Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Articles in this Issue
Constructing a lower-bound estimate of the global number of insect species on a hyperdiverse empirical foundation
Estimating the number of insect species on Earth is a daunting challenge. The current consensus estimate—about six million species—is likely far too low, as we will show. Our estimate of the global nu...
Reply to Wang: Policy failure can be assessed from observed outcomes
Beyond unit cells: Programmable morphogenetic design of irregular architected materials
Architected materials derive functionality from geometry, yet conventional unit cell–based design limits functional heterogeneity, geometric adaptability, and robustness to defects. Inspired by natura...
Observation-constrained sensitivities of Arctic methane emissions to warming
The sensitivity of pan-Arctic (60 to 90°N) natural methane emissions to climate warming lacks direct observational constraints. Long-term atmospheric measurements of methane, which reflect integrated...
Correction for Reinhart et al., An open repository of real-time COVID-19 indicators
Correction for Liu et al., Occludin acts as a dynein adaptor regulating permeability and collateral angiogenesis
Policy snapshots cannot establish journal AI-policy failure
Reward prediction is encoded by orexin neuron activity during motivated behavior
Orexin neurons regulate physiological functions, such as energy homeostasis, wakefulness, and motivated behaviors. However, studies linking orexin neuron activity to behavior via selectively activatin...
Neural tissues and chondrostean traits in a Carboniferous actinopterygian
Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) represent over half of extant vertebrate species, but their early evolutionary history is largely unresolved. Current phylogenetic estimates, corroborated by discove...
More connections, higher polarization: The role of weak ties and status-driven dynamics
Proteostasis and unfolded protein response dynamics in human neuron/mouse glia co-cultures reveal a cell-specific maturation response
Proteostasis, or protein homeostasis, is a tightly regulated network of cellular pathways essential for maintaining proper protein folding, trafficking, and degradation. Neurons are particularly vulne...
Antimicrobial peptoids pass rapidly through bacterial membranes and flocculate ribosomes and DNA: A single-cell fluorescence study
Certain peptoids designed as mimics of host defense peptides such as LL-37 exhibit potent, broad-spectrum antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, and antiviral activity with minimal cytotoxicity. Pr...
Wind turbines do not appear to harm health, unlike fossil power plants
Local partisan context and mental health
We find that, relative to Republicans residing in more Republican neighborhoods, Republicans in neighborhoods with a higher concentration of Democratic residents report higher levels of anxiety, depre...
Optimal interventions to curb urban conflagration
Understanding the efficacy of wildfire mitigation policies is a clear first step toward curbing wildfire losses during an urban conflagration. In this study, we used a validated model to quantify the...
Natural history on canvas: Brueghel knew about bird-eating noctule bats
A recent study has provided the first direct evidence that the greater noctule bat ( Nyctalus lasiopterus ) preys on and consume nocturnally migrating passerine...
Charting light harvesting in purple bacteria in vivo
Understanding the remarkable quantum efficiency of solar energy collection in phototrophic bacteria requires a clear description of the functional connectivity between the individual complexes compris...
Assessing the foundations of forensic identification evidence: A critical examination of proficiency test design and results
Proficiency testing is widely used to assess expertise in medicine, engineering, and other high-stakes fields. In forensic science, such tests are often cited in court as evidence that pattern-compari...
Deuterated water and the formation of the satellites of Uranus
The satellites of Uranus orbit in a low-eccentricity, equatorial plane that is tilted by 98 ° relative to the solar system—a geometry that mirrors Uranus’s extr...
Competing models of hominin body size evolution
The evolutionary trajectory of hominin body size remains contested, with prior studies suggesting a gradual increase or lineage-specific shifts. Here, we apply Bayesian phylogenetic generalized linear...