Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Late Pleistocene Clovis atlatl hunting fails a chronological modeling test

Late Pleistocene North American foragers assigned to the Clovis culture have long been assumed to have hunted megafauna with the atlatl, which would have provided several advantages. Yet, we chronolog...

Prescribed fire is unlikely to reduce net PM _2.5 emissions in most locations

Wildfire smoke poses a growing global health risk, largely from fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) emissions. Prescribed fires, which are critical for maintainin...

Localized sample-based quantum diagonalization for strongly correlated chemistry

We develop a hybrid quantum-classical workflow combining sample-based quantum diagonalization (SQD) and the localized active space self-consistent field method (LASSCF) to solve for the ground states...

Multiplexing in networks and diffusion

We study multiplexing—the extent to which people have multiple, distinct types of relationships with the same others. We document empirical multiplexing patterns in Indian village data. We show that r...

Provable cluster-preserving visualizations with curvature-based stochastic neighbor embeddings

Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (SNE) algorithms like UMAP and tSNE often produce visualizations that do not preserve the geometry of noisy and high dimensional data. In particular, they can spuriously...

A phase oscillator model of cell cycles reveals nuclear density control in a branched fungal network

Maintaining an appropriate nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio is essential across cell types for physiological function, and mechanisms of size control have been extensively studied in mononucleate cells. M...

The combinatorial innexin code of heterochannel electrical synapses governs synaptic function and is maintained by distinct cellular mechanisms

Diversity in the molecular composition of intercellular gap junction channels, the functional units of electrical synapses, determines their physiological properties. Yet the mechanisms by which neuro...

SpyCEP dismantles neutrophil immunity via disorder-driven chemokine remodeling and GAG targeting

Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptococcus ) employs sophisticated virulence strategies to evade human immunity, inc...

A DNA break-5mC cycle activates transposable elements in <i>Arabidopsis</i>

Plant genomic and epigenomic integrity are perpetually threatened by exogenous and endogenous DNA damage. However, the interplay between DNA damage, DNA methylation (5mC), and transposable element (TE...

Spontaneous phase separation and pattern formation in a lyotropic nematic mixture

Lyotropic liquid crystals can display rich phase behavior and self-organization, yet the physical principles underlying their self-assembly into large scale patterns remains understudied. Here, we com...

Helfrich walls in nematic toroidal droplets in the presence of magnetic fields

We observe the formation of stable, magnetic field induced, alignment inversion walls, also called Helfrich walls, in nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) confined to a toroidal droplet with tangential anch...

Correction for Hong et al., Mechanistic links between coexistence, productivity, and stability in experimental grasslands

Topological expansion of Boehm’s brushes via structured light

We report an entoptic phenomenon in which the classical two-lobed Boehm’s brushes are transformed into a multilobed structure by projecting spin–orbit-coupled light onto the human retina. These struct...

IL-13 signaling in cDC2 is required for systemic anaphylactic responses

Cutaneous allergen sensitization (CAS) is a primary driver of atopic dermatitis (AD) and a key initiator of the “atopic march”, which can lead to systemic conditions such as food allergy and anaphylax...

Spatially structured heterogeneity shapes large-scale cortical dynamics in a model of the human cortex

The human brain displays substantial spatial variability in molecular, anatomical, and physiological organization. Yet, how this heterogeneity shapes large-scale neuronal dynamics remains poorly under...

Regional variability but global flux balance in the deep sulfur cycle

Sulfur is a key volatile that influences Earth’s redox state, climate, and deep geochemical cycles. Subduction zones are the primary pathways carrying sulfur from the surface into the mantle, yet the...

Glycolipids slow interfacial proton migration while preserving surface proton retention

Proton gradients power diverse biological processes, yet how interfacial proton migration is regulated remains unclear. Here we quantify how membrane composition controls interfacial proton migration...

Circulating PEG-indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase ameliorates diverse inflammatory diseases without toxicity or compromising immunocompetence

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), the enzyme responsible for tryptophan catabolism, is protective in many autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. We previously developed a localized immunomodulation ap...

Per os infectivity factors are essential for bracovirus infection and wasp parasitism

Many parasitoid wasps in the family Braconidae rely on bracoviruses to parasitize lepidopteran hosts. Bracoviruses evolved from a virus in the family Nudiviridae...

Inhibition of elastin degradation alleviates joint degeneration in aging mice, dogs, and human models

Extracellular matrix degradation is a fundamental pathological feature of osteoarthritis, while the roles of degraded matrix remain largely unknown. We previously showed that serum elastin fragments w...

Mesoscale developmental rivalry in the human extrastriate visual cortex

The human extrastriate visual cortex contains fine-scale columns selectively responsive to motion, disparity, and color. However, the developmental interplay between these functional modules remains p...

Opportunity and risk in achieving food production and conservation goals at high altitude: Evidence from the Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau, the Earth’s highest and largest plateau, has a harsh environment for agriculture, and is a global biodiversity hotspot, raising the challenge of simultaneously satisfying food pro...

Chaos-generating periodic orbits of topological defects in confined active nematics

Active nematics in two dimensions stir themselves efficiently through internally generated chaotic flows, largely driven by motile...

Louis E. Brus (1943–2026): A consummate physical chemist and a pioneer in the exploration of spectroscopy of materials at the nanoscale

Last year we lost a true pioneer in the field of nanoscience. Louis E. Brus didn’t chase fame, he chased “the problem.” His career is a monument to the power of...

Liquid–liquid phase separation enables chromatography-free purification and high-performance spidroin-amyloid hybrid silk fibers

Large-scale production of artificial spider silk fibers requires heterologous expression of spider silk proteins (spidroins), yet current methods remain limited by low yields and costly purification p...