National Academy of Sciences | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Journal Club

Highlighting recent, timely papers selected by Academy member labs

An algorithm suggests a sidewalk-space redesign to make cities safer for pedestrians

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Amy McDermott

A recent study in Communications Physics is among the first to systematically analyze whole city networks of spider-webbing roads and sidewalks. Examining 10 global cities, including Boston, Paris, and New York, researchers created an algorithm that could help planners choose … Continue reading →

Digital reconstruction gets to the root of 400-million-year-old plant

Posted on September 3, 2021 by David Adam

Researchers have managed to reconstruct the detailed 3-D structure of a fossilized plant more than 400 million years old. The ancient leafy organism, a relative of today’s clubmosses, grew in the Early Devonian era—a crucial time for the development of … Continue reading →

Categories: Evolution | Journal Club | Plant Biology | Tagged Asteroxylon mackiei, digital reconstruction, evolution, paleontology, plant roots | Leave a comment

Robot swarms communicate best when messages spread neighbor to neighbor

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Amy McDermott

In the not-so-distant future, swarms of robots could help contain environmental disasters such as wildfires, by locating and dousing the most dangerous patches, even as flames move and spread. But how would these individual robots coordinate effectively to pull off … Continue reading →

Categories: Animal Behavior | Computer sciences | Journal Club | Tagged ants, fish, kilobot, majority rule, network connection, node, robot, robotics, schooling, social network, wildfire | Leave a comment

Forests fight drought, even from far away

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Amy McDermott

Forests are said to be the lungs of the Earth—they also provide a moist breath that travels tens to thousands of miles. Dense stands of trees release foggy clouds of condensation. The water molecules from those clouds ride wind currents … Continue reading →

Categories: Environmental Sciences | Journal Club | Tagged aforestation, climate change, conservation, drought, IPCC, precipitationshed, rainforest, reforestation | Leave a comment

Drought causes lasting changes to the rice root microbiome

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Carolyn Beans

Beneficial microbes living in and around a crop’s roots could be powerful allies in the fight to keep plants alive through droughts, especially as climate change worsens. But before scientists can harness these microbial partners to make crops more resilient, … Continue reading →

Well-connected members of tight-knit groups spread controversial ideas much more readily than “influencers”

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Amy McDermott

The people who spread new and controversial ideas—changes in diet, exercise routine, political leaning, or even attitudes about vaccination—may not be the Kim Kardashians and Paris Hiltons. According to a recent study in Nature Communications, those with the most actual … Continue reading →

Categories: Journal Club | Social Sciences | Tagged complex contagion, COVID-19, network science, simple contagion, social network, sociology, vaccines | 1 Comment

Prion-like protein acts as water sensor in seeds

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Jyoti Madhusoodanan

The sprouting of a seed is clearly a crucial stage in a plant’s life. Yet one part of the process has long been shrouded in mystery: How do seeds know when there’s enough water to germinate? Researchers recently reported the … Continue reading →

Study suggests mask-wearing reduces the odds of self-infection with SARS-CoV-2

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Amy McDermott

COVID-19 typically turns deadly when the virus infects the lungs. Hence, how exactly SARS-CoV-2 gets deep into the respiratory tract has been a pressing question since the pandemic started early last year. One pathway is well known: Most people catch … Continue reading →

Categories: Immunology | Journal Club | Uncategorized | Tagged coronavirus, COVID-19, lung, SARS-Cov-2, self-infection, virus | 4 Comments

Degradable plastic polymer breaks down in sunlight and air

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Amy McDermott

Plastic trash chokes shorelines and oceans, in part because plastic polymers do not easily decompose. But a new kind of environmentally degradable plastic could help change that: It breaks down in about a week in sunlight and air, according to … Continue reading →

Categories: Chemistry | Journal Club | Tagged biodegradable, materials science, plastic, plastic waste | Leave a comment

Emotional associations, more than knowledge, determine how much people care about the deep sea

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Carolyn Beans

With new technological advances in deep-sea mining, the ocean floor’s trove of valuable metals and rare earth elements is coming within reach of commercial mining operations. The impending reality of this practice, and its associated environmental risks, raises the question … Continue reading →

New culturing techniques track crucial stage of embryo development

Posted on June 28, 2021 by David Adam

The second week of gestation is crucial for human development, as the growing embryo needs to implant in the mother’s womb to survive. Many early pregnancies fail at this point, but it has been difficult to determine exactly why. Lacking … Continue reading →