Cutting-edge news & reports from PNAS, one of the world's most-cited scientific journals, sibling journal of
@PNASNexus
& an official journal of
@theNASciences
.
A recent PNAS study found that high-performing women have one thing in common: they have a tight-knit circle of other women who help them with “gender-specific private information and support.
@Refinery29
Article source:
Legalization of same-sex marriage resulted in dramatic decreases in anti-gay bias across the US, suggesting that government legislation can inform attitudes even on religiously and politically entrenched positions. In PNAS:
PNAS will cease producing the print edition of the journal as of January 2019. The end of print is part of a larger effort to make the submission and publication process easier for authors. Our last print issue is Vol. 115, issue 52
Brazil’s soy boom comes with a grim cost: Significant increases in pediatric deaths from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, likely driven by contamination of the water supply by pesticides. In PNAS:
Faculty at prestigious institutions are more productive and prominent than their peers. New research suggests that their work environment, not their training, explains their success. In PNAS:
#academictwitter
#withaphd
Recent tweets that went out from
@PNASNews
about the paper, “An experimental test of the ovulatory homolog model of female orgasm,” were inappropriate and offensive. We have taken the tweets down. We apologize and are reviewing the decision-making with those involved.
15 individuals in a 5,000-year old mass grave in Poland were brutally killed with blows to the head, but buried with great care. Genomic sequencing shows that they were members of a large family, but not related to neighboring groups. In PNAS:
On 7/1/19, PNAS will eliminate the strict page limits and the Plus article category. The preferred length of articles will remain at 6 pgs; flexible length limits up to 12 pgs will be allowed. To make this feasible, PNAS will cease producing the print edition as of 1/19.
The tendency of scientists to favor generalized, bolder claims in their research may sacrifice precision and could potentially have the unintended consequence of spreading misinformation, according to a new study. In PNAS:
Transplanting gut microbes from people with social anxiety disorder (SAD) into mice made the mice more sensitive to fear conditioning during social interactions, compared with mice who received healthy human microbiome transplants. In PNAS:
DNA from the SARS-CoV-2 virus can integrate into host genomes, which may explain why some people continue to test positive for
#COVID19
via PCR tests without any detectable infectious virus. In PNAS:
#Methane
is a potent greenhouse gas. A strain of bacteria has been found that eats methane even when it is present at relatively low concentrations. By 2050, the microbe could keep 240 million tons of methane out of the atmosphere. In PNAS:
How to avoid “dinosaur in a parking lot” depictions of life millions of years ago: include flora, not just fauna. Artists join paleobotanists to bring ancient
#plants
to life. A PNAS Science and Culture:
#dinosaurs
#paleobotany
#paleontology
#paleoart
Truly massive bacteria—one million times the volume of E. coli—live inside the unicornfish. Explore its genome and uncover the secrets behind the gargantuan size of this bacterial behemoth.
In
@Physorg_com
:
Read the full study:
Climate change is causing small mammals to get even smaller, according to an analysis of 23 species collected by natural history museums over the past century. Total shrinkage by 2100 may be as high as 21%, depending on future warming. In PNAS:
A study suggests a solution to “Humboldt’s enigma”—the fact that mountains are more biodiverse, on average, than other ecosystems. Key to the solution is the finding that species richness and species turnover are independent variables. In PNAS:
📈 Trending Article in PNAS
One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “Bodily maps of emotions.” Explore the findings here:
For more trending articles, visit the PNAS homepage at .
Reintroducing bison into grassland prairies can increase native plant species richness by 86% compared with ungrazed areas, a study in the Flint Hills region of Kansas suggests. In PNAS:
#nativeplants
One might think a raindrop could do serious damage to a tiny water strider. But a study shows that their low-density, hydrophobic exoskeletons allow them to surf jets and craters made by drops—or easily resurface if pushed underwater. In PNAS:
In January 2019, PNAS will launch Brief Reports, articles that present brief findings of exceptional importance. Brief Reports will receive rapid review and be limited to two journal pages. Details will be forthcoming in our Information for Authors.
📈 Trending Article on PNAS
One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “Bodily maps of emotions.” Explore the findings here:
For more trending articles, visit the PNAS homepage at .
Researchers grew rat neurons on a force sensor, which allowed them to discover that neurons develop tension after forming connections with other neurons, resulting in a contractile neural network. Without this contractility, neurons fail to fire. In PNAS:
A Perspective explores the risk of crossing a planetary climate threshold that might lead to "Hothouse Earth," in which global average temperatures exceed the temperatures of any interglacial period of the past 1.2 million years. Read more:
Negative emotional contagion shapes raven behavior: experimental testing suggests that when ravens see fellow ravens grapple with frustrating tasks, they become frustrated and pessimistic themselves. On
@novapbs
: Research in PNAS:
May Berenbaum starts as PNAS Editor-in-Chief today. Berenbaum is Professor and Chair of Entomology at
@Illinois_Alma
. She was elected to
@theNASciences
in 1994 and has served on the PNAS Editorial Board since 1998. We’ll be featuring her work throughout the month. Welcome, May!
Demographically underrepresented students innovate at higher rates than majority students, but their novel contributions are discounted and less likely to earn them academic positions. In PNAS:
Truly massive bacteria—one million times the volume of E. coli—live inside the unicornfish. Explore its genome and uncover the secrets behind the gargantuan size of this bacterial behemoth. In PNAS:
Horizontal gene transfer has been well documented among
#bacteria
. But recent work suggests gene transfers from bacteria to multicellular organisms are much more common than previously thought--& often have important consequences for
#evolution
:
#genetics
Social co-operation may be influenced by an individual’s desire to maximize their future opportunities. A new study using bird models found that collective motion is influenced by the collective’s desire to gain better advantages. In PNAS:
Legalizing same-sex marriage may help decrease both implicit and explicit anti-gay bias, according to a longitudinal survey of nearly 1 million Americans from 2005 to 2016. Published this week in PNAS:
Biodiversity data integration by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the world’s largest biodiversity network, appears to enable research at multiple scales and in multiple taxonomies. In PNAS:
After a heart attack, researchers inject a mouse with placental cells, then track them as they migrate to the injured heart, attach, and differentiate into beating heart muscle cells, endothelial cells, or smooth muscle cells. In PNAS (OA):
Minor evolutionary changes in morphology and neural control may have helped transform the salamander tongue into a high-powered elastic recoil mechanism for capturing prey. In PNAS:
People in similar occupations exhibit similar personality profiles. A study of
#Twitter
text assesses linguistic information from over 100,000 users representing 3,513 occupations. In PNAS:
Non-White scientists appear on fewer editorial boards and spend more time under review, according to a study of 1 million research articles. Results reveal the extent of inequalities underrepresented researchers face in science publishing. In PNAS:
Trees are predicted to migrate toward high latitudes as the climate warms, but they may be limited by the ability of fungal symbionts to migrate with them. Any assisted migration effort should consider including mycorrhizal fungi. In PNAS:
Music can evoke bodily responses. A cross-cultural study in the United States, the UK, and China found some differences between East and West, but everyone felt danceable songs in the feet and heart-wrenching ballads in the chest. In PNAS:
Sperm whales in the Pacific Ocean exhibit human-like patterns of symbolic cultural identifiers, a study suggests which hints at the existence of culture in nonhuman animal populations.
In
@NBCNews
In PNAS:
Oxygen limitation in response to rising temperatures is the underlying cause of observed body size reductions in marine microbes and ectothermic animals. In PNAS:
Although
#storytelling
often has negative connotations within
#science
, narrative formats of
#communication
should not be disregarded when communicating science to nonexpert audiences. Narratives offer increased comprehension, interest, and engagement.
The human body can only take so much heat. A study examines the likelihood of heat waves above the limit of human thermoregulation in different climate futures. The risk of widespread exposure to lethal heat rises sharply at 3 °C of warming. In PNAS:
Using a Cas9/guide-RNA-based gene drive system, researchers have produced mosquitoes that produce antimalaria antibodies. If released, models suggest the mosquitoes could reduce malaria incidence by roughly 90% within three months. In PNAS:
3D printing of functional human tissues and organs is coming. Researchers have created a special fluid to support large complex tissues during printing, which they used to print a structure in the shape of a full-scale human heart. In PNAS:
Maternal obesity may be transmitted to offspring via molecules in sperm called "tRNA-derived small RNAs," which are higher in sperm of males born to mothers fed a high-fat diet. In PNAS:
Stanley Falkow dedicated his life’s work to the study of bacteria and infectious disease. The articles of this Special Feature on Antimicrobial Resistance and the Role of Vaccines are dedicated to his memory
The 12 papers in the Global Decline of Insects in the Anthropocene Special Feature examine losses of insect biodiversity from multiple perspectives. In PNAS:
Giant pandas are rare, but among them one occasionally finds an exceptionally rare sight: a brown panda. A study of the genetics behind this variant identifies the cause: a homozygous deletion in the Bace2 gene. In PNAS:
Researchers identified a rhythm in hospital treatment and found that initial doses of treatment are strongly influenced by time of day, not by drug type or diagnosis, suggesting potential operational barriers to optimal clinical care. In PNAS:
15 individuals in a 5,000-year old mass grave in Poland were brutally killed with blows to the head, but buried with great care. Genomic sequencing shows that they were members of a large family, but not related to neighboring groups. In PNAS (OA):
Tracking photosynthesis from space: high-resolution satellite imagery can detect variations in chlorophyll fluorescence emission, which helps researchers evaluate photosynthesis at large scales. In PNAS:
Good writing takes time for both the author who writes it and the institutions that teach it... So, is there really any benefit to writing better? We believe there is.
#scicomm
We’re pleased to announce our new Editor-in-Chief, entomologist May R. Berenbaum of
@Illinois_Alma
. Berenbaum's decades-long work has illuminated an evolutionary arms race between insects and plants. Welcome to the PNAS family,
@MayBerenbaum
@theNASciences
Researchers used CRISPR to engineer a line of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes that eliminates females and produces males that are more than 99.5% infertile. A mass release of infertile male mosquitoes could curb the spread of malaria in Africa. In PNAS:
Engineers at
@MIT
and
@GeorgiaTech
identify a fast and simple way to model diverse granular intrusion problems, such as animal and human locomotion, through any soft, flowable material. In
@MIT
News: In PNAS:
Archaeological evidence suggests that Native Americans in southwest Florida engineered complex walled structures called watercourts for large-scale fish capture and storage in the 16th century. In PNAS:
Microbes that live with plants can control root branching using the plant hormone ethylene. Researchers suggest that future microbe-based solutions could help plants adapt to poor soil & environmental stress, potentially increasing food production. In PNAS
Differences in hearing sensitivity, and thus the differential ability to hear prey-produced sounds, might allow ecologically similar bat species to coexist. In PNAS:
Image credit: Christian Ziegler (photographer).
Perspective: Mask wearing, in conjunction with hygiene, distancing, and contact tracing, can substantially reduce
#COVID19
transmission by reducing infected aerosol and droplet emission. In PNAS:
PNAS will cease producing the print edition of the journal as of January 2019. The end of print is part of a larger effort to make the submission and publication process easier for authors. Our last print issue is Vol. 115, issue 52
A functional MRI study of 134 people suggests that major depressive disorder is correlated with signaling patterns in the anterior cingulate cortex, providing a potential biomarker. In PNAS:
Researchers located the internal compass ants use to sense Earth’s magnetic field by exposing the insects to a chaotic magnetic field or to a magnetic field lacking a horizontal component and then comparing their brains to control ants. In PNAS:
Evolutionary development of facial muscles that grant
#dogs
the ability to move their eyebrows in expressive manners may explain why humans are so fond of dogs. In PNAS:
Lifting Italy’s national lockdown two weeks earlier would have led to approximately 14,000 additional hospitalizations, while lifting four weeks earlier would have led to nearly 80,000 additional hospitalizations, a study finds. In PNAS:
#COVID19
Dig deep to discover how deforestation affects soil ecology. Changes in soil chemistry and pH affect microbial communities, increasing bacterial diversity and leading to homogeneous fungal communities dominated by pathogens. In PNAS:
Beetles may owe their staggering diversity to an array of factors, including low rates of lineage extinction, codiversification with flowering plants, and horizontal gene transfer from microbes, according to a genomic analysis of beetles. In PNAS:
The southern Brazilian Amazon now emits more carbon than it absorbs. A LIDAR study quantifies the amount of carbon lost from logging, fires, wind, and other causes. Indigenous areas and conservation units protect against anthropogenic losses. In PNAS:
How do 8 billion humans spend their days? Data from more than 130 counties suggests that, on average, each human spends 9.1 hours asleep, 2.1 hours in transit, 1.6 hours eating, 1.1 hours grooming, and 3.4 hours modifying our environment. In PNAS:
Engraved ochre and eggshell fragments reveal how art evolved from decoration to expression of socially transmitted cultural traditions. New paper from
@kristian_tylen
in PNAS:
Viruses harbored by bats and rodents, which are widely considered high-risk reservoirs, are no more likely to infect humans than viruses carried by other hosts. In PNAS:
As the climate warms, birds are evolving. In a study of museum and field specimens covering 129 species, researchers saw the same clear pattern: most birds have shrunk since the 1970s—and small birds are shrinking faster than big birds. In PNAS:
The scientific productivity of early-career faculty is shaped by the prestige of their current place of employment, not the prestige of their past training environment, a study finds:
PNAS Article:
The scales on
#moth
wings have evolved to reduce the
#echo
returning to
#bats
.
@PNASNews
investigates their resonant sound-absorber functionality. Article:
Paleoartists�� attempt to hone their craft and captivate the public even as they grapple with emerging discoveries that alter how we see dinosaurs. In PNAS Science & Culture:
Authors estimate the total biomass of all terrestrial wild mammals at 20 million metric tons. Large herbivores comprise the bulk of the mass. Wild marine mammals weigh in at approximately 40 million metric tons. In PNAS:
When lab animals go wild: Experiments on mice living in more natural habitats can deliver results dramatically different from those in traditional laboratories—w/ profound implications for
#biomedical
science
Climate change could reshape underground fungal networks. In field experiments simulating warming and drought, species with short mycelia became more common than long-mycelia species, endangering long-range connections between trees. In PNAS:
The Lycopodiaceae are a unique family of plants, often known as clubmosses. Chromosomal genome assemblies for two species in the clade reveal a surprise: Despite diverging 350 million years ago, huge blocks of the genomes remain unchanged. In PNAS:
Collective motion may be influenced by the collective’s desire to gain better advantages by working in groups, according to a new study using bird models. This finding can provide insights on the correlation between decision-making and intelligence:
A fossil primate tooth suggests a third clade of colonizing anthropoid primates in South America. A small body size would have aided chances of survival for the over-water trip on rafts of vegetation created by West African floods. In PNAS:
Elephants may be self-domesticated. Much like domesticated animals such as dogs, elephants display reduced aggression, increased prosocial behavior, shortening of the jaw, and enhanced play behavior. In PNAS: