PNAS Science Sessions
421 episodes — Page 5 of 9
Big data
Atul Butte explains how researchers can use existing data to answer biomedical questions.
Molecular contraception
Polina Lishko discusses the development of unisex contraceptives.
The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub
Joseph DeRisi describes the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, a new privately-funded medical research center in the Bay Area.
Early evidence of winemaking
Patrick McGovern describes evidence of winemaking in Georgia during the Neolithic period.
Bird feathers reveal past air pollution
Carl Fuldner and Shane DuBay describe how bird feathers preserve records of air pollution.
Interview with 2016 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Vadim Backman
Vadim Backman describes a technique for high resolution imaging of biological molecules without labels.
Interview with 2016 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Jonathan Sears
Jonathan Sears describes potential treatment strategies for retinopathy of prematurity.
Zebrafish avatars for cancer treatment
Rita Fior describes how zebrafish can make cancer treatment more efficient.
Interview with 2016 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Sandu Popescu and Jeff Tollaksen
Sandu Popescu and Jeff Tollaksen explain how a fundamental principle of nature does not hold in quantum mechanics.
Interview with 2016 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Yayoi Obata
Yayoi Obata describes the formation of mammalian egg cells in vitro.
The Deep Hot Biosphere after 25 years
John Spear discusses the legacy of Thomas Gold's "Deep Hot Biosphere" hypothesis.
Interview with 2016 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Russell Graham
Russell Graham describes the extinction of woolly mammoths from St. Paul island.
How Sherpas adapt to high altitudes
Andrew Murray describes metabolic adaptations of Himalayan Sherpas to low-pressure, low-oxygen conditions at high altitudes.
Interview with 2016 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Fernando Colchero, Roland Rau, and Susan Alberts
Fernando Colchero, Roland Rau, and Susan Alberts describe the relationship between lifespan equality and average lifespan.
Oyster Harvest
Rowan Lockwood discusses the sustainability of Native American oyster harvesting in the Chesapeake Bay.
Improving endoscopy for disease diagnosis
Pelham Keahey describes how differential structured illumination microendoscopy can improve cancer diagnosis.
Fungicides and honey bee health
Entomologist May Berenbaum discusses the effects of agricultural fungicides on honey bee health.
Vision and transition to land
Malcolm MacIver describes how our aquatic ancestors may have become interested in land.
Self-driving cars
Jeff Schneider explains how self-driving cars use machine learning to learn the rules of the road.
Science for the general public
Steven Weinberg describes his experiences writing about science for a general audience.
Interview with 2017 Breakthrough Prize winner Steve Elledge
Steve Elledge discusses how cells sense and respond to damage to their DNA.
DNA folding by loop extrusion
Erez Lieberman Aiden discusses a model of how DNA folds to fit inside a cell nucleus.
Maize domestication in Mexico
Researchers Jean-Philippe Vielle-Calzada and Miguel Vallebueno discuss 5,000-year-old partially domesticated maize.
Future of infectious disease research
Charles Rice and Robert Landford discuss the future of hepatitis C research without chimpanzees.
Honeybees and biofuel crops
Clint Otto discusses the impact of land-use changes on beekeepers in the Dakotas.
Recoding an organism
George Church, Matthieu Landon, and Michael Napolitano discuss the genetic replacement of arginine codons in E. coli.
Interview with 2016 Kavli Prize Winners Kip Thorne and Rai Weiss
Kip Thorne and Rai Weiss describe the detection of gravitational waves with LIGO.
20th-century excess male mortality
Eileen Crimmins discusses the mortality difference between the sexes and its possible causes.
Remodelling brain function
Kavli Prize winner Eve Marder discusses flexibility and stability in neural circuits.
Climate change and irrigation water
Joshua Elliott discusses potential impacts of climate change on water availability for irrigation.
Modeling disease spread
Andrea Rinaldo explains how cell phone data can be used to model disease spread.
Interview with 2015 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Amanda Woerman
Amanda Woerman discusses the role of the alpha-synuclein prion in the neurodegenerative disorder multiple system atrophy.
Interview with 2015 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Anne Case and Angus Deaton
Anne Case and Angus Deaton describe recent changes in mortality trends for white non-Hispanic Americans.
Interview with 2015 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Glaucio Paulino and Evgueni Filipov
Glaucio Paulino and Evgueni Filipov describe an origami-inspired approach to designing deployable structures and metamaterials.
Interview with 2015 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Mark Jacobson
Mark Jacobson explains the feasability of a 100% wind, water, and solar power grid in the continental United States.
Interview with 2015 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Will Castleman and Cuneyt Berkdemir
Will Castleman and Cuneyt Berkdemir describe how to mimic rare earth elements using superatom clusters.
Interview with 2015 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Yatrik Shah
Yatrik Shah describes the connection between maternal iron absorption during lactation and neonatal anemia.
Nanoparticles for disease detection
Sangeeta Bhatia describes the development of nanoparticles that can aid in detecting cancer and other diseases.
Origins of mathematical ability
Stanislas Dehaene investigates how certain areas of the brain might be related to mathematical ability.
Building the James Webb Space Telescope
John Mather of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center explains why and how the James Webb Space Telescope is being built.
Tracking endemic tuberculosis
Robyn Lee and Marcel Behr investigate the genomics of endemic tuberculosis in Northern Canada.
Brain clarity
Karl Deisseroth explains a method to explore the wiring and structure of the brain.
Gene drive for malaria mosquito control
Anthony James describes how gene drives can be used to spread malaria parasite resistance in mosquitoes.
Interview with 2014 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Anthony Vecchiarelli
Anthony Vecchiarelli explains a system of genetic cargo movement within cells that has roots in the work of Alan Turing.
Interview with 2014 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Jintai Lin
Jintai Lin explains the impact of a global economy on air pollution in China and in the US.
Interview with 2014 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Frank Bates
Frank Bates describes how a project related to chewing gum led to materials science discoveries.
Interview with 2014 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Abigail Marsh
Abigail Marsh describes mechanisms of altruistic kidney donors' responsiveness to others' emotions.
Search rankings and voter manipulation
Robert Epstein of the American Institute for Behavioral Research describes how search engine rankings can influence voter preferences.
Timeline of the end-Permian extinction
Seth Burgess describes a timeline of events surrounding the end-Permian mass extinction.
Interview with 2014 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Yaara Oren and Tal Pupko
Yaara Oren and Tal Pupko describe how bacteria can evolve via transfer of gene regulatory regions.