PNAS Science Sessions
Science & Ideas
About
Welcome to Science Sessions, the PNAS podcast program. Listen to brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in PNAS, plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.
Episodes
- AI in scholarly publishing
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions explores the impact of generative AI on scholarly publishing. Computational social scientist Yi Bu discusses journal policies concerning AI and analyzes their influence on AI usage in academic publishi…
- Genomic history of the Golden Horde
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions features Ayken Askapuli discussing the genomic history of the Golden Horde. He explains findings about the Golden Horde's ancestors, descendants, and population genetics in central Eurasia.
- Concrete and carbon uptake
Hessam Azarijafari explains the extent to which concrete can absorb carbon dioxide over its lifecycle. He discusses the study\'s model, data sources, results, and implications for policymakers and the concrete industry.
- Reconstructing extinct species' sense of smell
In this episode, Quentin Martinez discusses the reconstruction of olfactory capabilities in extinct mammals. He explains how the olfactory bulb endocast and genomics of chemoreceptor genes are used in this research.
- The hidden costs of AI
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions discusses the hidden sustainability costs of AI, focusing on the energy demands, water usage, and air pollution associated with AI data centers. Researchers also explore the potential of AI as a tool t…
- How mosquitoes time their bites
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions features Laura Duvall discussing the molecular regulation of mosquito biting timing. She introduces a potential pathway for disrupting the biting behavior of mosquitoes, specifically focusing on the Ae…
- Impact of flu vaccines on hospital burden
In this episode, Lauren Meyers discusses the impact of flu vaccines on hospital burden, focusing on the 2022-2023 influenza season. She explains vaccine effectiveness, how hospitalizations were prevented by vaccination, and the study's con…
- Secrets of Earth's climate in six-million-year-old ice
This episode features Sarah Shackleton discussing climate lessons learned from six-million-year-old ice. She covers topics such as paleoclimate, ice cores, and the insights gained into Antarctica's climate over the past six million years.
- China, ascendent
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions features James Evans discussing China's increasing leadership in global science. He explains the methodology for measuring a country's scientific leadership and presents findings from a relevant study.
- Genetic history of dog domestication
This episode explores the genetic history of dog domestication. Researchers discuss gene flow between dogs and wild relatives, wolf ancestry in dog breeds, and the impact of domestication on dog genetics and behavior.
- Air pollution and pet health
Stephen Jarvis explores the health impacts of poor air quality on pets. He discusses similarities in exposure between humans and pets, and the results of a study on this topic.
- Probing the die-off of Pacific oysters
This episode explores the die-off of Pacific oysters, focusing on a newly identified giant virus. Researchers discuss how this virus may be connected to mass mortality events in farmed Pacific oysters.
- Swamp lights and bat sight
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions explores two mysteries: the source of will-o'-the-wisps and how bats integrate vision with echolocation. Researchers discuss their studies and findings on these topics.
- Enzyme linked with brain evolution
This episode discusses an enzyme linked with brain evolution and the implications of a mutation in modern humans. Xiangchun Ju and Svante Pääbo explore the evolutionary implications of the A429V mutation, which is present in modern humans…
- Where primates evolved
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions features researchers Jorge Avaria-Llautureo and Chris Venditti, who discuss their work on the evolution of primates. They present evidence suggesting that primates may have evolved in cold, dry climate…
- How climate change alters lake oxygen levels
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions discusses how climate change alters lake oxygen levels. Researcher Joachim Jansen shares insights from a study on this topic, including key differences between large and small lakes and the consequence…
- Unpacking the unreturnable squash nick shot
In this episode, Roberto Zenit explains the physics behind the unanswerable nick shot in the game of squash. He discusses the mechanics of a nick shot and the study's implications for squash players and other applications.
- North America's oldest pterosaur fossil
Paleoecologist Kay Behrensmeyer and paleontologist Ben Kligman discuss the discovery of North America's oldest pterosaur fossil and its ecosystem. They explain what this specimen reveals about the ecology and evolution of pterosaurs and th…
- Exploring the origins of a glacial relict seal
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions discusses the evolutionary history of the Saimaa ringed seal. Researchers explain the characteristics of species isolated by glaciation and the study's implications for biodiversity in postglacial habi…
- Conservation of the Eastern Black Rhinoceros
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions discusses the conservation of the eastern black rhinoceros, focusing on how genetic studies inform the management of their populations. It explores the importance of genetic diversity and the practical…
- Rescuing the northern white rhino
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions features Franz-Josef Müller discussing genomic tools to aid the northern white rhinoceros. He explains how induced pluripotent stem cells are important in efforts to save the functionally extinct north…
- Water and the possibility of life on Mars
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions discusses water and the possibility of life on Mars. Researchers explain current understanding and potential insights from analyses of returned samples from Mars samples.
- Machine learning and climate risk adaptation
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions features Ning Lin discussing the application of machine learning, specifically reinforcement learning, to climate risk adaptation. The conversation addresses planning for an uncertain climate future an…
- Parsing the Knowledge of London cabbies
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions explores human route planning by examining the knowledge of London taxi drivers. Guests Hugo Spiers, Pablo Fernández Velasco, and Eva-Marie Griesbauer discuss their research and findings on this topic.
- Individual decision-making and collective animal behavior
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions discusses individual decision-making and collective animal behavior. Researchers explore advances in the modeling of collective animal behaviors.
- Modeling extreme heat waves
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions features Kai Kornhuber discussing the modeling of extreme heat waves. He explains why climate models struggle to reproduce these trends and how model representations can be improved.
- Estimating the social cost of carbon
In this episode of PNAS Science Sessions, Frances Moore discusses a re-analysis of the social cost of carbon. The conversation covers the background, methods, and results of her study, as well as its policy implications and limitations.
- How hula hoops stay aloft
In this episode, Olivia Pomerenk discusses the physics of hula hooping. She explains the forces needed for successful hula hooping and how body shape affects it, and the potential applications of the findings.
- Climate effects and shifting Arctic coastlines
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions discusses the impact of erosion, subsidence, and sea level rise on Arctic coastlines. Researcher Roger Creel describes compounding forces that could reshape a thawing Arctic coastline, based on his stu…
- Movies, neurons, and AI
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions discusses how brains and AI systems process moving images. Hollis Cline describes how neuroscience informed the development of an artificial intelligence movie recognition system.
- Sustainability of plant-based meat alternatives
Researchers explore the environmental, health, and economic aspects of plant-based meat alternatives, examining their potential to mitigate environmental impact and comparing them to animal products.
- Plumeworld ocean and snowball Earth
Geobiologist Shuhai Xiao explores the end of the Snowball Earth period, discussing the "plumeworld" hypothesis and how lithium isotopes in rocks support this theory. The episode details the study of dolostone deposits in China and the impl…
- The curious case of the comb jelly
This PNAS Science Session features marine biologist Joan-Josep Soto and evolutionary biologist Pawel Burkhardt discussing the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi. They explore the phenomenon of reverse development in this organism, detailing rese…
- Air pollution and economic mobility
In this PNAS Science Sessions episode, Luca Merlo and Francesca Dominici discuss a study investigating whether childhood exposure to air pollution affects an individual's economic upward mobility as an adult. The conversation covers the st…
- Long-term impact of wildfire smoke pollution
Environmental epidemiologist Kai Chen explains the nationwide health effects of fine particulate matter air pollution from wildfires. The episode covers health risks, trends in US air pollution, study findings, exacerbating conditions, lim…
- Indigenous communities and subsistence whale hunting
In this PNAS Science Sessions episode, researchers explore the relationship between Indigenous subsistence hunting and beluga populations in northern Canada. The study, featuring insights from Max Friesen, Eline Lorenzen, and Mikkel Skovri…
- Perceiving musical boundaries
In this episode of PNAS Science Sessions, neuroscientists Petri Toiviainen, Ibi Burunat, and Daniel Levitin discuss the neuroscience of music perception, focusing on how individuals perceive boundaries within musical pieces. The conversati…
- How python hearts grow and shrink
In this PNAS Science Sessions episode, Leslie Leinwand and Claudia Crocini explain how constricting pythons' hearts grow and shrink after meals, discussing the identified mechanisms for both cardiac hypertrophy and regression.
- Neighborhood travel and racial segregation
Sociologist Mario Small explains how daily travel to different neighborhoods can affect residential segregation. The episode details the study's methodology, findings on destinations that lead to racially similar or different neighborhoods…
- Ocean voyages and disease spread
In this PNAS Science Sessions episode, integrative scientist Jamie Lloyd-Smith and disease ecologist Elizabeth Blackmore discuss their research modeling pathogen spread during ocean voyages. They explain their focus on influenza, measles,…
- Why twisters target the United States
In this PNAS Science Sessions episode, scientists Funing Li and Dan Chavas discuss why North America experiences numerous tornadoes annually, unlike South America. They explore the role of surface geography and their modeling approach to u…
- Creating culturally inclusive schools
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions features social and cultural psychologists Stephanie Fryberg, Hazel Markus, and Laura Brady. They discuss creating culturally inclusive learning environments, the challenges of cultural belonging in sc…
- How redlining affects biodiversity
Urban ecologist Cesar Estien discusses the historical practice of redlining and its lasting effects on the biodiversity of disadvantaged neighborhoods, using a study of four California cities. The episode explores how racial injustice impa…
- Animal's eye view of the ocean
This episode of PNAS Science Sessions discusses marine animal foraging behaviors as explored through animal-borne video cameras. It features insights from researchers studying elephant seals, northern fur seals, sailfish, humpback whales,…
- Inequitable exposure to wildfire smoke
PNAS Science Sessions interviews Joan Casey, an environmental epidemiologist, about her research on wildfire smoke exposure in California. The study found that while some measures suggested equitable exposure, including racial and ethnic d…
- Gentrification and biodiversity
In this PNAS Science Session, quantitative ecologist Mason Fidino discusses his research on how gentrification affects urban biodiversity, focusing on medium to large mammals and the implications for urban planning.
- School enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic
In this PNAS Science Sessions episode, economist Micah Baum details shifts in US public school enrollment between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. The discussion covers various learning models, racial disparities in enrollment cha…
- Emotional power of live music
In this PNAS Science Session, cognitive neuroscientist Sascha Frühholz explores the emotional impact of live music compared to recorded music. The discussion covers the study's hypothesis, experimental design, results, and the differing em…
- Adapting to poor air quality
In this PNAS Science Sessions episode, air quality engineer Rebecca Saari explains the hazards of fine particulate matter pollution and discusses adaptations to worsening air quality caused by climate change. The conversation covers the st…
- Measuring Poverty
Christine Pu explains that commonly used poverty measures often disagree, highlighting the importance of definitions in research and policy. The episode covers the study's motivation, design, results, and the impact of poverty definitions…