PNAS Science Sessions

How people travel to racially different neighborhoods

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Mario Small talks about patterns of people's travel to neighborhoods racially different than their home neighborhood.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[00:59] Sociologist Mario Small describes how everyday travel can temper residential segregation. •[01:57] Small talks about how their study tracked peoples’ movements and defined travel beyond a person’s racial comfort zone. •[03:48] Small explains the study’s results. •[06:08] He explores why some destinations take people to racially similar neighborhoods and some take people to racially different neighborhoods. •[07:15] Small shows how “15-minute cities” might inadvertently reinforce residential segregation. •[08:21] He lists the caveats and limitations of the study. •[10:34] Conclusion.

About Our Guest:

Mario Small Quetelet Professor of Social Science Columbia University

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2401661121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up the Highlights newsletter

How pathogen stowaways traversed the oceans

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Jamie Lloyd-Smith and Elizabeth Blackmore describe how they modeled the epidemiology of pathogens on ocean voyages.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:04] Integrative scientist Jamie Lloyd-Smith and disease ecologist Elizabeth Blackmore describe how they came to study the epidemiology of ocean travel. •[03:21] Blackmore and Lloyd-Smith explain why they focused on three pathogens: influenza, measles, and smallpox. •[04:13] Lloyd-Smith explains the results of the disease model, with pathogen biology, passenger number, and journey length factoring into the duration of shipboard outbreaks. •[05:05] Blackmore details the additional insights provided by newspaper records of ship arrivals in 1850s San Francisco. •[06:57] Lloyd-Smith and Blackmore talk about the caveats and limitations of the study. •[08:02] Blackmore and Lloyd-Smith explore potential next steps. •[09:47] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Jamie Lloyd-Smith Professor University of California, Los Angeles

Elizabeth Blackmore Doctoral student Yale University

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2400425121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up the Highlights newsletter

Why “Tornado Alley” is unique to North America

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Funing Li and Dan Chavas explain why North America produces many tornadoes each year and South America does not.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:01] Weather and climate scientist Funing Li talks about the frequency of tornadoes within and outside of the United States. •[01:25] Li explains the geography of severe thunderstorm hotspots in North and South America. •[02:46] Weather and climate scientist Dan Chavas and Li describe how they became interested in the effect of surface geography on tornadoes. •[05:13] Li and Chavas explain their modeling approach. •[07:23] Li and Chavas talk about why surface roughness is important for tornado formation. •[08:14] Chavas and Li describe the implications of the study, including effects of climate change and insights into paleoclimate. •[09:43] Caveats and limitations of the study. •[10:26] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Funing Li Postdoctoral associate Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dan Chavas Associate professor Purdue University

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2315425121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Creating culturally inclusive school environments

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Stephanie Fryberg, Hazel Markus, and Laura Brady explore how to create culturally inclusive environments in schools.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:00] Social cultural psychologist Stephanie Fryberg introduces the value of culturally inclusive learning environments. •[01:43] Social cultural psychologist Hazel Markus talks about how disparities can arise from a lack of cultural belonging. •[02:25] Markus introduces the predominant cultural model that creates challenges for some students. •[03:18] Social cultural psychologist Laura Brady explains an alternate interdependence model. •[4:01] Brady talks about the school leaders involved in the study. •[4:34] Fryberg outlines the professional development intervention. •[5:44] Fryberg and Markus share examples of teacher responses. •[6:26] Brady talks about how teacher practices and student attitudes changed. •[7:44] Brady lists the caveats and limitations of the study. •[8:31]Markus and Fryberg share takeaways from the study. •[9:43] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Stephanie Fryberg Professor of social and cultural psychology, Director of Research for the Indigenous Social Action and Equity Center Northwestern University

Hazel Markus  Professor of social and cultural psychology, co-director of Stanford Spark Stanford University

Laura Brady Senior researcher  American Institutes for Research

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2322872121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

How redlining affects biodiversity

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Cesar Estien explores the legacy of mid-20th century redlining through the biodiversity of disadvantaged neighborhoods.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[1:04] Cesar Estien, an urban ecologist at the University of Washington, describes the practice of redlining. •[2:50] He tells how a study of redlining and environmental quality led to a study of animal diversity. •[3:33] Estien describes why the study cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Diego were chosen for the study. •[4:25] He explains the difference between species richness and community composition. •[5:31] He reports the study findings regarding species richness and community composition in redlined and greenlined neighborhoods. •[6:55] Estien talks about the lasting legacy of racial injustice on the ecology of cities. •[7:52] He explains why equitable access to biodiversity matters. •[9:04] Caveats and limitations of the study. •[10:09] Conclusion.

About Our Guest:

Cesar Estien Ph.D. Candidate University of California, Berkeley

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2321441121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Animal’s eye view of the ocean

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, researchers use animal-borne video cameras to explore foraging behaviors of animals in the open ocean.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[00:46] Taiki Adachi, an ecologist at the National Institute of Polar Research in Japan, observed how elephant seals use their whiskers to locate prey in the dark depths of the ocean •[02:13] Carey Kuhn, an ecologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington, explored how the size of prey affected the foraging behavior of northern fur seals. •[03:43] Ryan Logan, an ecologist at California State University Long Beach, recorded a solitary sailfish hunting in the open ocean and estimated its energy expenditures. •[05:05] Simone Videsen, an ecologist at Aarhus University in Denmark, performed a similar analysis of the energetic efficiency of humpback whales. •[06:12] Takuya Maekawa, an engineer at Osaka University in Japan, designed a device to detect and automatically record rare behaviors performed by streaked shearwaters. •[07:56] Final thoughts and conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Taiki Adachi  Assistant Professor National Institute of Polar Research

Carey Kuhn  Researcher Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Ryan Logan  Postdoctoral Research Fellow California State University Long Beach

Simone Videsen  Postdoctoral Researcher Aarhus University

Takuya Maekawa  Associate Professor Osaka University

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2119502119 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1015594/full https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-28748-0 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ade3889 https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/3/1/pgad447/7517476

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Inequitable wildfire smoke exposure in California

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Joan Casey shows that some California communities are disproportionately exposed to wildfire air pollution.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:04] Joan Casey, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Washington, describes recent decades of wildfire in California. •[01:34] Casey describes the environmental equity issues of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution. •[02:26] Casey describes why she chose to study the equity of wildfire smoke pollution exposure. •[03:01] She explains the results of the study, showing that by one definition of disadvantaged communities, smoke exposure appeared equitable. Another measure, including racial and ethnic identity data, showed inequitable exposure. •[05:26] Casey explores possible reasons for this inequitable exposure. •[06:21] The benefits of improved air monitoring among marginalized communities. •[07:34] Caveats and limitations of the study. •[08:35] Next steps in this line of research. •[09:27] Hopes for policy impacts. •[10:22] Conclusion.

About Our Guest:

Joan Casey Assistant Professor University of Washington School of Public Health

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2306729121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X  Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Biodiversity and gentrification

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Mason Fidino explores how gentrification changes biodiversity in urban areas.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:02] Mason Fidino, a quantitative ecologist at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, defines gentrification and its social impacts. •[01:53] Fidino explains how gentrification changes neighborhoods. •[03:09] Fidino explains why the research focused on medium to large mammals. •[03:40] A description of camera traps and how they collect data. •[05:09] The results, including links between gentrification and biodiversity. •[06:59] The implications of the study for urban planners and urban residents. •[08:23] Caveats and limitations of the study. •[09:50] Conclusion.

About Our Guest:

Mason Fidino Quantitative Ecologist Lincoln Park Zoo

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2318596121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for PNAS Highlights newsletter

School enrollment during COVID-19

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Micah Baum describes how public school enrollments in the US changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode, we cover: • [00:00] Introduction • [00:54] Micah Baum, an economist at the University of Michigan, introduces school districts’ three modes of learning in fall 2020: virtual, in-person, and hybrid. • [01:31] Baum explains the reasons for studying public school enrollment changes between the 2019-2020 school year and the 2020-2021 school year.  • [02:51] Description of the data sources used in the study.  • [03:50] Explanation of the changes in enrollment numbers between the two school years. • [06:00] Explanation of racial differences in enrollment changes. • [06:46] Exploration of what these results suggest about parent choices.  • [08:24] Implications for school funding in future years. • [09:18] Caveats and limitations of the study. • [09:51] Conclusion.

About Our Guest:

Micah Baum PhD Student University of Michigan

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2307308120

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Emotional power of live music

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Sascha Frühholz describes the emotional power of live music compared to recorded music.

In this episode, we cover: • [00:00] Introduction • [00:59] Sascha Frühholz, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Oslo, reviews the neuroscience of emotional responses to music. • [02:02] Description of the study hypothesis regarding the difference of responses to recorded and live music. • [02:34] Description of the experimental setup. • [03:15] Description of the music played during the experiment, with examples. • [04:30] Recounting of the results of the study. • [05:05] The differences between responses to recorded and live music. • [05:45] What the listeners knew during and after the experiment. • [06:09] Inclusion of unpleasant music in the experiment, with examples. • [06:49] Description of the listeners’ feelings during the experiment. • [07:14] The musicians’ feelings about the experiment.  • [07:42] Exploration of generalizing the results to other settings. • [08:19] Caveats and limitations of the study. • [09:11] Conclusion.

About Our Guest:

Sascha Frühholz Professor University of Oslo

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2316306121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Adapting to poor air quality

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Rebecca Saari explores potential adaptations needed for worsening air quality due to climate change.

In this episode, we cover: • [00:03] Introduction • [00:57] Rebecca Saari, an air quality engineer at the University of Waterloo, describes an air quality alert. • [01:23] Explanation of the hazard of fine particulate matter air pollution. • [02:18] Description of the study’s modeling approach. • [03:14] Description of modeling methods.  • [04:05] Explanation of study results and where air quality alerts may rise due to climate change. • [04:34] Exploration of the social impacts of inequitable distribution of worsening air quality. • [05:24] Description of strategies for mitigating the health risk of poor air quality. • [06:27] Discussion of the costs and benefits of increased time spent indoors to mitigate health risk. • [07:22] Discussion of the role of policy in protecting from air quality hazards. • [08:13] Explanation of the study’s caveats and limitations. • [09:30] Potential impacts of the study. • [10:11] Conclusion

About Our Guest:

Rebecca Saari Associate Professor  University of Waterloo

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2215685121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Christine Pu describes how commonly used measures of poverty don't agree, and why definitions of poverty matter.

In this episode, we cover:

· [00:00] Introduction

· [00:59] Christine Pu, an interdisciplinary scientist from Stanford University, introduces the importance of definitions of poverty.

· [01:40] List of the four commonly used definitions of poverty.

· [02:29] The motivation behind the study.

· [03:21] Study design and methods.

· [04:20] Results of the study and discussion of why poverty measures may not agree.

· [05:50] Discussion of how poverty definitions impact efforts to alleviate poverty.

· [06:57] How policymakers can approach definition of poverty.

· [07:46] Implications and potential impacts of the study.

· [08:25] Study caveats and limitations.

· [08:54] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Christine Pu

PhD Candidate

Stanford University

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2316730121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast

Follow PNAS:

Twitter/X

Facebook

LinkedIn

YouTube

Sign up for the Highlights newsletter

How a small fish makes big sounds

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Verity Cook from Charité – Berlin University of Medicine explains how a fish 12 millimeters in length produces sounds exceeding 140 decibels.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:37] Can you tell us more about the fish you studied? •[02:26] What are some of the methods you used to characterize the fish’s sound production mechanism? •[03:49] Can you walk us through the process of how these fish produce sound? •[05:02] What are the broader implications of your findings? •[05:53] Conclusion.

About Our Guest: Verity Cook PhD Student Charité – Berlin University of Medicine

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2314017121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PNASNews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PNASNews/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pnas-news/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/pnas-news Sign up the Highlights newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/nas/podcast-highlights

Dinosaur feathers hint at flight history

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Jingmai O’Connor and Yosef Kiat share insights gleaned from modern birds’ feathers that help understand the evolutionary history of flight in dinosaurs.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:02] Jingmai O’Connor, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Field Museum of Natural History, describes the characteristics of feathers associated with flight. •[02:11] O’Connor gives context and background for previous knowledge of the evolution of flight feathers in dinosaurs. •[03:25] O’Connor describes the sources of fossil specimens for analysis of feather evolution. •[04:29] Yosef Kiat, an ornithologist at the Field Museum of Natural History, tells what he learned about the consistent number of primary feathers in modern birds. He also tells how that number applies to dinosaurs.  •[05:54] O’Connor explains what the symmetry of feathers reveals about a species’ flight ability and history. •[06:29] Kiat applies feather symmetry to explain the flight evolutionary history of Caudipteryx. •[07:05] Kiat summarizes the findings of the study, using feather number and shape to assess the flight abilities of four genera of dinosaurs. •[07:47] Kiat and O’Connor describe the type of potential fossil evidence that could fill in holes in the history of flight evolution in dinosaurs. •[08:42] Kiat and O’Connor explain the study’s caveats and limitations. •[09:44] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Jingmai O’Connor Associate Curator of Fossil Reptiles  Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL

Yosef Kiat Postdoctoral Research Fellow Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2306639121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast 

Follow PNAS: Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PNASNews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PNASNews/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pnas-news/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/pnas-news Sign up the Highlights newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/nas/podcast-highlights

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, researchers describe the potential impact of anthropogenic disturbances on bee communication.

In this episode, we cover:

About Our Guests:

Maggie CouvillonAssistant ProfessorVirginia Tech

Christoph GrüterSenior LecturerUniversity of Bristol

Michael HrncirProfessorUniversity of Sao Paulo

Elli LeadbeaterProfessorRoyal Holloway University of London

Kris BramanDepartment Head and ProfessorUniversity of Georgia

Denise AlvesPost-doctoral ResearcherUniversity of Sao Paulo

Adam DolezalAssistant ProfessorUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

View related content here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0155 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2219031120 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022191020300512 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14011 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10841-022-00402-6 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653521026199 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2002268117

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs!

Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast

Follow PNAS:

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PNASNews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PNASNews/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pnas-news/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/pnas-news Sign up the Highlights newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/nas/podcast-highlights

Alex Cristia and Elika Bergelson explain the factors influencing speech in children.

Chris Thorogood and Derek Moulton explain how mathematical modeling of carnivorous pitcher plants can lend insights into their evolution.

Allegra Midgette and Nadia Chernyak describe when young children begin to perceive and accept unequal and gendered division of household labor. 

Karen Steel explains a proof of concept for restoring hearing loss in mice. 

Stanley Cohen reflects on the 50-year legacy of a classic PNAS paper on recombinant DNA.

Longqi Yang and Fengqi You discuss the potential reductions in carbon emissions of switching from in person to remote work.

Jeremy Siow, Taylor Damann, and Margit Tavits discuss both historical and modern gender inequality in Europe.

Emmanuel Mignot explains how a variant of an immune system gene might protect some people against neurodegenerative disease.

Cecilia Machado and Douglas Almond discuss the impact of a first child on the career trajectory of mothers.

Laela Sayigh asks whether dolphins use "motherese" when communicating with their calves.

Pascal Polonik and Kate Ricke explain why reducing greenhouse gas emissions does not always improve environmental equity.

Ian Phillips, Rui Zhe Goh, and Chaz Firestone use auditory illusions to explore how people perceive silence.

Cameron Hecht discusses an intervention targeting high school teachers to improve student retention and diversity in STEM fields.

Vanessa Duthé explains how dehorning affects the behavior of black rhinoceroses.

Eric Martínez explains why legal documents are written in hard-to-read language.

Researchers explore trends in the gender gap among internationally mobile scholars.

Mattia Tagliavento talks about the evolutionary transition from dinosaurs to birds using isotopes in Troodon eggshells.

Pengfei Liu shares findings on racial disparities in exposure to the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide.

Chinmay Kalluraya and Matthew Daugherty explain how vertebrates acquired a gene critical for vision from bacteria.

Blair P. Bentley, Lisa Komoroske, and Camila Mazzoni discuss the role genomic elements play in the evolution of sea turtles.

A special edition of Science Sessions delves into the capabilities of robots inspired by plants and animals.

Stanislas Dehaene and Marie Amalric investigate whether short online videos are sufficient to teach mathematics concepts.

Anna Lea Albright and Peter Huybers describe how optical effects consistent with air pollution appear in the paintings of Claude Monet and J.M.W. Turner.

Kristin Winchell explains the genetic basis of anole adaptation to urban environments.

Researchers document animal extinctions in the Ediacaran Period that may have preceded the earliest known mass extinction.

Bo Wang and Chunpeng Xu describe how fossilized katydids provide insight into the role of insect sounds in the Mesozoic.

Tom McGrath describes how the neural network AlphaZero taught itself how to play chess without observing a human game.

Orit Peleg, Golnar Fard and Francisco López Jiménez explain how honeybees overcome geometric constraints to construct honeycombs.

Taylor Hersh explores how patterns of clicks produced by sperm whales suggest the exchange of cultural information between the whales.

Researchers discuss what animal soundscapes can tell us about the health of ecosystems.

Daniel Cusworth discusses combining aircraft-based and satellite-based measurement to identify methane emission point sources.

Syee Weldeab describes what researchers can learn from ancient global warming about the risks posed by ocean floor methane hydrates.

Ling Zhu and David B. Grusky explore intergenerational factors influencing occupational gender segregation in the United States.

Izzy Gainsburg and Veronica Derricks discuss how patient activation can disrupt implicit bias in physician-patient interactions.

Matilda Gibbons, Lars Chittka and Jonathan Birch discuss the possibility that bumblebees may feel pain.

Researchers explore how misinformation spreads and what can be done to stop it.

Lauren Howe and Alia Crum explore the interactions of societal biases with the placebo effect.

Steve Horvath and Elaine Ostrander explain the usefulness of epigenetic clocks in humans and dogs.

Researchers explore how and when humans first arrived in the Americas.

L. Mahadevan, Petur Bryde, and Suraj Shankar explain the otherworldly sounds of the musical saw.

Guido Friebel discusses the lack of gender parity in academic positions in economics.

A feature episode explores recent developments and future research directions in treating cystic fibrosis.

Brenhin Keller and Kalin McDannell explore the origins of a worldwide gap in the geologic record spanning hundreds of millions to billions of years.

Ray Block Jr. and John Holbein report that Americans are more likely to respond to an emailed survey request from a sender with a putatively White name than a sender with a putatively Black name. Image credit: iStock/Prostock-Studio.

A collection of research articles explores how tropical ecosystems have borne the brunt of the human impact on the environment. Image credit: Pixabay/Pexels.

A collection of research articles explores how tropical ecosystems have borne the brunt of the human impact on the environment. Image credit: Pixabay/Pexels.

A special episode explores the state of CRISPR use in agriculture. Image credit: Can Stock Photo/molekuul.

A special episode explores the state of CRISPR use in agriculture. Image credit: Can Stock Photo/molekuul.

Rodrigo Cámara-Leret explains the impact of indigenous language extinction on medicinal plant knowledge. Image credit: Pixabay/DEZALB.

Nicolas Taberlet and Nicolas Plihon explore the physical explanation for a fascinating natural phenomenon: the formation of Zen stones on frozen lakes. Image credit: N. Taberlet, N. Plihon. Lab Physique ENS de Lyon and CNRS.

Hessam Azarijafari, Randy Kirchain, and Jeremy Gregory explore how innovations in the concrete industry can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Image credit: Pexels/Life Of Pix.

Sarah Chambliss discusses racial and ethnic disparities in exposure to air pollutants. Image credit: Pixabay/sueegeneris.

Maggie Wagner and Manuel Kleiner report that the interaction between maize and soil microbes influences hybrid vigor. Image credit: Kayla M. Clouse.

Gaige Kerr discusses racial disparities in atmospheric levels of nitrogen dioxide in the United States.

Stephanie Marciniak, Logan Kistler, and Ed Louis describe an extinct giant lemur.

Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, John T. Abatzoglou, and Mojtaba Sadegh report that forest fires have been advancing upslope across the western United States in recent decades.

Eran Amichai investigates how bats know the speed of sound.

Mike Gil discusses how changes in animal behavior can affect ecosystems.

Brad Greenwood explains how patient–physician racial concordance decreases Black infant mortality.

Vinay Pathak describes when and where HIV sheds its capsid coating while infecting human cells.

Jeannie Lee describes the discovery of self-cleaving ribozymes.

Josh Bongard describes AI-designed, reconfigurable biological organisms made from frog cells.

Jonathon Yuly, David Beratan, and Peng Zhang investigate how electron bifurcation reactions work.

Adam Mastroianni and Daniel Gilbert explore why conversations almost never end when people want them to.

Joe Levy shows how glaciers on Mars can reveal its climate history.

Marianne Alleyne, Aimy Wissa, and Ophelia Bolmin explain how the click beetle amplifies power to pull off its signature jump.

Mara Reed and Michael Manga explore why Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser resumed erupting in 2018.

Martin Bizzarro tells what zircon crystals reveal about the geological history of Mars.

Aleix Martinez explains why facial expressions often are not accurate indicators of emotion.

Amanda Rodewald, Ivan Rudik, and Catherine Kling talk about the hazards of ozone pollution to birds.

Se-Jin Lee and Emily Germain-Lee explain a way to preserve bone and muscle mass during spaceflight.

David Crowder and Gengping Zhu explain how to predict the spread of the Asian giant hornet.

Brian Fields explores a hypothesis that a supernova may be responsible for a mass extinction.

Eric Horvitz discusses AI’s promises and perils.

Juliana Vianna and Rauri Bowie explain the origin and diversification of penguins.

William Nordhaus explains the economic consequences of Greenland ice sheet melt.

NAS member Dalton Conley explains how the Vietnam War draft lotteries are a natural experiment for studying how military service affects life outcomes.

Clark Larsen describes the costs of urban life a Neolithic city.