PNAS Science Sessions

Julia Schwab and Steve Brusatte describe how marine reptiles made the evolutionary move from land to sea.

Ellen Welti explains how grasshoppers in a Kansas prairie could be in decline even with abundant grass.

NAS member David Baker describes how to design proteins from scratch and the products of his lab's own protein design efforts

Elli Theobald and Scott Freeman describe the benefits of active learning for underrepresented minority students.

Adam Millard-Ball and Chris Barrington-Leigh explain trends in urban street network design.

NAS member and Nobel laureate David Baltimore describes efforts to enhance T cells' ability to fight cancer and HIV.

Christine Dunham discusses RNA frameshifting and its potential applications in biotechnology.

Henri Weimerskirch describes how albatrosses can help detect illegal fishing boats.

Philipp Heck tells the story of interstellar stardust grains that predate the Solar System.

Baruch Fischhoff, a decision scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, explains the ingredients necessary for effective science communication.

Kerry Sieh recounts the hunt for a meteorite impact crater in Southeast Asia.

Dana Lepofsky describes ancient sustainable clam gardening practices.

Theoretical physicists Hans Briegel and Hendrik Poulsen Nautrup describe an artificial intelligence that can design quantum experiments.

Simon DeDeo and Alexander Barron discuss the rhetoric that shaped the French Revolution.

Cam Braun explains how ocean eddies allow sharks to dive and forage in deep water.

Shara Bailey explains the significance of a three-rooted lower molar in an archaic jaw.

Noel Clark and Tommaso Bellini describe how nucleic acids form double-helical liquid crystals, with implications for the origins of life.

Benjamin de Haas explains individual differences in eye movement patterns.

Eric Boilard explains the role of serotonin and platelets in immune responses.

A collection of research articles explores developments in interfacial transport and mixing, with wide-ranging practical applications.

Jennifer Mandel outlines the evolutionary history of the sunflower family.

Jonathan Lefcheck and Robert Orth discuss nutrient pollution and recovery in the Chesapeake Bay.

Daniel Hodgson explains the physics of chocolate-making.

Chris Field discusses misconceptions about climate change and how humans can adapt to a warming planet.

Noah Diffenbaugh and Marshall Burke discuss how global warming impacts economies and income inequality.

Margaret McFall-Ngai describes how a symbiont bacterium affects a host cephalopod.

A paleontological site preserves the immediate aftermath of the asteroid impact that may have caused a global mass extinction.

Thor Berger and Per Engzell explore connections between European immigration and present-day economic mobility in the US.

Erin Cech discusses parenting and gender disparities among STEM professionals.

Bettina Schulz Paulsson explains the origin and spread of Europe's megaliths, including Stonehenge.

Daven Henze discusses how air pollution spreads across the globe and what policymakers are doing in response.

Tetsuto Miyashita describes how the hagfish helps define the vertebrate tree of life.

Daniel Wieczynski and Van Savage show how climate affects the diversity of forests.

Jingfang Fan explains what network theory can reveal about climate systems.

Christopher Monroe discusses recent developments in quantum computing.

Alexis Noel and David Hu describe the unusual properties of a cat's tongue.

Blair Hedges discusses the state of Haiti's remaining forests and the consequences to biodiversity.

Chryssa Kouveliotou describes her efforts to compile a detailed X-ray map of the galactic plane.

Heather McKillop explores the Maya salt industry.

Mike Hout explores the persistence of occupational and socioeconomic standing from parent to child in America.

Robert Reed explains genetic controls on butterfly wing colors.

Nick Melosh describes a method for sampling RNA and proteins from cells using nanostraws.

Victoria Orphan and Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert discuss microbial life in the deep subseafloor.

Amaia Arranz-Otaegui describes the discovery of bread that far pre-dates agriculture.

Lauren Schiebelhut describes natural selection following sea star wasting disease.

Rob Voigt and Nicholas Camp examine respectfulness in police officers' interactions with community members.

Jenni Lehtimäki and Stefan Reber explore links between animal exposure in upbringing and immune system function.

Ralph Pudritz and Ben Pearce describe a model of how RNA-based life could have originated on the early Earth.

David Hughes discusses how a parasitic fungus manipulates ant behavior for reproduction.

Rob Knight discusses the role of the human gut microbiota in health and disease.