Podcasts about pnas

Summary: Ants are some of the most misunderstood animals on Earth. Join Kiersten as she begins a new series about these fascinating insects.   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes:  “Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson “Adventures Among Ants,” by Mark W. Moffett “In Search of Ant Ancestors,” by Ted R. Schultz, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Dec 5;97(26):14028–14029. doi: 10.1073/pnas.011513798 “The abundance, biomass, and distribution of ants on Earth,” by Patrick Schultheiss, Sabine S Nooten, Runxi Wang, and Benoit Gurnard. PNAS, 119 (40) e2201550119, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201550119 Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  My name is Kiersten and I have a Master's Degree in Animal Behavior and did my thesis on the breeding behavior of the Tri-colored bat. I was a zookeeper for many years and have worked with all sorts of animals from Aba Aba fish to tigers to ravens to domesticated dogs and so many more in between. Many of those years were spent in education programs and the most important lesson I learned was that the more information someone has about a particular animal the less they fear them. The less they fear them the more they crave information about them and before you know it you've become an advocate for that misunderstood animal. This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. This is the beginning of a new series about a misunderstood animal that every one of us has encountered. Ants. Ants are one of the most misunderstood animals on the planet but they are so fascinating and very successful. In this series we are going to find out what makes them tick. The first thing I like about ants is their origins. As I begin this series I actually have a red, angry fire ant bite on my thumb. The irony is not lost on me that I am about to embark on a ten episode series dedicated to lauding the amazing attributes of ants to lure you into loving them while I have an itchy, painful welt from an ant bite on my thumb. These animals are truly fascinating so I bet I can get you to fall in love with them despite the nasty bites we've probably all experienced. Let's get started from the beginning shall we? The classification of ants is as follows: Kingdom Animalia (Animals) Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods): invertebrate animals that have a segmented body and jointed appendages Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods): a six-legged arthropod  Class Insecta  (Insects) Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies) Superfamily Formicoidea (Ants) Family Formicidae (Ants) The scientific names will vary based on species. When did ants first appear on the planet?  They have been on the planet between 100 -150 million years ago. The specific timing has been hotly debated for many years until and amber sample was found by some rock hounds in 1966. This sample was discovered in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey in the United States. It seemed an unlikely place to find what scientists needed to determine the origins of ants and it took twenty more years after the initial discovery to clarify whether this sample was of an ant or not. In 1986, it was confirmed to be the amber fossil of an ant solidifying the origins of ants in the mid-Cretaceous period, 90-94 million years ago. By the mid-Eocene period, approximately 50 million years ago, ants had achieved their current level of abundance. How many ants are on the planet today? In the summer of 2018, Edward O. Wilson, one of, if not the, foremost experts in the study of ants said in his book, Tales from the Ant World, that there are 15,438 species of ants in the world that have been recognized and given a Latinized name. Edward O. Wilson described 450 of known species of ants so I think we can take his word for when he says he's fairly certain there are approximately 25,000 species in existence today. A study published in 2022, says 15,700 species of ants have been identified. The numbers do see to be going up! The ant taxonomists working at Harvard University which has the world's largest collection of ants believe the figure to be between 25,000 to 30,000 different species of ants. To sum it up, there are a lot of ant species out there! Ants actually make up two-thirds of all insect life on Earth. We don't know have many individual ants are walking around on the Earth at this very moment, but it is in the billions possibly trillions. They are found on every single continent except Antarctica, but as soon as they figure out how to live in snow and ice, they'll be there too. They inhabit every habitat the planet has to offer from forests of all kinds, mountains ranges, deserts, prairies, and wetlands. There are even ants that scavenge for food underwater. They live underground, in the branches of trees, and inside caves. The eat seeds, fungi, animal protein, and insect protein. They are hunters, farmers, ranchers, and enslavers. They have one matriarch and live for the good of the colony. Ants are unbelievably complicated life forms and I can't wait to take you on a journey you won't forget. Thanks for joining me for the first episode of ants. My first favorite thing about this misunderstood insect is their origins. If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me next we for another exciting episode about ants.        (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

5—6—3—4—3—1—7—2In the first episode under our new podcast name (it's now the Science Fictions podcast!), we ask whatever happened to all those games that claimed to tell you your “brain age”—games that turned into a whole scientific literature on brain training. We discuss: the still-unresolved question of whether training one specific cognitive ability makes you generally smarter; seemingly endless contrasting meta-analyses; and the small matter of what brain training might tell us about the nature of intelligence.(If you can repeat the list of numbers from the top in reverse order then you have the brain of a 25-year-old. If you're 25 or younger, then I don't know what to tell you.)We're now an official part of the Works in Progress podcast world. You can find their other podcasts, including Hard Drugs, the one we talked about on today's episode (about the remarkable development of a drug for HIV), at podcast.worksinprogress.co. Show notes* The 2008 PNAS paper that started the craze for working memory training* The under-discussed rebuttal* 2013 meta-analysis concluding there's no evidence for far transfer* 2015 meta-analysis concluding there is no convincing evidence brain training is effective* 2016 meta-analysis saying there is no convincing evidence brain training is NOT effective* Very useful and detailed 2016 review of the evidence and the methodological issues inherent in brain training (including active vs. passive control groups)* 2020 meta-meta-analysis arguing that the active-passive distinction doesn't matter* 2023 review criticising the meta-meta-analysis* And the authors' own 2020 meta-analysis* 2022 meta-analysis of commercial brain training in older peopleCreditsThe Science Fictions podcast is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe

Climate change and lake oxygenation Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Joachim Jansen explains how climate change altered cycles of oxygenation in lakes. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction. •[00:56] Limnologist Joachim Jansen introduces us to the cycles of oxygenation in lakes throughout the seasons. •[02:35] He describes previous hypothesis about climate change and lake oxygenation and introduces the methods and datasets of the study.  •[04:59] Jansen introduces the results of the study, including key differences between large and small lakes. •[06:54] He talks about the consequences of deoxygenation.  •[09:03] Jansen explains the caveats and limitations of the study. •[09:37] Conclusion. About Our Guest: Joachim Jansen Postdoctoral Researcher  University of Helsinki View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2426140122 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

What if our memories weren't fixed, but flexible? And what if the key to understanding fear, emotion, and consciousness lies in how the brain constantly reshapes experience?In this episode of Mind-Body Solution, Dr Tevin Naidu speaks with Prof Daniela Schiller, a world-renowned neuroscientist, and director of the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at Mount Sinai. Prof Schiller's groundbreaking work explores how we form, change, and even reimagine emotional memories, from the neuroscience of fear to the dynamic nature of consciousness and identity. Together, we dive into:- How fear memories are formed in the brain- Why emotional responses are flexible, not hardwired- The ethics of modifying traumatic memories- Social navigation: how the brain maps human relationships- The Human Affectome: a bold framework linking emotion and consciousness- Can machines ever be conscious? Free will, probabilities, and neuroscience- Memory as liberation: how to live with multiple stories of the selfProf Schiller is not only a world-leading neuroscientist with work published in Nature, Neuron, Nature Neuroscience, and PNAS, she's also a Fulbright Fellow, Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow, two-time Moth StorySLAM winner, and drummer for the rock band "The Amygdaloids".TIMESTAMPS:(0:00) – Introduction: Daniela Schiller on the Science of Emotion & Memory(0:39) – From Animal Models to Human Fear Studies: Schiller's Journey(2:00) – What Happens in the Brain When a Fear Memory is Formed?(3:15) – Flexibility of Emotional Responses: Why Fear Is Not Hardwired(4:51) – Computational Psychiatry & the Brain as an Algorithmic System(6:00) – From Circuits to Consciousness: Can Neuroscience Explain Subjective Experience?(7:11) – The Human Affectome: A Framework Linking Emotion and Consciousness(9:13) – What Is Consciousness? Felt Experience as the Core of Mind(11:04) – Social Navigation: Mapping Human Relationships in the Brain(14:02) – How Social Media Distorts Real Interaction and Social Space(18:15) – Ethics of Modifying Traumatic Memories: Liberation or Risk?(21:27) – Are Emotions Brain Events, Bodily Events, or Psychological Phenomena?(23:16) – The 4E Approach: Embedded, Embodied, Enactive, and Extended Cognition(24:00) – Bringing Philosophy Into Neuroscience: The Human Affectome Project(27:03) – Exciting Advances: Intracranial Recordings, VR, and Naturalistic Neuroscience(33:11) – Can Artificial Intelligence or Machines Ever Be Conscious?(36:26) – Free Will and Probabilities: Neuroscience Meets Philosophy(41:12) – Overcoming Fear as Liberation: Redefining Memory and Identity(46:09) – Living With Multiple Stories: Memory, Authenticity, and Self-Creation(1:02:24) – Future Directions: Reconsolidation, Social Space, and the Human AffectomeEPISODE LINKS:- Daniela' Website: https://profiles.mountsinai.org/daniela-schiller- Daniela's Lab: https://labs.neuroscience.mssm.edu/project/schiller-lab/- Daniela's Publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/daniela.schiller.2/bibliography/public/CONNECT:- Website: https://tevinnaidu.com - Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/mindbodysolution- YouTube: https://youtube.com/mindbodysolution- Twitter: https://twitter.com/drtevinnaidu- Facebook: https://facebook.com/drtevinnaidu - Instagram: https://instagram.com/drtevinnaidu- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/drtevinnaidu=============================Disclaimer: The information provided on this channel is for educational purposes only. The content is shared in the spirit of open discourse and does not constitute, nor does it substitute, professional or medical advice. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of listening/watching any of our contents. You acknowledge that you use the information provided at your own risk. Listeners/viewers are advised to conduct their own research and consult with their own experts in the respective fields.

Inflammation is the body's natural way of healing, but when it becomes chronic and hidden, it quietly drives many of today's most common health problems—heart disease, diabetes, dementia, cancer, autoimmune conditions, and more. Unlike the redness and swelling from a cut or sprain, this “silent inflammation” often goes unnoticed while slowly damaging tissues and speeding up aging. Modern life fuels the fire: processed foods, food additives, pollution, plastics, chronic stress, too much sitting, and poor sleep. The good news is inflammation can be calmed by simple daily choices—eating colorful whole foods like berries, leafy greens, beans, nuts, seeds, and omega-3 rich fish; adding herbs and spices like turmeric and cumin; moving regularly; practicing relaxation; and repairing gut health. Even small shifts, like climbing stairs, eating within a shorter window, or reducing sugar, can make a big difference. By lowering inflammation, the body finds balance again, opening the door to more energy, resilience, and healthy aging. In this episode, I discuss, along with Dr. Shilpa Ravella and Dr. David Furman, why it's important to be aware of systemic inflammation and how to address it. Dr. Ravella is a gastroenterologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. She is the author of A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet & Disease, which investigates inflammation—the hidden force at the heart of modern disease. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, Slate, Discover, and USA Today, among other publications.  Dr. David Furman is Associate Professor and Director of the Bioinformatics Core at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, as well as the Director of the Stanford 1000 Immunomes Project. He obtained his doctoral degree in immunology from the School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, for his work on cancer immune-surveillance. During his postdoctoral training at the Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Furman focused on the application of advanced analytics to study the aging of the immune system in humans. He has published nearly thirty scientific articles in top-tier journals such as Cell, Nature Medicine, PNAS, The Lancet, and others.  This episode is brought to you by BIOptimizers. Head to bioptimizers.com/hyman and use code HYMAN to save 15%. Full-length episodes can be found here:What Causes Inflammation And How Can You Treat It? The Silent Killer: Inflammation And Chronic Disease How Silent Inflammation Accelerates Aging

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Auch Klimaveränderungen haben in der Vergangenheit wohl politische Krisen verschärft +++ Langer Konkurrenzdruck kann negative Folgen für Jugendliche haben +++ Bei Reiseübelkeit: Fröhliche Musik hören? +++ **********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:A climate of conflict: How the little ice age sparked rebellions and revolutions across Europe, Global and Planetary Change, 24.08.2025The persistent effect of competition on prosociality. Fabian Kosse, Ranjita Rajan, and Michela Tincani, Journal of the European Economic Association, 04.08.2025A study on the mitigating effect of different music types on motion sickness based on EEG analysis, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 03.09.20258,000 years of wild and domestic animal body size data reveal long-term synchrony and recent divergence due to intensified human impact, PNAS, 02.09.2025Snowfall decrease in recent years undermines glacier health and meltwater resources in the Northwestern Pamirs, Communications Earth & Environment, 02.09.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

In our last standard episode, we talked about retraction—removing papers from the scientific literature. Well, it turns out there's an awful lot of retraction to do, in large part due to paper mills. These are fraudulent enterprises that take money from nefarious scientists to put their name on fake scientific papers, and get them published in whatever journal will accept them. Sadly, paper mill papers are now rife. In this solo episode of The Studies Show (Tom is away at a wedding), Stuart talks through a new paper showing just how badly these paper mills have poisoned the scientific literature.Show notes* The new PNAS paper using various techniques to examine coordinated attempts at scientific fraud* A response from PLOS* The Retraction Watch article on ARDA* A few interesting recent articles on paper mills* The Nature News article on the universities with the most retractions* AI versus paper millsCreditsThe Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Wichtige Meeresströmung im Golf von Panama fast komplett ausgefallen +++ KI-Stethoskop kann bei Diagnose von Herzproblemen helfen +++ Spinne setzt Glühwürmchen als Köder ein +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Unprecedented suppression of Panama's Pacific upwelling in 2025, PNAS, 02.09.2025Schwächere Passatwinde verhindern Tiefenwasserauftrieb im Golf von Panama, idw - Informationsdienst Wissenschaft, 02.09.202516 % der Studierenden brauchen eine Stunde oder länger für den Weg zur Hochschule, DESTATIS, 02.09.2025Humble stethoscope gets an upgrade: AI helps it detect three heart conditions in 15 seconds, Medical Xpress, 30.08.2025Triple cardiovascular disease detection with an artificial intelligence-enabled stethoscope (TRICORDER): design and rationale for a decentralised, real-world cluster-randomised controlled trial and implementation study, BMJ Open, 21.05.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

The physics of the squash nick shot Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Roberto Zenit explains the physics behind the unanswerable nick shot in the game of squash. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction. •[00:56] Engineer Roberto Zenit introduces the game of squash, including his participation in the sport, and introduces the nick shot. •[02:11] He talks about the background and methods of the study.  •[04:50] Zenit describes the mechanics of a nick shot. •[06:01] He talks about the implications of the study for squash players and for other applications. •[08:52] Zenit recounts the caveats and limitations of the study. •[09:41] Conclusion. About Our Guests: Roberto Zenit Professor Brown University View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2505715122  Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Menschen, die später Freunde werden, ticken oft schon vorher ähnlich im Kopf +++ Schweinelunge in hirntoten Menschen verpflanzt +++ Anstieg der Lebenserwartung in wohlhabenderen Ländern wird langsamer +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Neural similarity predicts whether strangers become friends, Nature Human Behaviour, 04.08.2025Pig-to-human lung xenotransplantation into a brain-dead recipient, Nature Medicine, 25.08.2025Cohort mortality forecasts indicate signs of deceleration in life expectancy gains, PNAS, 25.08.2025Ingroup solidarity drives social media engagement after political crises, PNAS, 29.08.2025Saurier-Überreste im Steigerwald entdeckt: CT-Scans enthüllen zehn im Gestein eingeschlossene Schädel, LfU, 26.08.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

Fungal infections and disease have long been overlooked in terms of healthcare burden, with poor diagnostics and limited options for treatment and management. In 2022, the WHO published its first Fungal Priority Pathogens List as an effort to establish a global prioritised framework that addresses unmet research and development needs in fungal disease and antifungal resistance, as well as guides public health action [1]. In this episode of Communicable, Angela Huttner and Josh Nosanchuk invite Hatim Sati (WHO), the project lead in creating this list, and Dimitrios Kontoyiannis (MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas), a clinician researcher studying fungal diagnostics and antifungal discovery, for a candid discussion on the making of and relevance of such a list. Apart from reviewing the fungal pathogens, the conversation also covers limitations of the list, what to expect for the next iteration, contextualising the list in one's local region, and the impact the list has had already on research funding and public awareness.This episode was edited by Kathryn Hostettler and peer reviewed by Andrisa Xhaxha from Elbasan, Albania. ReferencesWHO fungal priority pathogens list to guide research, development and public health action. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022. Related podcast episodesCommunicable Episode 31: Climate change and fungal spread https://share.transistor.fm/s/db58f558 Communicable Episode 08: The nightmare series, part 1 – how to deal with Candida auris https://share.transistor.fm/s/c0616c4d Further reading Seidel D, et al. Impact of climate change and natural disasters on fungal infections. Lancet Microbe 2024. DOI: 10.1016/S2666-5247(24)00039-9Fisher MC and Denning DW. The WHO fungal priority pathogens list as a gamechanger. Nat Rev Microbiol 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s41579-023-00861-xShor E, et al. Tolerance and heteroresistance to echinocandins in Candida auris: conceptual issues, clinical implications, and outstanding questions. mSphere 2025. DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00161-25Panackal AA, et al. Geoclimatic influences on invasive aspergillosis after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Clin Infect Dis 2010. DOI: 10.1086/652761Lázár-Molnár E, et al. The PD-1/PD-L costimulatory pathway critically affects host resistance to the pathogenic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. PNAS 2008. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0711918105Mashal M, “A potentially fatal fungal infections cropping up among India's Covid patients.” New York Times 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/09/world/india-covid-mucormycosis.html Thevissen K, et al. International survey on influenza-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (IAPA) in intensive care units: responses suggest low awareness and potential underdiagnosis outside Europe. Crit Care 2020. DOI: 10.1186/s13054-020-2808-8Pappas PG, et al. Clinical mycology today: A synopsis of the mycoses study group education and research consortium (MSGERC) second biennial meeting, September 27–30, 2018, Big Sky, Montana, a proposed global research agenda. Medical Mycology 2020. DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myaa034Hostettler K, et al. Communicable Episode 31: Climate change and fungal spread. CMI Communications 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmicom.2025.105126

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ BDSM-Praktizierende unterscheiden sich in Beziehungsfähigkeit nicht von anderen +++ So viel Strom verbraucht Gemini-Chat +++ Giraffen sind jetzt offiziell vier Arten +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Not Twisted, Just Kinky: Replication and Structural Invariance of Attachment, Personality, and Well-Being Among BDSM Practitioners, Journal of Homosexuality, 19.7.2025How much energy does Google's AI use? We did the math, Google-Blog, 21.8.2025Four giraffe species officially recognised in major conservation reclassification – IUCN report, IUCN, 21.8.2025Deutsche Umwelthilfe belegt: HVO100 aus Altspeiseöl klimaschädlicher als fossiler Diesel, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, 22.8.2025A universal of speech timing: Intonation units form low-frequency rhythms, PNAS, 19.8.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

A pterosaur and its ecosystem at the end of the Triassic Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Kay Behrensmeyer and Ben Kligman describe what a fossil bone bed in Arizona reveals about a 209-million-year-old pterosaur and its ecosystem. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:01] Paleoecologist Kay Behrensmeyer and paleontologist Ben Kligman describe the discovery of this fossil bone bed. •[03:10] Kligman and Behrensmeyer introduce a previously undescribed pterosaur. •[05:00] They talk about what this specimen says about the ecology and evolution of pterosaurs. •[06:15] Kligman and Behrensmeyer talk about the importance of studying this fossil community. •[07:52] They explain how their methods can improve paleontology and discovery of small fossils. •[09:08] Behrensmeyer and Kligman talk about the study's caveats and limitations. •[10:10] Conclusion. About Our Guests: Kay Behrensmeyer Curator of Paleobiology National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Ben Kligman Postdoctoral Fellow National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2505513122 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Het is 12.000 jaar geleden. Sjamaan Slata wandelt naar Göbleki Tepe, bakt brood en hallucineert op beschimmelde rogge. Zullen zijn visioenen de landbouw vooruit helpen? Wilde Eeuwen, het begin. Iedere vrijdag een nieuwe aflevering. Meer informatie: nrc.nl/wilde-eeuwenHeeft u vragen, suggesties of ideeën over onze journalistiek? Mail dan naar onze redactie via podcast@nrc.nl.Tekst en presentatie: Hendrik SpieringRedactie en regie: Mirjam van ZuidamMuziek, montage en mixage: Rufus van BaardwijkBeeld: Jeen BertingVormgeving: Yannick MortierVoor deze aflevering is onder meer gebruikt gemaakt van deze literatuur:Oliver Dietrich ‘Shamanism at Early Neolithic Göbekli Tepe, southeastern Turkey. Methodological contributions to an archaeology of belief' in Praehistorische Zeitschrift, in mei 2024. Steven Mithen ‘Shamanism at the transition from foraging to farming in Southwest Asia: sacra, ritual, and performance at Neolithic WF16 (southern Jordan)' in The Journal of the Council for British Research in the Levant, in September 2022.David Graeber en David Wengrow. 'The Dawn of Everything, A New History of Humanity', bij Penguin in 2022. Li Liu e.a. ‘Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 y-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel: Investigating Natufian ritual feasting' in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, in oktober 2018. Amaia Arranz-Otaeguia e.a. ‘Archaeobotanical evidence reveals the origins of bread 14,400 years ago in northeastern Jordan' in PNAS, op 13 juli 2018.Leore Grosman e.a. ‘A Natufian Ritual Event' in Current Anthropology, in juni 2016. Marion Benz ‘Symbols of Power - Symbols of Crisis? A Psycho-Social Approach to Early Neolithic Symbol Systems', Neo-Lithics, in januari 2014. Leore Grosman e.a. ‘A 12,000-year-old Shaman burial from the southern Levant (Israel)' in PNAS, op 18 november 2008. Zohar Kerem e.a. ‘Chickpea domestication in the Neolithic Levant through the nutritional perspective' in Journal of Archaeological Science, in augustus 2007.Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten +++ Wer in gehfreundliche Städte wie New York zieht, geht auch mehr +++ Urmensch und Vormensch lebten parallel +++ Was hinter "Sozialer Schlafapnoe" am Wochenende steckt +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Countrywide natural experiment links built environment to physical activity. Nature, 13.08.2025New discoveries of Australopithecus and Homo from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia. Nature, 13.08.2025“Social Apnea”: Obstructive Sleep Apnea is Exacerbated on Weekends. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 07.08.2025New regional-scale Classic Maya population density estimates and settlement distribution models through airborne lidar scanning. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Oktober 2025Engineering a highly selective, hemoprotein-based scavenger as a carbon monoxide poisoning antidote with no hypertensive effect. PNAS, 05.08.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

Dan and James chat about a a new 'pop-up journal' concept for addressing specific research questions. They also answer a listener question from a journal grammar editor and discuss a new PNAS article on paper mills Links * The pop-up journal (https://popupjournal.com) * The episode (https://everythinghertz.com/58) where Dan's wife went into labor * The PNAS paper mill paper (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2420092122) * A blog post (https://reeserichardson.blog/2025/08/04/a-do-or-die-moment-for-the-scientific-enterprise/) from the PNAS paper lead author, Reese Richardson. * The Nature piece (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02446-5) on the paper Social media links - Dan on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/dsquintana.bsky.social) - James on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/jamesheathers.bsky.social) - Everything Hertz on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hertzpodcast.bsky.social) Citation Quintana, D. S., & Heathers, J. (2025, August 7). 193: The pop-up journal, Everything Hertz [Audio podcast], DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/2ZMQ7

Recognizing a familiar voice is one of the brain's earliest social feats. But what are the brain circuits that let a newborn pick out mom in a crowded nursery? How do they change as kids turn toward friends and the wider world? And what are we learning about why this instinct fails to develop in the autistic brain?This week, host Nicholas Weiler joins Stanford neuroscientist Dan Abrams on the quest to understand the neural “hub” that links our brains' hearing centers to the networks that tag voices as rewarding, social, and worth our attention. The findings could reshape early-intervention strategies for kids on the spectrum.Learn MoreStanford Speech and Social Neuroscience LabParticipate in a StudyCommunity Support ResourcesPublicationsUnderconnectivity between voice-selective cortex and reward circuitry in children with autism (PNAS, 2013) Neural circuits underlying mother's voice perception predict social communication abilities in children (PNAS, 2016) Impaired voice processing in reward and salience circuits predicts social communication in children with autism (eLife, 2019)  A Neurodevelopmental Shift in Reward Circuitry from Mother's to Nonfamilial Voices in Adolescence (Journal of Neuroscience, 2022)Stanford Coverage"The teen brain tunes in less to Mom's voice, more to unfamiliar voices, study finds" (Stanford Medicine, 2022)"Brain wiring explains why autism hinders grasp of vocal emotion, says Stanford Medicine study" (Stanford Medicine, 2023)We want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at neuronspodcast@stanford.eduSend us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The postglacial history of the Saimaa ringed seal Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Jaakko Pohjoismäki, Jukka Jernvall, and Ari Löytynoja discuss the evolutionary history of the Saimaa ringed seal. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:06] Molecular biologist Jaakko Pohjoismäki introduces Lake Saimaa and the Saimaa ringed seal. •[02:30] Zoologist Jukka Jernvall talks about the characteristics of species isolated by glaciation. •[03:27] Evolutionary biologist and bioinformatician Ari Löytynoja explains the genetic and demographic methods of the study. •[04:11] Löytynoja and Jernvall explain why the results were surprising and where the study turned next. •[06:20] Pohjoismäki and Löytynoja describe the study's implications for biodiversity in postglacial habitats. •[07:50] Jernvall and Löytynoja talk about the study's caveats and limitations. •[10:14] Conclusion. About Our Guests: Jaakko Pohjoismäki Professor University of Eastern Finland Jukka Jernvall Professor University of Helsinki Ari Löytynoja University Lecturer University of Helsinki View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2503368122 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Tschechische Studie: Wie Männer und Frauen beim Online-Dating ticken +++ KI-Musik wird im Gehirn möglicherweise anders verarbeitet +++ Optimisten denken ähnlich +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:It takes two to tango: A directed two-mode network approach to desirability on a mobile dating app/ PLOS One, 23.07.2025Emotional impact of AI-generated vs. human-composed music in audiovisual media: A biometric and self-report study/ PLOS One, 25.06.2025Optimistic people are all alike: Shared neural representations supporting episodic future thinking among optimistic individuals/ PNAS, 21.07.2025Safety and pharmacokinetics of the non-hormonal male contraceptive YCT-529/ Communications Medicine, 22.07.2025Studie zu Tourismus an der Nordsee: Einheimische mögen Besucher/ NDR, 25.07.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

Dr. Tracey Shors is a Distinguished Professor in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University, where she is also a member of the Center for Collaborative Neuroscience. Dr. Shors has more than 150 scientific publications in journals including Nature, Science, PNAS and Nature Neuroscience, and her research findings have been featured in popular publications such as Scientific American, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and on NPR and CNN. Her research efforts were recently recognized with W. Horsley Gantt Medal from the Pavlovian Society for the"noble pursuit of truth."Dr. Shors' research program studies how our brains learn, including how they learn to ruminate on trauma-related memories and how this process can interfere with our everyday lives, while making still more memories. Dr. Shors is also focused on identifying effective tools for reducing repetitive thoughts that reinforce our everyday traumas. Her popular press book, Everyday Trauma (Flatiron,2021), reviews the causes and consequences of trauma as well as the most effective treatments. It has been translated in six languages. Her brain fitness program, known as MAP Train My Brain combines “mental and physical” training with silent meditation and aerobic exercise to enhance brain health through effortful learning. To try out her free 6-week online course, sign up at maptrainmybrain.com.Dr. Tracy Shor's InstagramSupport the show

Managing eastern black rhinoceros populations with genetic studies Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Barbara Mable and Ronald Mellya show how allowing endangered rhinos to move between populations enhances genetic diversity. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:00] Evolutionary geneticist Barbara Mable explains why is genetic diversity important in managing small, isolated populations of rhinos. •[02:59] Park warden Ronald Mellya describes how his firsthand experience with rhino management led to this study. •[04:52] Mable explains the methods of the study and the contributions of co-author Anubhab Khan. •[06:20] Mable talks about the results. •[07:24] Mellya tells how the study has changed rhino management in Tanzania. •[08:37] Mable and Mellya enumerate the caveats and limitations of the study. •[10:20] Conclusion. About Our Guests: Barbara Mable Professor University of Glasgow Ronald Mellya Park Warden Tanzania National Parks View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2414412122 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Neue Behandlung bei Apfel-Allergie +++ Schlittenhunde früher in Grönland als gedacht +++ Wie das Weltbild den Blick auf Chefs prägt +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:STRUCTURED FRESH APPLE CONSUMPTION FOR BIRCH POLLEN FOOD ALLERGY SYNDROME IN AN UNCONTROLLED PHASE II/III TRIAL, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 07.07.2025Origins and diversity of Greenland's Qimmit revealed with genomes of ancient and modern sled dogs, Science, 10.07.2025Savvy or Savage? How Worldviews Shape Appraisals of Antagonistic Leaders, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition, 14.07.2025Scientists hide messages in papers to game AI peer review, Nature News, 11.07.2025Energy expenditure and obesity across the economic spectrum, PNAS, 14.07.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

The adaptability of fungi to warmer temperatures is an obvious consequence of climate change. Perhaps less obvious is the role climate change has played on fungal pathogens emerging as a global health concern. While humans are mostly protected from fungal infections by our immune system and body temperature, a warming global climate could subvert the status quo. Some fungi are already adapted to warmer temperatures and causing invasive acute infections in humans: Candidozyma auris, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus fumigatus, to name a few.  In this episode of Communicable, Angela Huttner and Josh Nosanchuk invite Arturo Casadevall, a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins and this year's recipient of ESCMID's Excellence in Science Award, to discuss the world of fungi and their pathogenic potential in a warming world. Other topics include how to prepare for their emergence as a health threat, how fungi can be harnessed for applications that can benefit us, and ultimately answering the question Casadevall himself posed in the title of his recently published book, What if fungi win?This episode was edited by Kathryn Hostettler and peer reviewed by Robin Aerts of University Hospital Antwerp, Belgium.  References1.        Casadevall, A with Desmon S. What if fungi win? Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024.2.        Smith DFG, et al. Environmental fungi from cool and warm neighborhoods in the urban heat island of Baltimore City show differences in thermal susceptibility and pigmentation. BioRxiv 2025. DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.10.566554  3.        Casadevall A and Pirofski L. Benefits and Costs of Animal Virulence for Microbes. mBio 2019. DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00863-194.        Cordero RJB et al. Radiation protection and structural stability of fungal melanin polylactic acid biocomposites in low Earth orbit. PNAS 2025. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.24271181225.        Dadachova E, et al. The radioprotective properties of fungal melanin are a function of its chemical composition, stable radical presence and spatial arrangement. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 2008. DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-148X.2007.00430.x6.        Cordero RJB et al. The hypothermic nature of fungi. PNAS 2022. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221996120

Unsere Themen in den Wissensnews: +++ menschengemachtes Patriachat +++ schwebende Fische +++ Schaumstoff ohne Plastik +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:The evolution of male–female dominance relations in primate societies, PNAS, 07.07.2025High postural costs and anaerobic metabolism during swimming support the hypothesis of a U-shaped metabolism–speed curve in fishes PNAS, 07.07.2025Pressemitteilung der TU Graz: Cellulose statt Erdöl: Team mit Beteiligung der TU Graz entwickelt nachhaltigen Schaumstoff, 02.07.2025Goldschmidt-Kongress Prag, dort wurden die Ergebnisse vorgestelltEye makeup in Northwestern Iran at the time of the Assyrian Empire: a new kohl recipe based on manganese and graphite from Kani Koter (Iron Age III), Archaeometry, 31.05.2025.Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

An experimental drug called NU-9 was invented at Northwestern University by Richard Silverman, PhD. It has been approved for clinical trials for the treatment of ALS and found to improves neuron health in animal models of Alzheimer's disease according to a new Northwestern Medicine study published in PNAS. This discovery is giving scientists hope that the drug could be effective in multiple neurodegenerative diseases by addressing the underlying mechanisms of these diseases. Silverman and Northwestern University Alzheimer disease expert, William Klein, PhD, discuss the potential of NU-9 in this episode.  

A reference genome aids efforts to rescue the northern white rhinoceros Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Franz-Josef Müller explains genomic tools to aid the functionally extinct northern white rhinoceros. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:11] Multidisciplinary scientist Franz-Josef Müller introduces the northern white rhinoceros. •[01:55] He introduces induced pluripotent stem cells and why they're important in efforts to save the northern white rhinoceros. •[04:20] He talks about the genomic risks of using induced pluripotent stem cells •[05:21] Müller tells the story of how he and his colleagues came together to complete the study. •[06:36] He explains how the northern white rhino's genome was sequenced. •[07:58] He talks about the results and implications for stem cell genomic integrity. •[08:51] Müller enumerates the caveats and limitations of the study. •[10:24] Conclusion. About Our Guest: Franz-Josef Müller Professor University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2401207122 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

How we sleep tonight shapes how we move tomorrow!

This week, Misha chats with Katy Milkman, the James G. Dinan Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and former president of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making, her research explores how insights from economics and psychology can be harnessed to change consequential behaviors for good. Her work, published in journals like Nature and PNAS, has been recognized by Thinkers50 as among the world's most influential in management thinking.In this episode, they discuss Katy's influential work designing “megastudies” to generate new insights about behavior change, as well as lessons from her bestselling book, How to Change. Katy also shares her perspective on translating scientific findings for a broad audience and the vital role of mentorship in academia.If you found this episode interesting, subscribe to our Substack and consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second, but it will allow us to reach more people and excite them about psychology.Links:Katy's book: How to ChangeKaty's Website: LinkChoiceology Podcast: LinkBehavior Change for Good Initiative: LinkMisha's website: LinkPodcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPodPodcast Bluesky: @stanfordpsypod.bsky.socialPodcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/Let us know what you think of this episode or the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Wem Chatbots eher vom Arztbesuch abraten +++ Was die Pubertät offenbar beschleunigt +++ Was die Überlebenschancen von Schimpansen-Babys erhöht +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:The Medium is the Message: How Non-Clinical Information Shapes Clinical Decisions in LLMs, FAccT '25: Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, 23.06.2025The epigenetic impacts of pubertal acceleration following early caregiver disruptions, PNAS, 30.06.2025Socially integrated female chimpanzees have lower offspring mortality, Iscience, 09.06.2025ECMWF's ensemble AI forecasts become operational, ECMWF, 01.07.2025Nonuniversality of inflammaging across human populations, Nature Aging, 30.06.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Häufige Albträume sind laut Metastudie größerer Risikofaktor als Übergewicht +++ Muster im Zahnzement verraten ob und wie lange wir rauchen +++ Klimawandel könnte Gin-Geschmack verändern +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Frequent nightmares triple risk of early death and accelerate ageing, EAN Congress, 22.06.2025Reconstructing smoking history through dental cementum analysis - a preliminary investigation on modern and archaeological teeth, PLOS One, 27.05.2025Methane-powered sea spiders: Diverse, epibiotic methanotrophs serve as a source of nutrition for deep-sea methane seep Sericosura, PNAS, 16.06.2025Antithrombotic drugs for acute coronary syndromes in women: sex-adjusted treatment and female representation in randomised clinical trials. A clinical consensus statement of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) and the ESC Working Group on Thrombosis, European Heart Journal, 20.05.2025Sources of variance in the volatile contribution of juniper to gin, Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 12.06.2025**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

The boys discuss the secret to a happy life, where to find the most psychopaths, the robot workforce, why other countries hate American tourists, Robert Pattinson, and Raj's new special!The Treehouse is a daily DFW based comedy podcast and radio show. Leave your worries outside and join Dan O'Malley, Trey Trenholm, Raj Sharma, and their guests for laughs about current events, stupid news, and the comedy that is their lives. If it's stupid, it's in here.The Treehouse WebsiteGet 60% off the Magic Mind offer with our link and code:  https://magicmind.com/ttsmf & TREEHOUSE60 #magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformanceGet a FREE roof inspection from the best company in DFW:Cook DFW Roofing & Restoration Defender OutdoorsUse code TREEHOUSE to unlock special discounts at Defender Outdoors!CLICK HERE TO DONATE:The RMS Treehouse Listeners FoundationLINKS:This One Trait Can Boost Your Happiness At Any Age, New Study FindsAmazon is reportedly training humanoid robots to deliver packages | The VergeDowntown Brooklyn Target's Window-Washing Drones Go ViralAversive societal conditions explain differences in “dark” personality across countries and US states | PNAS

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Regelmäßiges Gehen beugt chronischen Rückenschmerzen vor +++ Zahl der Aasfresser sinkt und das ist ein Problem +++ Menschen verwerten Kalorien unterschiedlich +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Volume and Intensity of Walking and Risk of Chronic Low Back Pain, Jama Network Open, 13.06.2025Global decline of apex scavengers threatens human health, PNAS, 16.06.2025Tree ring isotopes reveal an intensification of the hydrological cycle in the Amazon, Communications Earth and Environment, 17.06.2025Methanogenesis associated with altered microbial production of short-chain fatty acids and human-host metabolizable energy, The ISME Journal, 22.05.2025Coffee Consumption and Mortality among United States Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study, The Journal of Nutrition, 12.05.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

Water and the possibility of life on Mars Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, researchers explain what we know about the potential for water and life on Mars and what we might learn from analysis of returned samples. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:04] Mark Thiemens explains the importance of bringing samples from Mars back to Earth. •[02:37] Arya Udry explains the current gaps and limitations in the geological record provided by Martian meteorites. •[03:55] Bruce Jakosky explains what we currently know about the presence and history of water on Mars. •[05:26] Monica Grady explains how analyzing volatile species in Martian samples could provide insight into the planet's past climate. •[06:58] Rachel Slank describes the potential presence of liquid brines on Mars. •[08:27] Vashan Wright used recordings from a seismometer onboard NASA's InSight lander to estimate the volumes of liquid water that might be contained in the Martian mid-crust. •[10:14] Mark Sephton explains what biomarkers are and what kinds we might expect to find in Martian samples. •[11:34] Caroline Freissinet describes the discovery of long-chain organic molecules on Mars and the difficulties of conclusively identifying organic molecules as biomarkers. •[13:32] Thiemens explains the potentially far-reaching value of continuing to support the Mars Sample Return mission. •[14:37] Final thoughts and conclusion. About Our Guest: Mark Thiemens  Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of California at San Diego Arya Udry Associate Professor – Graduate coordinator University of Nevada, Las Vegas Bruce Jakosky Professor Emeritus University of Colorado Boulder Monica Grady Professor Emirita  Open University Rachel Slank Postdoctoral Fellow Lunar and Planetary Institute Vashan Wright Assistant Professor University of California, San Diego Mark Sephton Professor Imperial College London Caroline Freissinet Researcher Laboratory for Atmospheres, Observations, and Space French National Centre for Scientific Research View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2421996121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2415280121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2404254121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2321080121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2404260121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2321067121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2409983121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2404256121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2420580122 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Using reinforcement learning to plan for an uncertain climate future Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Ning Lin talks about how reinforcement learning methods plant to mitigate climate risk despite uncertainty in climate change risk forecasts. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[1:04] Civil engineer Ning Lin introduces why climate forecast uncertainty complicates risk management planning. •[02:41] Lin explains how reinforcement learning works. •[03:26] She talks about why the team studied risk management for Manhattan. •[04:54] Lin explains the results of the reinforcement learning study. •[05:40] She recounts the results that surprised her. •[07:25] Lin explains the takeaways from the study for emergency planners. •[09:00] She enumerates the caveats and limitations of the study. •[10:11] Conclusion. About Our Guest: Ning Lin Professor Princeton University View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2402826122 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Can adults still grow new neurons in their brains? You'd think we might know the answer to the question of adult “neurogenesis” after more than half a century of neuroscience research. But it turns out we don't.In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart look into the suprisingly controversial question of adult neurogenesis. Are you “stuck with” the number of brain cells you had as a child, or can you add to that number by making the right choices as an adult? And does it even matter?This podcast is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine, which this week has a new article explaining why nuclear power is so expensive (spoiler: it relies on an incorrect scientific model that we've discussed in previous podcast episodes: the “linear no threshold” model. For a full explanation, along with articles on a dizzying array of other progress-related topics, take a look at www.worksinprogress.co. Show notes* Summary post on the debate by Scott Alexander from 2018* 2000 PNAS study on the brains of London taxi drivers* 2021 retrospective review of taxi driver studies* Study comparing passed vs. failed cabbies on “The Knowledge”* Study putting together neuroimaging research on when the brain peaks in volume and other measures* 1962 Science study on neurogenesis in rats* 1999 BrdU study in macaque monkeys* Famous 1998 study on neurogenesis in the human hippocampus* 2006 PNAS sudy on testing neocortical neurogenesis using Carbon-14 dating* 2013 study using similar methods on the hippocampus* 2018 Nature paper claiming no adult neurogenesis* Associated commentary article* Atlantic article describing the controversy by Ed Yong* 2018 paper finding neurogenesis occuring up to age 79* 2019 Nature Medicine paper claiming “abundant” adult neurogenesis* Fair-minded 2019 review paper* Somewhat angrier 2021 review paperCreditsThe Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. We're grateful to Claire Wang for her help with researching this episode. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe

Insights in route planning from London taxi drivers Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Hugo Spiers, Pablo Fernández Velasco, and Eva-Marie Griesbauer share what they learned about human route planning from talking with London taxi drivers. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[00:59] Cognitive neuroscientist Hugo Spiers reviews previous studies on human route planning. •[01:29] Cognitive scientist and philosopher Pablo Fernández Velasco talks about why they chose to study London taxi drivers. •[01:49] Spiers describes the test that qualifies London taxi drivers. •[02:39] Spiers explains the experimental procedure. •[04:01] A recording of a taxi driver describing a route. •[04:57] Fernández talks about the data analysis. •[05:22] Psychologist Eva-Maria Griesbauer talks about the experience of interviewing taxi drivers. •[05:56] Fernández, Spiers, and Griesbauer recount the results of the study. •[08:43] Fernández and Spiers talk about the implications for the study of human route planning. •[10:22] Fernández describes the caveats and limitations of the study. •[11:15] Conclusion. About Our Guests: Hugo Spiers Professor University College London Pablo Fernández Velasco Postdoctoral researcher University of York Eva-Maria Griesbauer Postdoctoral researcher University College London View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2407814122 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

In studio Luca e Leonardo di parlano di due argomenti di ricerca molto applicata. Nella prima parte Luca parla di un articolo uscito sulla rivista PNAS che descrive come si possa riuscire a pulire un catetere aggiungendo delle ciglia al suo interno e facendole vibrare con un ecografo, per generare un flusso che rimove impuritá e germi. Leonardo descrive come funziona un'organizzazione che sfrutta i RansomWare, dei software che servono a bloccare un sistema in produzione, per poi chiedere un riscatto alla vittima in cambio di riattivare il server. Nel mezzo, Giuliano intervista Luigi Buononato e Francesco Molinari due studenti del liceo Scientifico Martin Luther King di Genova per raccontare la loro esperienza, unica in italia, che ha riguardato la replica di un esperimento da nobel di fisica quantistica in una scuola.Cateteri con le ciglia: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2418938122Ransomware: https://cacm.acm.org/research/ransomware-extortion-is-my-business/Un simpatico archivio che raccoglie chat tra gli estortori e le vittime: https://github.com/Casualtek/Ransomchats/blob/main/Conti/20210812.jsonDiventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/scientificast-la-scienza-come-non-l-hai-mai-sentita--1762253/support.

How do monsoons really work? What makes them plentiful some years, but vanish completely in others, causing drought-like conditions? Climate scientists have been seeking answers to these questions for a long time. Now a research paper has come up with an intriguing explanatory concept: atmospheric memory. The study was conducted by two scientists -- Anja Katzenberger & Anders Levermann -- from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Titled ‘Monsoon Hysteresis reveals Atmospheric Memory', it was published recently in the scientific journal PNAS. The study showed, for the first time, that the atmosphere can store moisture over extended periods, creating a physical memory effect.  In other words, the atmosphere can ‘remember' its previous state by storing physical information in the form of water vapour.” The paper also talks about how there is a tipping point in the system that determines monsoon rainfall. So, how does this discovery change our understanding of how monsoons work? What are its practical applications? What are the risks posed to this system by things like pollution and global warming?   Guest: Anders Levermann, Professor of the Dynamics of the Climate System at the Institute for Physics and Astrophysics of the Potsdam University, Germany. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Summary: Join host Chris Clarke in this thought-provoking episode of "90 Miles from Needles" as he delves into the crucial humanitarian efforts of Laurie Cantillo and Humane Borders. As the border challenges unfold, Laurie discusses her organization's mission to provide life-saving water stations in the desert for migrants facing extreme peril during their journey to the United States. This episode sheds light on the often-misunderstood realities of border crossings and the humanitarian responses necessary to combat these challenges. Through vibrant storytelling, Laurie Cantillo and Chris Clarke engage in a candid discussion about the evolving landscape of the U.S.-Mexico border, addressing widespread misconceptions and the dire need for compassion and accurate representation of migrants. The conversation highlights the devastating impact of border policies and the unyielding resolve of those risking their lives for a chance at a better future. With insights into borderland human rights, as well as environmental concerns caused by border militarization, this episode offers an in-depth exploration of the human and ecological costs associated with the border crisis. Key Takeaways: Humane Borders provides life-saving water stations across the Sonoran Desert to support migrants, hikers, and even wildlife, confronting the severe drought conditions and inhumane border policies. Contrary to this administration's narrative, migrants crossing the desert to seek asylum are not an "invasion," but rather families and individuals fleeing violence and economic instability. The concept of "prevention through deterrence" initiated by the U.S. government did not deter crossings but instead caused thousands of migrant deaths since its implementation. Laurie emphasizes the stark reality that many Americans are misinformed about migrant communities, which are less prone to crime and more likely to contribute positively to society. Initiatives like Humane Borders represent nonpartisan, humanitarian efforts focused on human dignity and environmental responsibility amidst geopolitical complexities at the border. Notable Quotes: “We're all human. We all need water.” - Laurie Cantillo “The government knew at the time that people would die, but did not expect it to occur at the scale that's happening.” - Laurie Cantillo “I would much rather have as my neighbor someone who would cross the desert to become a U.S. citizen than someone who just wants to slam the door shut on people in need.” - Laurie Cantillo “The only fear I ever have at the border is from far right militia and vigilante groups.” - Laurie Cantillo “The wall will fall down of its own accord. Probably before I do.” - Chris Clarke Resources: Humane Borders Website: humaneborders.orgHumane Borders' mortality map: https://humaneborders.info/app/map.asp Border Angels: Organization mentioned that helps families find missing loved ones. Website: https://www.borderangels.org/ Comparing crime rates between undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, and native-born US citizens in Texas; Light et al, PNAS.org, https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2014704117 Dive deeper into this episode to discover the revealing insights Laurie Cantillo shares about border issues, humanitarian crisis, and the heightened militarization impacting both human lives and biodiversity at the U.S.-Mexico border.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the show: Are we ready to create digital models of the human brain? Last month, Stanford researcher Andreas Tolias and colleagues created a "digital twin" of the mouse visual cortex. The researchers used the same foundation model approach that powers ChatGPT, but instead of training the model on text, the team trained in on brain activity recorded while mice watched action movies. The result? A digital model that can predict how neurons would respond to entirely new visual inputs. This landmark study is a preview of the unprecedented research possibilities made possible by foundation models of the brain—models which replicate the fundamental algorithms of brain activity, but can be studied with complete control and replicated across hundreds of laboratories.But it raises a profound question: Are we ready to create digital models of the human brain? This week we talk with Wu Tsai Neuro Faculty Scholar Dan Yamins, who has been exploring just this question with a broad range of Stanford colleagues and collaborators. We talk about what such human brain simulations might look like, how they would work, and what they might teach us about the fundamental algorithms of perception and cognition.Learn moreAI models of the brain could serve as 'digital twins' in research (Stanford Medicine, 2025)An Advance in Brain Research That Was Once Considered Impossible (New York Times, 2025)The co-evolution of neuroscience and AI (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2024)Neuroscientists use AI to simulate how the brain makes sense of the visual world (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2024)How Artificial Neural Networks Help Us Understand Neural Networks in the Human Brain (Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), 2021)Related researchA Task-Optimized Neural Network Replicates Human Auditory Behavior... (PNAS, 2014)Vector-based navigation using grid-like representations in artificial agents (Nature, 2018)The neural architecture of language: Integrative modeling converges on predictive processing (PNAS, 2021)Using deep reinforcement learning to reveal how the brain encodes abstract state-space representations... (Neuron, 2021) We want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at neuronspodcast@stanford.edu. Send us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

All the colours of the rainbow, plus oneResearchers have fired lasers directly into the eye to stimulate photoreceptors, and produce the perception of a colour that does not exist in nature. They describe it as a “supersaturated teal,” and hope the technique will allow them to better understand colour vision and perhaps lead to treatments for vision problems. Austin Roorda has been developing this technology using mirrors, lasers and optical devices. He is a professor of Optometry and Vision Science at University of California, Berkeley. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.Following in the footsteps of an ancient ankylosaurPaleontologists have found fossil footprints of an armoured dinosaur in the Canadian Rockies that fill in a critical gap in the fossil record. The footprints belonged to a club-tailed ankylosaur about five to six metres long, and are the first evidence of this type of dinosaur living in North America in a period known as the middle Cretaceous. The research was led by Victoria Arbour, curator of paleontology at the Royal B.C. Museum, and published in the journal Vertebrate Paleontology.Did the Neanderthals die from sunburn?Neanderthals disappeared 40,000 years ago, and new research suggests this corresponds to a period of weakness in the Earth's magnetic field that allowed an increase in the solar radiation reaching the surface. Researchers think they have evidence that modern humans were able to protect themselves from the sun better than Neanderthals could, and this might have contributed to the Neanderthal extinction. Raven Garvey is an anthropologist at the University of Michigan. Her team's research was published in the journal Science. Cloudy with a chance of ammonia mushballsNew observations and models of activity within Jupiter's stormy atmosphere is giving a weather report for the giant planet, and it's pretty extreme. Most interestingly, researchers predict conditions that could lead to violent lightning storms producing softball sized frozen ammonia “mushballs” that would rain through the upper atmosphere. The research was led by Chris Moeckel, a planetary scientist and aerospace engineer at the University of California-Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, and was published in the journal Science Advances.Shattering heat records: climate change is turning out to be worse than expectedIn the last few years, we've seen global temperatures rising faster, with more extreme localized heatwaves, than climate models predicted. Climate scientists are trying to understand this by investigating the underlying factors behind these heating trends. Richard Allan, from the University of Reading in the U.K., was expecting a larger than normal rise in global temperatures due to natural fluctuations, but global temperatures in 2023 and 2024 were much higher than expected. Their recent study in the journal Environmental Research Letters found a growing imbalance in the earth's heat system, with increasingly more heat coming in than leaving, in large part due to changes we've seen in global cloud cover.This global heating is not happening evenly around the world. Kai Kornhuber, from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and Columbia Climate School in New York, found regional hotspots that are experiencing unexpected extreme heat, likely due to a combination of factors. That study is in the journal PNAS. 

Individual decision-making and collective animal behavior Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, researchers explore advances in the modeling of collective animal behaviors. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[00:48] Conor Heins incorporated cognitive processes into a model of collective behavior. •[02:13] Eva Kanso analyzed how confinement influences collective behavior. •[03:41] Andreu Puy considered the role of speed in the leader-follower dynamics of schooling fish. •[04:45] Daniel Kronauer explored how a colony of clonal raider ants collectively responds to rising temperatures. •[06:02] Sonja Friman quantified the energy savings of starlings flying in complex formations. •[07:27] Daniele Carlesso modeled how weaver ants decide to form chains to explore their environment. •[08:43] Ashkaan Fahimipour explored how reef fish minimize the spread of misinformation. •[10:11] Clare Doherty explored the individualism of terrestrial hermit crabs moving in groups. •[11:44] Final thoughts and conclusion. About Our Guests: Conor Heins  Machine Learning Researcher Verses AI / Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Eva Kanso  Zohrab A. Kaprielian Fellow in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering University of Southern California Andreu Puy  PhD Student Polytechnic University of Catalonia Daniel Kronauer  Stanley S. and Sydney R. Shuman Professor Rockefeller University Sonja Friman  Postdoctoral Fellow Lund University Daniele Carlesso  Postdoctoral Researcher University of Konstanz Ashkaan Fahimipour  Assistant Professor Florida Atlantic University Clare Doherty  Research Associate Ulster University View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2320239121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2406293121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2309733121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2123076119 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2319971121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2216217120 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2215428120 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11469-1 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Critical Midlife Strategies to Prevent Age-Related Brain Decline: In this episode, Nutritionist Leyla Muedin “Weighs In” with a landmark study published in PNAS, highlighting the importance of a critical midlife window to prevent age-related brain decline. Conducted by scientists from Stony Brook University and other renowned institutions, the study reveals that brain aging follows a non-linear trajectory with key transition points starting as early as age 44. The research identifies neuronal insulin resistance and metabolic changes as primary drivers, suggesting dietary interventions like ketogenic diets during midlife can provide significant benefits. Leyla emphasizes the importance of early metabolic health monitoring and lifestyle changes to mitigate cognitive decline, addressing the growing concern of Alzheimer's and related neurodegenerative diseases.

Listen in as Real Science Radio host Fred Williams and co-host Doug McBurney review and update some of Bob Enyart's legendary list of not so old things! From Darwin's Finches to opals forming in months to man's genetic diversity in 200 generations, to carbon 14 everywhere it's not supposed to be (including in diamonds and dinosaur bones!), scientific observations simply defy the claim that the earth is billions of years old. Real science demands the dismissal of the alleged million and billion year ages asserted by the ungodly and the foolish.     * Finches Adapt in 17 Years, Not 2.3 Million: Charles Darwin's finches are claimed to have taken 2,300,000 years to diversify from an initial species blown onto the Galapagos Islands. Yet individuals from a single finch species on a U.S. Bird Reservation in the Pacific were introduced to a group of small islands 300 miles away and in at most 17 years, like Darwin's finches, they had diversified their beaks, related muscles, and behavior to fill various ecological niches. Hear about this also at rsr.org/spetner.  * Finches Speciate in Two Generations vs Two Million Years for Darwin's Birds?  Darwin's finches on the Galapagos Islands are said to have diversified into 14 species over a period of two million years. But in 2017 the journal Science reported a newcomer to the Island which within two generations spawned a reproductively isolated new species. In another instance as documented by Lee Spetner, a hundred birds of the same finch species introduced to an island cluster a 1,000 kilometers from Galapagos diversified into species with the typical variations in beak sizes, etc. "If this diversification occurred in less than seventeen years," Dr. Spetner asks, "why did Darwin's Galapagos finches [as claimed by evolutionists] have to take two million years?" * Opals Can Form in "A Few Months" And Don't Need 100,000 Years: A leading authority on opals, Allan W. Eckert, observed that, "scientific papers and textbooks have told that the process of opal formation requires tens of thousands of years, perhaps hundreds of thousands... Not true." A 2011 peer-reviewed paper in a geology journal from Australia, where almost all the world's opal is found, reported on the: "new timetable for opal formation involving weeks to a few months and not the hundreds of thousands of years envisaged by the conventional weathering model." (And apparently, per a 2019 report from Entomology Today, opals can even form around insects!) More knowledgeable scientists resist the uncritical, group-think insistence on false super-slow formation rates (as also for manganese nodules, gold veins, stone, petroleum, canyons and gullies, and even guts, all below). Regarding opals, Darwinian bias led geologists to long ignore possible quick action, as from microbes, as a possible explanation for these mineraloids. For both in nature and in the lab, opals form rapidly, not even in 10,000 years, but in weeks. See this also from creationists by a geologist, a paleobiochemist, and a nuclear chemist. * Blue Eyes Originated Not So Long Ago: Not a million years ago, nor a hundred thousand years ago, but based on a peer-reviewed paper in Human Genetics, a press release at Science Daily reports that, "research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye color of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today." * Adding the Entire Universe to our List of Not So Old Things? Based on March 2019 findings from Hubble, Nobel laureate Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute and his co-authors in the Astrophysical Journal estimate that the universe is about a billion years younger than previously thought! Then in September 2019 in the journal Science, the age dropped precipitously to as low as 11.4 billion years! Of course, these measurements also further squeeze the canonical story of the big bang chronology with its many already existing problems including the insufficient time to "evolve" distant mature galaxies, galaxy clusters, superclusters, enormous black holes, filaments, bubbles, walls, and other superstructures. So, even though the latest estimates are still absurdly too old (Google: big bang predictions, and click on the #1 ranked article, or just go on over there to rsr.org/bb), regardless, we thought we'd plop the whole universe down on our List of Not So Old Things!   * After the Soft Tissue Discoveries, NOW Dino DNA: When a North Carolina State University paleontologist took the Tyrannosaurus Rex photos to the right of original biological material, that led to the 2016 discovery of dinosaur DNA, So far researchers have also recovered dinosaur blood vessels, collagen, osteocytes, hemoglobin, red blood cells, and various proteins. As of May 2018, twenty-six scientific journals, including Nature, Science, PNAS, PLoS One, Bone, and Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, have confirmed the discovery of biomaterial fossils from many dinosaurs! Organisms including T. Rex, hadrosaur, titanosaur, triceratops, Lufengosaur, mosasaur, and Archaeopteryx, and many others dated, allegedly, even hundreds of millions of years old, have yielded their endogenous, still-soft biological material. See the web's most complete listing of 100+ journal papers (screenshot, left) announcing these discoveries at bflist.rsr.org and see it in layman's terms at rsr.org/soft. * Rapid Stalactites, Stalagmites, Etc.: A construction worker in 1954 left a lemonade bottle in one of Australia's famous Jenolan Caves. By 2011 it had been naturally transformed into a stalagmite (below, right). Increasing scientific knowledge is arguing for rapid cave formation (see below, Nat'l Park Service shrinks Carlsbad Caverns formation estimates from 260M years, to 10M, to 2M, to it "depends"). Likewise, examples are growing of rapid formations with typical chemical make-up (see bottle, left) of classic stalactites and stalagmites including: - in Nat'l Geo the Carlsbad Caverns stalagmite that rapidly covered a bat - the tunnel stalagmites at Tennessee's Raccoon Mountain - hundreds of stalactites beneath the Lincoln Memorial - those near Gladfelter Hall at Philadelphia's Temple University (send photos to Bob@rsr.org) - hundreds of stalactites at Australia's zinc mine at Mt. Isa.   - and those beneath Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance. * Most Human Mutations Arose in 200 Generations: From Adam until Real Science Radio, in only 200 generations! The journal Nature reports The Recent Origin of Most Human Protein-coding Variants. As summarized by geneticist co-author Joshua Akey, "Most of the mutations that we found arose in the last 200 generations or so" (the same number previously published by biblical creationists). Another 2012 paper, in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology (Eugenie Scott's own field) on High mitochondrial mutation rates, shows that one mitochondrial DNA mutation occurs every other generation, which, as creationists point out, indicates that mtEve would have lived about 200 generations ago. That's not so old! * National Geographic's Not-So-Old Hard-Rock Canyon at Mount St. Helens: As our List of Not So Old Things (this web page) reveals, by a kneejerk reaction evolutionary scientists assign ages of tens or hundreds of thousands of years (or at least just long enough to contradict Moses' chronology in Genesis.) However, with closer study, routinely, more and more old ages get revised downward to fit the world's growing scientific knowledge. So the trend is not that more information lengthens ages, but rather, as data replaces guesswork, ages tend to shrink until they are consistent with the young-earth biblical timeframe. Consistent with this observation, the May 2000 issue of National Geographic quotes the U.S. Forest Service's scientist at Mount St. Helens, Peter Frenzen, describing the canyon on the north side of the volcano. "You'd expect a hard-rock canyon to be thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years old. But this was cut in less than a decade." And as for the volcano itself, while again, the kneejerk reaction of old-earthers would be to claim that most geologic features are hundreds of thousands or millions of years old, the atheistic National Geographic magazine acknowledges from the evidence that Mount St. Helens, the volcanic mount, is only about 4,000 years old! See below and more at rsr.org/mount-st-helens. * Mount St. Helens Dome Ten Years Old not 1.7 Million: Geochron Laboratories of Cambridge, Mass., using potassium-argon and other radiometric techniques claims the rock sample they dated, from the volcano's dome, solidified somewhere between 340,000 and 2.8 million years ago. However photographic evidence and historical reports document the dome's formation during the 1980s, just ten years prior to the samples being collected. With the age of this rock known, radiometric dating therefore gets the age 99.99999% wrong. * Devils Hole Pupfish Isolated Not for 13,000 Years But for 100: Secular scientists default to knee-jerk, older-than-Bible-age dates. However, a tiny Mojave desert fish is having none of it. Rather than having been genetically isolated from other fish for 13,000 years (which would make this small school of fish older than the Earth itself), according to a paper in the journal Nature, actual measurements of mutation rates indicate that the genetic diversity of these Pupfish could have been generated in about 100 years, give or take a few. * Polystrates like Spines and Rare Schools of Fossilized Jellyfish: Previously, seven sedimentary layers in Wisconsin had been described as taking a million years to form. And because jellyfish have no skeleton, as Charles Darwin pointed out, it is rare to find them among fossils. But now, reported in the journal Geology, a school of jellyfish fossils have been found throughout those same seven layers. So, polystrate fossils that condense the time of strata deposition from eons to hours or months, include: - Jellyfish in central Wisconsin were not deposited and fossilized over a million years but during a single event quick enough to trap a whole school. (This fossil school, therefore, taken as a unit forms a polystrate fossil.) Examples are everywhere that falsify the claims of strata deposition over millions of years. - Countless trilobites buried in astounding three dimensionality around the world are meticulously recovered from limestone, much of which is claimed to have been deposited very slowly. Contrariwise, because these specimens were buried rapidly in quickly laid down sediments, they show no evidence of greater erosion on their upper parts as compared to their lower parts. - The delicacy of radiating spine polystrates, like tadpole and jellyfish fossils, especially clearly demonstrate the rapidity of such strata deposition. - A second school of jellyfish, even though they rarely fossilized, exists in another locale with jellyfish fossils in multiple layers, in Australia's Brockman Iron Formation, constraining there too the rate of strata deposition. By the way, jellyfish are an example of evolution's big squeeze. Like galaxies evolving too quickly, 

Listen in as Real Science Radio host Fred Williams and co-host Doug McBurney review and update some of Bob Enyart's legendary list of not so old things! From Darwin's Finches to opals forming in months to man's genetic diversity in 200 generations, to carbon 14 everywhere it's not supposed to be (including in diamonds and dinosaur bones!), scientific observations simply defy the claim that the earth is billions of years old. Real science demands the dismissal of the alleged million and billion year ages asserted by the ungodly and the foolish.   * Finches Adapt in 17 Years, Not 2.3 Million: Charles Darwin's finches are claimed to have taken 2,300,000 years to diversify from an initial species blown onto the Galapagos Islands. Yet individuals from a single finch species on a U.S. Bird Reservation in the Pacific were introduced to a group of small islands 300 miles away and in at most 17 years, like Darwin's finches, they had diversified their beaks, related muscles, and behavior to fill various ecological niches. Hear about this also at rsr.org/spetner.  * Finches Speciate in Two Generations vs Two Million Years for Darwin's Birds?  Darwin's finches on the Galapagos Islands are said to have diversified into 14 species over a period of two million years. But in 2017 the journal Science reported a newcomer to the Island which within two generations spawned a reproductively isolated new species. In another instance as documented by Lee Spetner, a hundred birds of the same finch species introduced to an island cluster a 1,000 kilometers from Galapagos diversified into species with the typical variations in beak sizes, etc. "If this diversification occurred in less than seventeen years," Dr. Spetner asks, "why did Darwin's Galapagos finches [as claimed by evolutionists] have to take two million years?" * Opals Can Form in "A Few Months" And Don't Need 100,000 Years: A leading authority on opals, Allan W. Eckert, observed that, "scientific papers and textbooks have told that the process of opal formation requires tens of thousands of years, perhaps hundreds of thousands... Not true." A 2011 peer-reviewed paper in a geology journal from Australia, where almost all the world's opal is found, reported on the: "new timetable for opal formation involving weeks to a few months and not the hundreds of thousands of years envisaged by the conventional weathering model." (And apparently, per a 2019 report from Entomology Today, opals can even form around insects!) More knowledgeable scientists resist the uncritical, group-think insistence on false super-slow formation rates (as also for manganese nodules, gold veins, stone, petroleum, canyons and gullies, and even guts, all below). Regarding opals, Darwinian bias led geologists to long ignore possible quick action, as from microbes, as a possible explanation for these mineraloids. For both in nature and in the lab, opals form rapidly, not even in 10,000 years, but in weeks. See this also from creationists by a geologist, a paleobiochemist, and a nuclear chemist. * Blue Eyes Originated Not So Long Ago: Not a million years ago, nor a hundred thousand years ago, but based on a peer-reviewed paper in Human Genetics, a press release at Science Daily reports that, "research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye color of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today." * Adding the Entire Universe to our List of Not So Old Things? Based on March 2019 findings from Hubble, Nobel laureate Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute and his co-authors in the Astrophysical Journal estimate that the universe is about a billion years younger than previously thought! Then in September 2019 in the journal Science, the age dropped precipitously to as low as 11.4 billion years! Of course, these measurements also further squeeze the canonical story of the big bang chronology with its many already existing problems including the insufficient time to "evolve" distant mature galaxies, galaxy clusters, superclusters, enormous black holes, filaments, bubbles, walls, and other superstructures. So, even though the latest estimates are still absurdly too old (Google: big bang predictions, and click on the #1 ranked article, or just go on over there to rsr.org/bb), regardless, we thought we'd plop the whole universe down on our List of Not So Old Things!   * After the Soft Tissue Discoveries, NOW Dino DNA: When a North Carolina State University paleontologist took the Tyrannosaurus Rex photos to the right of original biological material, that led to the 2016 discovery of dinosaur DNA, So far researchers have also recovered dinosaur blood vessels, collagen, osteocytes, hemoglobin, red blood cells, and various proteins. As of May 2018, twenty-six scientific journals, including Nature, Science, PNAS, PLoS One, Bone, and Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, have confirmed the discovery of biomaterial fossils from many dinosaurs! Organisms including T. Rex, hadrosaur, titanosaur, triceratops, Lufengosaur, mosasaur, and Archaeopteryx, and many others dated, allegedly, even hundreds of millions of years old, have yielded their endogenous, still-soft biological material. See the web's most complete listing of 100+ journal papers (screenshot, left) announcing these discoveries at bflist.rsr.org and see it in layman's terms at rsr.org/soft. * Rapid Stalactites, Stalagmites, Etc.: A construction worker in 1954 left a lemonade bottle in one of Australia's famous Jenolan Caves. By 2011 it had been naturally transformed into a stalagmite (below, right). Increasing scientific knowledge is arguing for rapid cave formation (see below, Nat'l Park Service shrinks Carlsbad Caverns formation estimates from 260M years, to 10M, to 2M, to it "depends"). Likewise, examples are growing of rapid formations with typical chemical make-up (see bottle, left) of classic stalactites and stalagmites including: - in Nat'l Geo the Carlsbad Caverns stalagmite that rapidly covered a bat - the tunnel stalagmites at Tennessee's Raccoon Mountain - hundreds of stalactites beneath the Lincoln Memorial - those near Gladfelter Hall at Philadelphia's Temple University (send photos to Bob@rsr.org) - hundreds of stalactites at Australia's zinc mine at Mt. Isa.   - and those beneath Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance. * Most Human Mutations Arose in 200 Generations: From Adam until Real Science Radio, in only 200 generations! The journal Nature reports The Recent Origin of Most Human Protein-coding Variants. As summarized by geneticist co-author Joshua Akey, "Most of the mutations that we found arose in the last 200 generations or so" (the same number previously published by biblical creationists). Another 2012 paper, in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology (Eugenie Scott's own field) on High mitochondrial mutation rates, shows that one mitochondrial DNA mutation occurs every other generation, which, as creationists point out, indicates that mtEve would have lived about 200 generations ago. That's not so old! * National Geographic's Not-So-Old Hard-Rock Canyon at Mount St. Helens: As our List of Not So Old Things (this web page) reveals, by a kneejerk reaction evolutionary scientists assign ages of tens or hundreds of thousands of years (or at least just long enough to contradict Moses' chronology in Genesis.) However, with closer study, routinely, more and more old ages get revised downward to fit the world's growing scientific knowledge. So the trend is not that more information lengthens ages, but rather, as data replaces guesswork, ages tend to shrink until they are consistent with the young-earth biblical timeframe. Consistent with this observation, the May 2000 issue of National Geographic quotes the U.S. Forest Service's scientist at Mount St. Helens, Peter Frenzen, describing the canyon on the north side of the volcano. "You'd expect a hard-rock canyon to be thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years old. But this was cut in less than a decade." And as for the volcano itself, while again, the kneejerk reaction of old-earthers would be to claim that most geologic features are hundreds of thousands or millions of years old, the atheistic National Geographic magazine acknowledges from the evidence that Mount St. Helens, the volcanic mount, is only about 4,000 years old! See below and more at rsr.org/mount-st-helens. * Mount St. Helens Dome Ten Years Old not 1.7 Million: Geochron Laboratories of Cambridge, Mass., using potassium-argon and other radiometric techniques claims the rock sample they dated, from the volcano's dome, solidified somewhere between 340,000 and 2.8 million years ago. However photographic evidence and historical reports document the dome's formation during the 1980s, just ten years prior to the samples being collected. With the age of this rock known, radiometric dating therefore gets the age 99.99999% wrong. * Devils Hole Pupfish Isolated Not for 13,000 Years But for 100: Secular scientists default to knee-jerk, older-than-Bible-age dates. However, a tiny Mojave desert fish is having none of it. Rather than having been genetically isolated from other fish for 13,000 years (which would make this small school of fish older than the Earth itself), according to a paper in the journal Nature, actual measurements of mutation rates indicate that the genetic diversity of these Pupfish could have been generated in about 100 years, give or take a few. * Polystrates like Spines and Rare Schools of Fossilized Jellyfish: Previously, seven sedimentary layers in Wisconsin had been described as taking a million years to form. And because jellyfish have no skeleton, as Charles Darwin pointed out, it is rare to find them among fossils. But now, reported in the journal Geology, a school of jellyfish fossils have been found throughout those same seven layers. So, polystrate fossils that condense the time of strata deposition from eons to hours or months, include: - Jellyfish in central Wisconsin were not deposited and fossilized over a million years but during a single event quick enough to trap a whole school. (This fossil school, therefore, taken as a unit forms a polystrate fossil.) Examples are everywhere that falsify the claims of strata deposition over millions of years. - Countless trilobites buried in astounding three dimensionality around the world are meticulously recovered from limestone, much of which is claimed to have been deposited very slowly. Contrariwise, because these specimens were buried rapidly in quickly laid down sediments, they show no evidence of greater erosion on their upper parts as compared to their lower parts. - The delicacy of radiating spine polystrates, like tadpole and jellyfish fossils, especially clearly demonstrate the rapidity of such strata deposition. - A second school of jellyfish, even though they rarely fossilized, exists in another locale with jellyfish fossils in multiple layers, in Australia's Brockman Iron Formation, constraining there too the rate of strata deposition. By the way, jellyfish are an example of evolution's big squeeze. Like galaxies e

Modeling extreme heat waves Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Kai Kornhuber explains how and why climate models struggle to reproduce extreme heat wave trends. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[00:53] Extreme weather climatologist Kai Kornhuber explains why modeling heat waves is important. •[01:38] He talks about how the study modeled hotspots of anomalous heat wave activity. •[03:01] Kornhuber tells where the hotspots are located. •[04:17] He explains how well climate models reproduce these trends. •[06:43] He talks about ways climate modelers can improve model representation of heat waves. •[07:48] Kornhuber describes the caveats and limitations of the study.  •[09:08] He enumerates the key takeaways. •[10:18] Conclusion. About Our Guest: Kai Kornhuber Senior Research Scholar International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2411258121 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

Most iguanas are indigenous to the Americas. So how did the Fijian species end up on the island, nearly 5000 miles away in the South Pacific? According to a new study in the journal PNAS, it was probably via raft ... that is, on clump of floating trees. And this rafting hypothesis isn't entirely unprecedented. After hurricanes Luis and Marilyn hit the Caribbean in the 1990s, researchers found that a group of iguanas had floated over 180 miles away from Guadeloupe to the territory of Anguilla. Want to hear more about iguanas? Or rafts? Or evolutionary biology? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Reconsidering the social cost of carbon Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Frances Moore presents a re-analysis of how the social costs of carbon emissions are quantified. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[00:50] Climate economist Frances Moore explains the “social cost of carbon.” •[02:21] She describes the background of the study.  •[03:35] She talks about the methods of the study, which included a survey of experts. •[05:18] Moore presents the results, including underestimation of the social cost of carbon. •[07:02] She talks about the policy implications of the study. •[08:35] Moore discusses the caveats and limitations of the study. •[09:21] Conclusion. About Our Guest: Frances Moore Associate professor University of California, Davis View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2410733121 Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts for more captivating discussions on scientific breakthroughs! Visit Science Sessions on PNAS.org: https://www.pnas.org/about/science-sessions-podcast  Follow PNAS: Twitter/X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Sign up for the PNAS Highlights newsletter

As soon as the last ice age glaciers melted, Indigenous people occupied this siteA recently discovered archaeological site in Saskatchewan, dated to just less than 11,000 years ago is the oldest settlement in the region by about 1,500 years. It also is evidence that Indigenous people settled there as soon as the environment could support them after the glaciers disappeared. Glenn Stuart, from the University of Saskatchewan, is one of the archaeologists working along with local Indigenous community members to preserve and study the site.Just the right magnetic field will make sea turtles do a ‘happy dance'Researchers investigating how sea turtles navigate the vast and trackless ocean have discovered just how sensitive the reptiles' magnetic sense is, as they can even use it to identify the location of food resources. While feeding the loggerhead turtles in the lab, Kayla Goforth, a postdoctoral researcher at Texas A&M University noticed that the turtles would perform a ‘happy dance' when they recognized the right magnetic signature. She led this research that was published in the journal Nature.Intense exercise causes our bodies to belch out DNA that may reduce inflammationScientists were surprised to discover that the more intensely you exercise, the more certain immune cells belch out fragments of DNA that can form webs to trap pathogens, and lead to fewer pro-inflammatory immune cells circulating in our blood. Canadian researcher Stephen Montgomery, a professor of pathology at Stanford University, said their findings suggest that circulating cell-free DNA may play a role in how exercise lowers inflammation in the body. The study was published in the journal PNAS. An ancient Antarctic duck lived at the time of T-RexBirds are the last surviving lineage of dinosaurs, but modern birds are surprisingly ancient – dating to before the extinction of the rest of their family. An extremely rare, nearly intact bird skull found in Antarctica and dated to about 69 million years ago confirms this. This waterfowl had similarities to ducks and loons. Chris Torres is an assistant professor at the University of the Pacific in Stockton California and was part of the team that analyzed this fossil. Their research was published in the journal Nature.Science is being transformed by the AI revolutionThe stunning advances in artificial intelligence that we see with internet AI apps are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to science. Researchers from almost every field are experimenting with this powerful new tool to diagnose disease, understand climate change, develop strategies for conservation and discover new kinds of materials. And AI is on the threshold of being able to make discoveries all by itself. Will it put scientists out of a job?Producer Amanda Buckiewicz spoke with:Jeff Clune, a professor of computer science at the University of British Columbia, a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute, and a senior research advisor to DeepMind. He's also a co-author of The AI Scientist.Allison Noble, a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oxford and a Foreign Secretary at the Royal Society, and chair of the Science in the Age of AI working group.Elissa Strome, executive director of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy at CIFAR.Cong Lu, postdoctoral research and teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia and the Vector Institute, and a co-author of The AI Scientist.Fred Morstatter, a research assistant professor at the University of Southern California, and a principal scientist at USC's Information Sciences Institute.

A little bit of scratching can do some good, but too much can hurtScratching an itch can feel great, so scientists decided to dig into why that is the case since we know too much scratching isn't good for us. Dr. Dan Kaplan, a professor of dermatology and immunology at the University of Pittsburgh, said they found that scratching drives inflammation to the skin, which, in light moderation, helps to fight bacterial skin infections. But he warns that continual or excessive scratching can prolong an itch and potentially damage the skin. Their study is in the journal Science. Bear hazing goes high-tech with dronesA wildlife manager in the US has found that drones can be a safe and effective way to discourage problem bears from troubling human habitation and livestock. Wesley Sarmento started working in the prairies of Montana to prevent bear-human conflicts, but found the usual tricks of the trade were not as effective as he wanted them to be. Previously he tried to use noisemakers, dogs, trucks, and firearms, but buzzing bears with flying robots turned out to work much better. Now a PhD student at the University of Montana, he published an article about his hazing research in Frontiers in Conservation Science.Ants can remember and hold grudges against those who trouble themWhen ants fight with those from another nearby colony, it makes an impression. A new study has found the insects can remember the chemical signature of the aggressors, and will respond more vigorously and violently the next time they cross paths. Dr. Volker Nehring, a researcher at the University of Freiburg, Germany, describes the phenomenon as “the nasty neighbour" where ants are most aggressive to ant colonies closest to them, and says this is due to resource protection. Dr Nehring and his team's research was published in the journal Current Biology.Scientists on the front line of permafrost thaw describe changes in the Arctic The acceleration of change in the Arctic due to global warming is transforming the landscape on a year-to-year basis, often in surprising ways. That's according to scientists who've been studying the effects of climate change in the North. One study found that lakes in Western Greenland shifted from pristine blue to dirty brown from one year to the next due to increased permafrost melting and runoff. Jasmine Saros, a lake ecologist from the University of Maine, said they were astonished by the magnitude of change they saw in all 10 lakes they studied and how quickly it happened. That study was published in the journal PNAS. We also speak with William Quinton, a permafrost hydrologist from Wilfred Laurier University and the director of the Scotty Creek Research Station in southern Northwest Territories, an area he describes as “the frontline of permafrost thaw.” Quinton was part of a research team, led by Anna Virkkala from the Woodwell Climate Research Centre, that found that 34 per cent of the Arctic Boreal Zone — a region where carbon was safely locked up in the permafrost for thousands of years — has now become a carbon source. That study is in the journal Nature Climate Change.