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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 research journals of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Visit www.pnas.org for more info.
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · 4d
In this issue: Classifying dinosaur footprints using machine learning, examining how forest loss affects watersheds, and assessing how aging populations endanger zoo conservation goals. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/3B8i50Y9oze
Pictured is a golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), the northernmost Asian colobine primate. Image credit: Yong Wang (photographer).
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Will removing livestock from historically grazed grasslands increase the carbon these lands store in their soil? Maybe not. A study finds that un-grazed grasslands in the UK have lower levels of stable, mineral-associated carbon than grazed plots. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/M1fi50YbGvi
Grazed grasslands at Yorkshire Dale, England. CREDIT: Shangshi Liu
February 9, 2026 at 11:00 PM
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When obese mice exercise, glucose redirects away from tumors and toward muscles, reducing tumor size by 60% through metabolic competition between healthy and cancerous tissues.

In Times of India: https://ow.ly/32nF50YbFot

In PNAS: https://ow.ly/SfYS50YbFou
House mouse in a running wheel. Stock image.
February 9, 2026 at 10:00 PM
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Read highlights in this week’s issue of PNAS: We explore the architecture of netcasting spider silk, analyze cystic fibrosis combination drug therapy, and examine how a virus drives caterpillars to climb. Explore now: https://ow.ly/xlCZ50YbF1U
Pictured is a golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), the northernmost Asian colobine primate. Image credit: Yong Wang (photographer).
February 9, 2026 at 8:01 PM
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Romanian teenagers who spent their childhoods in institutionalized care rather than family settings show disrupted neural development, measured by means of a visual test that assesses selective attention and impulse inhibition. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/rtGJ50YbGia
Teenagers waiting for the metro in Piata Romana subway station in Bucharest, Romania, February 21, 2016.
February 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
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#Paleontologists are on a mission to pinpoint the dawn of the #dinosaurs. What early evolutionary steps set the stage for the animals’ impressive reign? A PNAS News Feature: https://ow.ly/nocW50YbEU7

#Lewisuchus #Triassic #Silesaurus #ornithischians #extinction
Silesaurs may have been early ornithischian bird-hipped dinosaurs, a group that would include Triceratops (pictured) when dinosaurs reigned. Image credit: Shutterstock/Alberto Andrei Rosu.
February 9, 2026 at 6:02 PM
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How is science tackling climate change? 🌍

PNAS & PNAS Nexus publish high-impact research on climate risks, mitigation, and sustainable solutions. Explore the SDG 13 Climate Action Collection:
https://ow.ly/L6Tb50YaVZG

#ClimateAction #SustainabilityScience #SDG13
Explore peer-reviewed research from the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water Collection from PNAS and PNAS Nexus.
February 7, 2026 at 10:00 PM
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Opinion piece: Is it time to transplant healthy coral to dying reefs in order to save them? #Coral species from another #ocean may be the only way to save #Caribbean #reefs. In PNAS Front Matter: https://ow.ly/e4Mw50YaVRR

#CoralReef #CoralRestoration #ClimateChange
Candidate species to replace Caribbean elkhorn and staghorn corals. (A) Recovering reef in Palau, dominated by “superrecruiters.” Image credit: Mark Priest (University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia). (B) Isopora palifera, similar in its ecological function to the elkhorn coral. Image credit: Scott Johnson (Kwajalein Underwater). (C) Pocillopora sp. creating complex shallow-water habitat analogous to the staghorn coral. Image credit: Viktor Brandtneris.
February 7, 2026 at 8:01 PM
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Ants recognize their nestmates by their distinctive hydrocarbons, including alkenes. Ozone pollution can degrade these alkene compounds, leaving these social insects stranded in a world of strangers . In PNAS: https://ow.ly/qrCn50Yaq1f
Researcher with a petri dish, in which ozonated ants were presented to nest mates. CREDIT: Markus Knaden
February 7, 2026 at 1:00 AM
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PNAS is committed to reducing barriers to science by providing free, immediate access to journal content and waiving publication fees in over 120 lower-income countries, supporting global access to research. Learn more: https://ow.ly/BSpa50YaoXV
Global Access to PNAS Research. PNAS provides free access to journal content for researchers in over 120 lower-income countries, promoting inclusivity and advancing global scientific discovery.
February 6, 2026 at 11:00 PM
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Two-year-olds expect people to act in accordance with their social group identity, rather than their individual identity, when outgroup members are present, according to an experiment using fictional groups named “cheebas” and “moblins.” In PNAS: https://ow.ly/T5MQ50YapF6
February 6, 2026 at 9:00 PM
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How #NextgenGeothermal could bring clean power to much more of the planet. A PNAS Core Concept piece: https://ow.ly/nfai50Yaqpg

#GeothermalEnergy #CleanEnergy #AlternativeEnergy #ClimateChange #OilandGasIndustry
The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) is testing superhot geothermal technology in the middle of the North Atlantic. Image credit: IDDP.
February 6, 2026 at 7:10 PM
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The persistence lifetime of stratospheric nitrous oxide is a key variable in climate models—and that lifetime has been decreasing, due to climate change. The decline could have major implications for the magnitude of climate warming. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/o3qa50Y9uWH
Observed (2000 to 2024) and projected (2025 to 2100) nitrous oxide annual mean tropospheric abundance (gray line) assuming the observed 2005 to 2024 +3.0% per decade growth rate continues to 2100. N2O emissions (2025 to 2100) are calculated from this projection assuming a fixed lifetime of 120 y. Using these emissions, the N2O abundance is projected (black lines) using three different lifetime assumptions: (solid line) lifetime decreases at –1.4% per decade; (thin dotted line) same lifetime trend plus a chemical feedback factor that reduces the lifetime with increasing burden; and (dashed line) the lifetime decreases at –2.1% per decade as found from the earlier period 2004 to 2021. The reduction in 2100 N2O abundance for these three cases are –4.3, –4.5, and –6.5%, respectively. A range of Shared Socioeconomic Pathways emissions scenario projections calculated for the IPCC assessments are shown for perspective.
February 6, 2026 at 2:00 AM
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One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “The Japanese Archipelago sheltered cave lions, not tigers, during the Late Pleistocene.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/InIn50Y9sY6

For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/jcYr50Y9sY8.
Map of the Japanese Archipelago (based on the ETOPO Global Relief Model) showing known Japanese “tiger” excavation sites.
February 6, 2026 at 12:00 AM
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Red blood cells typically don’t move independently, but 1% of those infected by the protozoan parasite Babesia microti show clear directional movement, possibly allowing the parasite to move through the blood and infect new red blood cells. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/L96h50Y9uTK
Babesia microti (purple) parasites preparing to invade a red blood cell (red) coated in fibrin (yellow). CREDIT: Amy Apgar
February 5, 2026 at 11:00 PM
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In this issue: Classifying dinosaur footprints using machine learning, examining how forest loss affects watersheds, and assessing how aging populations endanger zoo conservation goals. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/3B8i50Y9oze
Pictured is a golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), the northernmost Asian colobine primate. Image credit: Yong Wang (photographer).
February 5, 2026 at 10:00 PM
pnas.org
Carnelian beads have been found in high-status burials from 1000–800 BCE in China. Analysis of the trace elements in 11 carnelian beads suggests a robust Bronze Age trading network extending over more than 1,000 km. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/IFFL50Y9uQi
Bronze Age carnelian bead from Sanxingdui pits, southwestern China. CREDIT: Hui Ren
February 5, 2026 at 8:02 PM
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Nasal RNA #FluVaccines build mucosal #immunity and may help block #DiseaseTransmission. In PNAS Journal Club: https://ow.ly/SAxG50Y9no1

#RNAVaccine #influenza #H5N1 #Covid19 #pandemic
By administering an RNA vaccine in the nose, researchers might develop a way to better stymie the transmission of flu viruses, shown here in a color-enhanced scanning electron micrograph. Image credit: NIBSC/Science Source.
February 5, 2026 at 6:02 PM
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One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “Widespread terrestrial ecosystem disruption at the onset of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/7eTn50Y8l7h

For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/FTiO50Y8l7l.
Map of locations where kaolinite enrichment (blue triangle), a fern spike (green triangle), or fossil carbon mobilization (brown triangle) has been recorded during the PETM. The red area indicates the location of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP).
February 4, 2026 at 2:00 AM
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Your average female Doratosepion andreanum cuttlefish finds nothing more alluring than the long, extended arms of a male cuttlefish aglow with elaborate patterns made of horizontally and vertically polarized light. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/iJYh50Y8lug
Male Doratosepion andreanum curling its long, iridescent, sexually dimorphic arms in front of its head. CREDIT: Arata Nakayama
February 4, 2026 at 1:00 AM
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Wooden tools used by humans some 430,000 years ago were discovered in Greece, amidst stone artifacts, worked bone, and butchered remains of straight-tusked elephants. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/lxJg50Y8lB7
Small 430,000-year-old wooden tool of uncertain function from the lakeshore site of Marathousa 1, Greece. CREDIT: Katerina Harvati, Nicholas Thompson (photographer)
February 4, 2026 at 12:00 AM
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In a new PNAS Science Sessions episode, Lauren Ancel Meyers explains how influenza vaccination reduces hospitalizations and why vaccinating young adults plays a much larger role than many realize. Listen now: https://ow.ly/9bHu50Y8kPt
Picture showing a doctor placing a band-aid on the arm of a patient.
February 3, 2026 at 10:00 PM
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Vortices created by the two sets of wings possessed by the Cretaceous theropod Microraptor likely interacted, providing the flying dinosaur some extra lift while gliding. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/qZ0w50Y8liM
Artist’s illustration of the multi-winged theropod dinosaur Microraptor during a glide. CREDIT: Julius T. Csotonyi
February 3, 2026 at 8:01 PM
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Wolves steal prey killed by cougars in Yellowstone National Park and occasionally kill cougars. Cougars, by contrast, avoid prey killed by wolves and do not kill wolves, according to GPA collar data collected from 38 wolves and 18 cougars. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/Jgah50Y8lEK
Cougar in a tree. CREDIT: Justin Duffy
February 3, 2026 at 7:00 PM
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🌍 SDG 2 Featured Research

A PNAS Nexus study examines why widely cited global irrigation statistics lack empirical support, highlighting the role of peer-reviewed research in informing progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Explore now: https://ow.ly/XG0Q50Y8kJR
Goal 2: Zero Hunger. SDG Featured Research: Widely cited global irrigation statistics lack empirical support. Arnald Puy, Seth N. Linga, et al. Button: Read Article.
February 3, 2026 at 6:02 PM
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Late Pleistocene Japan was home to cave lions, according to genetic analysis of 26 ancient felid specimens from the Japanese Archipelago that were previously identified as tigers. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/Y0uU50Y7FFR
Artistic reconstruction of a Late Pleistocene cave lion overlooking Mount Fuji, Japan. CREDIT: Velizar Simeonovski
February 3, 2026 at 12:00 AM