Hacker News
- Too many new papers may mean novel ideas rarely rack up citations http://blog.pnas.org/2021/10/is-scientific-progress-waning-too-many-new-papers-may-mean-novel-ideas-rarely-rack-up-citations/ 229 comments
- When ecosystems collapse, they can be tough to fix. But a new study (in physics) suggests that complex networks have a sweet spot, where even tiny interventions can shift them back to desirable states https://blog.pnas.org/2022/02/minor-interventions-may-mitigate-network-collapse-in-arenas-ranging-from-ecology-to-medicine/ 5 comments science
- Predicting Earth's Anthropocene future requires models to consider both biogeochemical processes, and human social and political decisions. But most existing models only do one or the other. A new study presents a framework to combine them. http://blog.pnas.org/2021/12/a-guidebook-to-incorporate-changing-human-behaviors-into-planetary-models/?preview=true&preview_id=4417&preview_nonce=5f5778ec8f 8 comments science
- Jellyfish have more complicated mental lives than we imagined. A new study in Cell used transgenic jellies to probe nervous system function, and found a surprising degree of organization for a critter without a brain. http://blog.pnas.org/2021/12/jellyfish-species-proves-its-mettle-as-a-neurobiology-model-organism/ 31 comments science
- Too many new research papers may mean novel ideas rarely rack up citations, according to analysis of 90 million papers http://blog.pnas.org/2021/10/is-scientific-progress-waning-too-many-new-papers-may-mean-novel-ideas-rarely-rack-up-citations/ 5 comments science
- Is scientific progress waning? Too many new papers may mean novel ideas rarely rack up citations http://blog.pnas.org/2021/10/is-scientific-progress-waning-too-many-new-papers-may-mean-novel-ideas-rarely-rack-up-citations/ 19 comments science
- Collective frustration sparks riots, mass violence regardless of age, politics, or gender according to new experimental psychology research using video game simulations. http://blog.pnas.org/2021/10/frustrations-can-combust-into-a-riot-regardless-of-age-politics-or-gender/ 19 comments science
- Using a group of 50 simple robots, new research found a surprise: smaller, less connected social networks spread information more effectively than larger, more connected networks. http://blog.pnas.org/2021/08/robot-swarms-communicate-best-when-messages-spread-neighbor-to-neighbor/ 6 comments science
- 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, those with most actual influence are often on periphery of the social network. http://blog.pnas.org/2021/07/well-connected-members-of-tight-knit-groups-spread-controversial-ideas-much-more-readily-than-influencers/ 3 comments science
- How does an idea spread? New models suggest complex ideas build momentum on the periphery of social networks, in small, well-connected groups before going viral. http://blog.pnas.org/2021/07/well-connected-members-of-tight-knit-groups-spread-controversial-ideas-much-more-readily-than-influencers/ 10 comments science
- Surveys of Deaf Community suggest how SARS-CoV-2 invades the lungs: Through talking http://blog.pnas.org/2021/07/study-suggests-mask-wearing-reduces-the-odds-of-self-infection-with-sars-cov-2/ 10 comments science
- Degradable plastic polymer breaks down in sunlight and air http://blog.pnas.org/2021/07/degradable-plastic-polymer-breaks-down-in-sunlight-and-air/ 30 comments science
- In video game study, researchers find that harmful social behaviors are the toughest to change http://blog.pnas.org/2021/06/harmful-social-behaviors-are-the-toughest-to-shift/ 3 comments science
- The transition between the Middle and Later Stone Age is controversial. Recent findings from coastal Kenya suggest the shift occurred 67,000-71,000 years ago, and has as its hallmark a sudden abundance of small, sharp, fine-grained stone tools. http://blog.pnas.org/2021/04/small-sharp-blades-mark-the-change-from-middle-to-later-stone-age-in-coastal-kenya/ 5 comments science
- More than a dozen archaeological surveys from early cities in Mesopotamia suggest those settlements may have faltered from overpopulation before climate-driven collapse ~4,200 years ago. How ancient societies responded to climate change could inform modern resilience. http://blog.pnas.org/2021/02/in-mesopotamia-early-cities-may-have-faltered-before-climate-driven-collapse/ 11 comments science
- Another example that environmental justice is social justice: A new mixed methods India-based study finds that local community involvement is an early predictor of long-term success for tree-planting projects that sequester carbon. http://blog.pnas.org/2021/01/to-predict-the-success-of-tree-planting-schemes-look-to-villagers-involvement/ 4 comments science
- New computer science technique builds animal brain–like spontaneity into AI http://blog.pnas.org/2020/11/new-technique-builds-animal-brain-like-spontaneity-into-ai/ 7 comments science
- People with a strong need to see the world as structured, organized, and predictable are more likely to dismiss journalism as "fake news" according to a series of six studies with more than 2,800 participants. http://blog.pnas.org/2020/06/people-who-are-likely-to-dismiss-journalism-as-fake-news-tend-to-believe-the-world-is-predictable/ 22 comments science
- Neurons in the hippocampus construct the mental map that animals use to navigate. A new imaging study of hippocampal neurons in mice found that the brain can actually make several maps of the same location- in this case a mouse track- upending the dogma that there's one map per environment. http://blog.pnas.org/2020/04/neurons-in-the-hippocampus-can-make-several-different-maps-of-the-same-environment/ 6 comments science
- Molecular evidence supports Darwin’s adaptationist view, rather than Kimura's neutral theory, informing the debate over what drives evolution http://blog.pnas.org/2020/02/molecular-evidence-supports-darwins-adaptationist-view-informing-the-debate-over-what-drives-evolution/ 74 comments science
- Recent study uncovers new privacy worries for direct-to-consumer DNA testing http://blog.pnas.org/2020/02/study-uncovers-new-privacy-worries-for-direct-to-consumer-dna-testing/ 8 comments science
- Damaged reefs get quieter, causing fewer fish to hear their way home http://blog.pnas.org/2018/04/journal-club-damaged-reefs-get-quieter-causing-fewer-fish-to-hear-their-way-home/ 7 comments science
- New clues emerge in debate on the evasive biochemical mechanism of general anesthetics http://blog.pnas.org/2018/01/journal-club-new-clues-in-the-mystery-of-the-mechanism-of-general-anesthetics/ 4 comments science
- New technique lights up the brain's connectome, tracking signals across neuronal populations http://blog.pnas.org/2017/12/journal-club-new-technique-lights-up-the-connectome-tracking-signals-across-neuronal-populations/ 7 comments science
- Cells use waves to regulate mitosis, suggesting similar wave dynamics as myriad natural phenomena http://blog.pnas.org/2017/12/journal-club-cells-use-waves-to-regulate-mitosis-suggesting-similar-wave-dynamics-as-myriad-natural-phenomena/ 26 comments science
- Taking advantage of graphene’s special properties, physicists experimentally observed a stream of record-breaking electrons that move with a conductance exceeding the limit theorists established decades ago http://blog.pnas.org/2017/09/journal-club-first-observation-of-superballistic-electrons-flowing-like-a-viscous-fluid-in-graphene/ 6 comments science
- Unpacking wheat’s molecular response to sun exposure changes could suggest ways to increase yield http://blog.pnas.org/2017/08/journal-club-wheats-molecular-response-to-full-sun-exposure-could-suggest-ways-to-increase-yield/ 4 comments science
- Potential life could have spread with relative ease amongst newly-discovered group of TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets, according to model http://blog.pnas.org/2017/03/journal-club-potential-life-could-have-spread-with-relative-ease-amongst-newly-discovered-group-of-seven-exoplanets/ 6 comments science
- Phosphorylation has surprisingly big role in circadian clocks http://blog.pnas.org/2017/02/journal-club-phosphorylation-has-surprisingly-big-role-in-control-of-circadian-clocks/ 3 comments science
- Transmissible vaccines might play a major role in eradicating diseases according to new models http://blog.pnas.org/2016/11/journal-club-can-transmissible-vaccines-have-a-major-role-in-eradicating-disease/ 78 comments science
- How your body feels influences your confidence levels http://blog.pnas.org/2016/11/journal-club-how-your-body-feels-influences-your-confidence-levels/ 10 comments science
- How much you think you understand depends on what you believe others understand http://blog.pnas.org/2016/10/journal-club-how-much-you-think-you-understand-depends-what-you-believe-others-understand/ 4 comments science
- Extremophiles captured from normal freshwater lake http://blog.pnas.org/2016/10/journal-club-extremophiles-captured-from-normal-freshwater-lake/ 11 comments science
- Childhood adversities correlated with shortened telomeres, poorer health later in life http://blog.pnas.org/2016/10/journal-club-childhood-adversities-correlated-with-shortened-telomeres-poorer-health-later-in-life/ 3 comments science
- Friction of the vacuum could slow the rotation of pulsars http://blog.pnas.org/2016/08/journal-club-friction-of-the-vacuum-could-slow-the-rotation-of-pulsars/ 13 comments science
- Low-calorie diets might improve effectiveness of cancer treatments http://blog.pnas.org/2016/07/journal-club-low-calorie-diets-might-improve-effectiveness-of-cancer-treatments/ 5 comments science
- Landscape connectivity is key to future animal migration needs in the United States http://blog.pnas.org/2016/06/journal-club-landscape-connectivity-key-to-future-animal-migration-needs-in-the-united-states/ 7 comments science
- Ancient pottery harbors 5,000-year-old beer recipe http://blog.pnas.org/2016/05/journal-club-ancient-pottery-harbors-5000-year-old-beer-recipe/ 374 comments science
- Rule-breaking microbe lacks mitochondria http://blog.pnas.org/2016/05/journal-club-rule-breaking-microbe-lacks-mitochondria/ 4 comments science
- Ancient Chinese may have cultivated grass seeds 30,000 years ago, around the same time as in Europe and western Asia http://blog.pnas.org/2016/03/journal-club-ancient-chinese-may-have-cultivated-grass-seeds-30000-years-ago/ 6 comments science