Adapting to poor air quality

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, Rebecca Saari explores potential adaptations needed for worsening air quality due to climate change.

In this episode, we cover: • [00:03] Introduction • [00:57] Rebecca Saari, an air quality engineer at the University of Waterloo, describes an air quality alert. • [01:23] Explanation of the hazard of fine particulate matter air pollution. • [02:18] Description of the study’s modeling approach. • [03:14] Description of modeling methods.  • [04:05] Explanation of study results and where air quality alerts may rise due to climate change. • [04:34] Exploration of the social impacts of inequitable distribution of worsening air quality. • [05:24] Description of strategies for mitigating the health risk of poor air quality. • [06:27] Discussion of the costs and benefits of increased time spent indoors to mitigate health risk. • [07:22] Discussion of the role of policy in protecting from air quality hazards. • [08:13] Explanation of the study’s caveats and limitations. • [09:30] Potential impacts of the study. • [10:11] Conclusion

About Our Guest:

Rebecca Saari Associate Professor  University of Waterloo

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2215685121

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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, Christine Pu describes how commonly used measures of poverty don't agree, and why definitions of poverty matter.

In this episode, we cover:

· [00:00] Introduction

· [00:59] Christine Pu, an interdisciplinary scientist from Stanford University, introduces the importance of definitions of poverty.

· [01:40] List of the four commonly used definitions of poverty.

· [02:29] The motivation behind the study.

· [03:21] Study design and methods.

· [04:20] Results of the study and discussion of why poverty measures may not agree.

· [05:50] Discussion of how poverty definitions impact efforts to alleviate poverty.

· [06:57] How policymakers can approach definition of poverty.

· [07:46] Implications and potential impacts of the study.

· [08:25] Study caveats and limitations.

· [08:54] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Christine Pu

PhD Candidate

Stanford University

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2316730121

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How a small fish makes big sounds

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, Verity Cook from Charité – Berlin University of Medicine explains how a fish 12 millimeters in length produces sounds exceeding 140 decibels.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:37] Can you tell us more about the fish you studied? •[02:26] What are some of the methods you used to characterize the fish’s sound production mechanism? •[03:49] Can you walk us through the process of how these fish produce sound? •[05:02] What are the broader implications of your findings? •[05:53] Conclusion.

About Our Guest: Verity Cook PhD Student Charité – Berlin University of Medicine

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2314017121

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google 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 

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Dinosaur feathers hint at flight history

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, Jingmai O’Connor and Yosef Kiat share insights gleaned from modern birds’ feathers that help understand the evolutionary history of flight in dinosaurs.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:02] Jingmai O’Connor, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Field Museum of Natural History, describes the characteristics of feathers associated with flight. •[02:11] O’Connor gives context and background for previous knowledge of the evolution of flight feathers in dinosaurs. •[03:25] O’Connor describes the sources of fossil specimens for analysis of feather evolution. •[04:29] Yosef Kiat, an ornithologist at the Field Museum of Natural History, tells what he learned about the consistent number of primary feathers in modern birds. He also tells how that number applies to dinosaurs.  •[05:54] O’Connor explains what the symmetry of feathers reveals about a species’ flight ability and history. •[06:29] Kiat applies feather symmetry to explain the flight evolutionary history of Caudipteryx. •[07:05] Kiat summarizes the findings of the study, using feather number and shape to assess the flight abilities of four genera of dinosaurs. •[07:47] Kiat and O’Connor describe the type of potential fossil evidence that could fill in holes in the history of flight evolution in dinosaurs. •[08:42] Kiat and O’Connor explain the study’s caveats and limitations. •[09:44] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Jingmai O’Connor Associate Curator of Fossil Reptiles  Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL

Yosef Kiat Postdoctoral Research Fellow Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2306639121

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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 describe the potential impact of anthropogenic disturbances on bee communication.

In this episode, we cover:

• [00:00] Introduction
• [00:45] Description of the waggle dance of honeybees.
• [01:59] Maggie Couvillon, an entomologist at Virginia Tech, explains what information researchers can glean from the waggle dance.
• [03:24] Christoph Grüter, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Bristol, describes what impact climatic changes may have on bee communication.
• [05:13] Michael Hrncir, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Sao Paulo, recorded the impact of rising air temperatures on foraging in stingless bees.
• [06:48] Grüter explains how landscape changes and habitat fragmentation might affect bee communication.
• [08:23] Elli Leadbeater, an ecologist at Royal Holloway University of London, found that dancing honeybees found the foraging environment of central London superior to agricultural land.
• [09:49] Kris Braman, an entomologist at the University of Georgia, studied how the distribution of land cover at different scales influences bee diversity in Georgia.
• [11:24] Grüter explains how insecticides may alter bee communication strategies.
• [12:41] Denise Alves, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Sao Paulo, describes how a fungal pesticide can affect nestmate recognition in stingless bees.
• [14:23] Adam Dolezal, an entomologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, describes how a bee pathogen affects nestmate recognition in honeybees.
• [15:17] Final thoughts and conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Maggie CouvillonAssistant ProfessorVirginia Tech

Christoph GrüterSenior LecturerUniversity of Bristol

Michael HrncirProfessorUniversity of Sao Paulo

Elli LeadbeaterProfessorRoyal Holloway University of London

Kris BramanDepartment Head and ProfessorUniversity of Georgia

Denise AlvesPost-doctoral ResearcherUniversity of Sao Paulo

Adam DolezalAssistant ProfessorUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

View related content here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0155 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2219031120 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022191020300512 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14011 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10841-022-00402-6 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653521026199 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2002268117

Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google 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

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Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PNASNews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PNASNews/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pnas-news/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/pnas-news Sign up the Highlights newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/nas/podcast-highlights

Alex Cristia and Elika Bergelson explain the factors influencing speech in children.

Chris Thorogood and Derek Moulton explain how mathematical modeling of carnivorous pitcher plants can lend insights into their evolution.

Allegra Midgette and Nadia Chernyak describe when young children begin to perceive and accept unequal and gendered division of household labor. 

Karen Steel explains a proof of concept for restoring hearing loss in mice. 

Stanley Cohen reflects on the 50-year legacy of a classic PNAS paper on recombinant DNA.

Longqi Yang and Fengqi You discuss the potential reductions in carbon emissions of switching from in person to remote work.