMAI50YCrXL
#ScienceEnterprise #ScienceFunding #patents #SciencePublishing #NIH #NSF #NASA #China #STEM #ECRs
Sea surface temperature on July 23, 2016. The eastern Pacific cold tongue is clearly visible along the equator, surrounded by warmer waters to the north and south. The wavy features along the northern and southern borders between the cold tongue and the warmer waters are TIWs. CREDIT: Map by NOAA Climate.gov from CDR data.
Current climate models don’t resolve Tropical Instability Waves (TIWs) well. Increases in atmospheric CO2 may lead to weakening TIWs along the equator and strengthening TIWs north of the equator, with implications for tropical Pacific climate. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/29Vz50YCTsG
