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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Explore groundbreaking news and research from PNAS, one of the world's most-cited scientific journals. Discover its sibling journal, @pnasnexus.org, both official journals of the National Academy of Sciences. Visit www.pnas.org for more info.
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · 8d
In this issue: Anthropogenic pressures and Amazon forest decline; reproductive costs and telomere length in bats; and the speleothem record of the Fertile Crescent. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/yCqH50XL34N
Pictured is a composite of time-lapse images of electrically stabilized and acoustically levitated particles. Image credit: Sue Shi.
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A trending PNAS article in the last week is “Evolved birth physiology meets modern birth practice: Sustained effects of planned cesarean delivery on child hair cortisol in Brazil.” Explore now: https://ow.ly/Lj1550XNIgO

For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/oIyQ50XNIcn.
Predicted hair cortisol concentration (pg/mg) by birth mode
December 24, 2025 at 2:00 AM
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Stay up to date with the latest open access research from PNAS Nexus. Sign up for email alerts and be notified as new articles are published.

🔗 https://ow.ly/k1kt50XNJ1L
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December 24, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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PNAS Nexus looks back on the 2025 articles that caught the attention of the public and sparked conversations about health, the environment, and society. Explore the collection here: https://ow.ly/AHz550XNI2G
PNAS Nexus – 2025 Selected Highlights. Read now!
December 23, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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Juncos in Los Angeles have shorter, thicker bills than wildland juncos, possibly an adaptation to eating human trash. But juncos that hatched when the UCLA campus was empty due to the COVID-19 pandemic had slim, long wildland-style bills. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/imGJ50XNIXo
A junco at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. CREDIT: Sierra Glassman
December 23, 2025 at 8:01 PM
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From ancient wolves to modern breeds, dogs have a complex genetic past. Researchers explore how domestication, gene flow, and breeding shaped canine behavior, and why genetics alone cannot fully predict personality. Listen now: https://ow.ly/pVx750XNIn6
Credit: Pixabay/TheOtherKev
December 23, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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Estradiol, an ovarian hormone, tunes neuronal responses to perceived threats, according to an MRI study in which 110 young women with varying trauma histories, some of whom were given exogenous estradiol, looked at fearful or neutral faces. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/VzaV50XNlGG
Researchers review a brain MRI image to explore how the ovarian hormone estradiol affects responses to social threats among women who have experienced trauma. CREDIT: Natalie Merril
December 23, 2025 at 2:00 AM
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Read highlights in this week’s issue of PNAS: We explore microbial sources of rising methane emissions, examine a thermal map of Greenland, and analyze the impact of marine hotspots on seabirds. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/ciiF50XNl58
Pictured is a composite of time-lapse images of electrically stabilized and acoustically levitated particles. Image credit: Sue Shi.
December 23, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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Mars may lack Earth-like tectonics, but ancient rivers tell another story. New maps show ~5% of the planet shaped by vast drainage networks—hinting at potentially habitable environments.

In Space.com: https://ow.ly/KAxj50XNkWG

In PNAS: https://ow.ly/ibSj50XNkKi
A complex valley network near Idaeus Fossae on Mars, captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. New mapping shows such networks were once part of vast, connected river basins that carried nearly half the sediment moved by Martian rivers, and may be among the most promising places to search for evidence of ancient life. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
December 22, 2025 at 10:01 PM
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A review of zoonotic diseases finds that many are sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation driven by climate change. Temperature increases, especially, tend to raise the risk for mosquito- and tick-borne disease. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/UC4850XNm1J
Conceptual schematic of zoonotic transmission with and without an arthropod vector. Gray boxes list examples of climate-sensitive intrinsic factors. Arrows indicate key transmission processes that may be climate-sensitive; arrow width is illustrative of the relative evidence of impact on disease risk. Small bar charts show hypothesized weightings of temperature, precipitation, and humidity for each component.
December 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
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When #TechCompanies collaborate with #academia on research using #SocialMedia data, #ConflictsOfInterest can arise. Stronger #transparency standards and independent oversight are needed. https://ow.ly/MycP50XNjZa

#ethics #industry #Meta #X
A smartphone displaying the Meta logo in front of a blurred background of blue and red computer code. Image credit: Shutterstock/JarTee.
December 22, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
carlbergstrom.com
Love this short opinion piece on “mechanical bypass” in analogy to “spiritual bypass”.
The “machinal bypass” and how we’re using AI to avoid ourselves | PNAS
The “machinal bypass” and how we’re using AI to avoid ourselves
www.pnas.org
December 21, 2025 at 4:42 AM
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How can science communication counter misinformation more effectively? In a new QnAs, Kathleen Hall Jamieson discusses mental models, why traditional debunking can backfire, and new approaches to reducing misconceptions about mRNA vaccines. Read now: https://ow.ly/B2kp50XMxsE
PNAS – QnAs with Kathleen Hall Jamieson, University of Pennsylvania. National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal Recipient.
December 20, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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Wildfires are destroying more buildings than in the past because of increased development in the wildland–urban interface. But fires in the coterminous United States were also more destructive in the 2013–2022 period than from 2002–2012. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/HRk650XMxNC
A neighborhood that burned in the 2021 Marshall wildfire, in Louisville, Colorado. Stock image.
December 20, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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How did dogs evolve from wolves—and what does their DNA reveal about behavior? 🐕 A new PNAS Special Feature explores canine domestication, migration, and genetic links to behavior and human traits. Read now: https://ow.ly/y4aS50XMxef
PNAS – Special Feature. Genetics of Canine Domestication, Migration, and Behavior.
December 19, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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Remains of 27 Nubian people from 350 BCE–1400 CE found in the Nile River Valley reveal shifting tattooing styles, with dotted diamonds and crisscrossed motifs in the pre-Christian era giving way to facial tattoos in the medieval Christian era. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/v8r450XMz4r
Reconstruction of geometric tattoos on the right hand of an adult woman from the Semna South site. CREDIT: Mary Nguyen. ©2025 UMSL
December 19, 2025 at 8:01 PM
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Can #DigitalTwins help diagnose—and even treat—medical conditions? Explore the promise and pitfalls of this emerging approach in a PNAS Core Concept: https://ow.ly/mICx50XMxzy

#HeartDisease #AtrialFibrillation #AI #Medicine
3D printed heart alongside a human heart, illustrating digital twins for tracking heart health and guiding treatments. Image credits: Shutterstock/peakanucha (left heart) and VSEVOLOD ZVIRYK/Science Source (right heart).
December 19, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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A simulation-optimization framework determines optimal locations for new electric vehicle chargers, based on real EV users’ driving and charging behavior. Adding 1,305 public charging stations to Virginia could reduce wait times by 72%. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/5Jee50XLBxu
Close-up of an EV charger. Stock image.
December 19, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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A trending PNAS article in the last week is “Targeting orthotopic and metastatic pancreatic cancer with allogeneic stem cell–engineered mesothelin-redirected CAR-NKT cells.” Explore now: https://ow.ly/kK6x50XLBjj

For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/BPL050XLBgX.
Generation and characterization of HSPC-engineered allogeneic IL-15-enhanced MCAR-NKT (Allo15MCAR-NKT) cells.
December 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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Exposure to wildfire-related fine particulate matter over a three-year period is linked to increased risk of death among older adults, according to a study of over 1 million Southern Californians aged 60 years and older. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/a3wS50XLBBe
Wildfire in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, January 8, 2025, producing dense smoke clouds. Stock image.
December 18, 2025 at 8:02 PM
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Opinion: The “machinal bypass” examines how #AI can replace—not augment—our own presence. From #researchers to #clinicians, what happens when we let machines stand in for ourselves? In PNAS Front Matter: https://ow.ly/Tro450XLB5q

#AI #psychology #psychiatry #MentalHealth #LLM
Illustration of a clinical therapy setting in which a clinician sits at a desk holding playing cards while a computer screen displays a LLM prompt reading, ‘How does that make you feel?’ A patient lies on a couch in the background, conveying a conceptual commentary on the use of artificial intelligence in therapy. Image credit: Dave Cutler (artist).
December 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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RNA could have formed spontaneously in the environment of early Earth, some 4.3 billion years ago, according to a study. A key requirement for some steps is borate, which was thought—incorrectly, according to the authors—to inhibit other steps. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/TAuc50XL3ZS
Borate minerals and the decomposition of ribose. CREDIT: Steven A. Benner
December 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM
pnas.org
In this issue: Anthropogenic pressures and Amazon forest decline; reproductive costs and telomere length in bats; and the speleothem record of the Fertile Crescent. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/yCqH50XL34N
Pictured is a composite of time-lapse images of electrically stabilized and acoustically levitated particles. Image credit: Sue Shi.
December 17, 2025 at 10:00 PM
pnas.org
Sign language fluency shapes the brain 🧠📺
Participants fluent in sign language showed stronger brain synchronization with visual features when watching familiar signed videos—unlike viewers with no signing knowledge. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/hIXy50XL3Oc
Display of the 21 body points and 68 face points recorded by the custom-built Kinect system.
December 17, 2025 at 8:01 PM
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Defying global trends, an #Arizona #lake became less dusty during ice ages. In PNAS Journal Club: https://ow.ly/L67W50XL2Z9

#DustStorm #soil #ClimateChange #IceAge #glaciers #drought #StonemanLake
Sandstorm in a desert landscape, illustrating the arid conditions of the region. Image credit: Shutterstock/John D Sirlin.
December 17, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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Polynyas are open-water areas within sea ice, which are important sites of carbon sequestration as the climate warms. Within these rapidly expanding areas, phytoplankton live and die, their carbon-rich bodies then sinking to the seafloor. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/Eron50XKAsG
Glaciers and floating ice shelves off Campbell Glacier in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. CREDIT: Wanru Zhang
December 17, 2025 at 12:00 AM