PNAS Nexus

2026 Issue 9 of PNAS Nexus is now available! Explore research on norms and uses to preserve human-led science; a nuclear archaeology reassesses Heisenberg’s last reactor experiment; the seven virtues of Samurai; and more. https://ow.ly/1TSL50ZUA6n

LLMs were prompted to correct people’s misperceptions about economic policy. The chatbots were 28% less persuasive when study participants were told that they were biased against the participant’s political party. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/sw335101q07

One of the most-discussed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences articles on Reddit last month was “Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin.” Explore the article: https://ow.ly/gvVT5101oX7

Could relying on AI summaries affect how deeply we learn? A Forbes commentary draws on a PNAS Nexus research article finding that LLM-based learning can produce shallower knowledge and less original advice. In Forbes: https://ow.ly/TOE251014Oy In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/7k5Q51014QI

Researchers developed a drug for Alzheimer's disease and discovered the molecule already exists in human blood, although in lower levels in people with cognitive impairment. They are now exploring the peptide as a biomarker as well as a treatment. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/tOyl51014xX

How did pitcher plants evolve their insect-trapping abilities? Explore their evolution with LabX's Tree of Life series and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Science Sessions. 🎧: https://ow.ly/8prH51014iF ▶️: https://ow.ly/6XlH510149G

🥧 The secret to perfect pie crust? It might be chemistry! Butter, shortening, or bacon fat? LabX's Chemists in the Kitchen puts different fats to the test to explore what makes a deliciously flaky crust. Dig into the experiment: https://ow.ly/Cwq45100mvn

Explore the unusual side of science in a classic Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Science Sessions episode. 🦇 What can mysterious swamp lights and bats’ vision teach us about the natural world? Revisit two unusual research stories this spooky season.🎧Listen: https://ow.ly/l5NL5100mAY

A Perspective calls for a Discovery Compact for science: an agreement that treats scientific discovery as essential infrastructure and goes beyond simply returning to the funding levels and predictability of the postwar era. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/iBF45100mbx

The new PNAS Early-Career Researcher Portal includes resources to help emerging researchers better understand publishing, peer review, submission requirements, and opportunities to engage with Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and PNAS Nexus. Explore now: https://ow.ly/nfjs5100mFm

In this week’s Advance Articles: Social signal and norm misperception; MASLD-Mitochondrial digital twin; and governing global capital. Explore now: https://ow.ly/zO2o5100aSB

A Bayesian model forecasts where mass shootings are most likely to occur in the United States. Firearm access, derived from the density of federal firearms licenses, emerged as the dominant predictor of risk in the model. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/N3A151008Ht

Discover one of the top-performing PNAS Nexus articles on Altmetric for the past three months! “Nanotubes enable intercellular communication in early-branching eukaryotes” by Suma et al. scored 72—driven by strong media attention. Read more: https://ow.ly/GLAQ5100b76

One of the most-viewed PNAS Nexus articles in the last week is “Broadcast ritual dynamics among US Catholics during the 2025 papal conclave.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/Z0z650ZZpxm To learn more about submitting your own research, visit PNAS Nexus at https://ow.ly/okxA50ZZpxl.

Discover one of the most talked-about PNAS Nexus articles on Altmetric over the past three months! “Why the mortality penalty of smoking is rising over time” by R. Lawton et al. earned an Altmetric score of 101, driven by strong media coverage. Read more: https://ow.ly/p89q50ZZpkk

LLMs were prompted to correct people’s misperceptions about economic policy. The chatbots were 28% less persuasive when study participants were told that they were biased against the participant’s political party. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/w1sW50ZZorw

Discover peer-reviewed plant biology research from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1! 🌱 From plant–microbe symbiosis to nutrient uptake and environmental interactions, explore studies advancing sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, and innovation. https://ow.ly/ABW850ZZoQc

Most AI neural networks rely on backpropagation, but biological neurons don’t appear to use the same learning mechanism . The Product Feedback Alignment (PFA) algorithm approximates backpropagation while addressing this weight symmetry problem. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/YHk550ZZ3jz

An analysis of surviving uranium cubes suggests the country’s final reactor experiment required far more materials than were available during WWII. In Science Magazine: https://ow.ly/NLnM50ZZ594 In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/sYvS50ZZ51Z

Around the world, 15-year-old boys are less likely to agree that “trying hard at school is important” than 15-year-old girls, and this gap—which is largest in the most-developed countries—may help explain why boys underperform girls in education. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/SEZL50ZZ3fF

One of the most-discussed PNAS Nexus articles on Reddit last month was “Like humans, language models demonstrate face-to-character biases.” Explore the article: https://ow.ly/6Up350ZZ3Aj

🥕 Soup season just got scientific! Roasted or boiled—which carrots make the better soup? Join LabX's Chemists in the Kitchen as they experiment with cooking techniques and explore the science behind a cozy classic. See what's simmering: https://ow.ly/VcPE50ZYvaW

What can skeletal remains reveal about gender inequality? 💀 From the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Science Sessions archive, discover how ancient dental records and modern surveys reveal gender bias across generations. 🎧 Listen now: https://ow.ly/gLa550ZYw1U

Watch interviews with the 2025 Cozzarelli Prize winners and discover their award-winning research! 🏆 https://ow.ly/BJS250ZYwK4 Read a standout Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper this year? Submit a nomination! https://ow.ly/cuBl50ZYwLc

In this week’s Advance Articles: Deformation of hard magnetic soft matter, programmable extracellular matrix heterogeneity, arterial stiffness from a single distal velocity waveform, and more. https://ow.ly/BKbz50ZYvkO

Work-life balance is often blamed for the gender gap at senior levels in academia, but a survey of thousands of current and former tenure-line faculty across the United States finds that feeling devalued at work may be a major contributor. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/bTnv50ZYum9

How does segregation shape urban ecosystems? A Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Special Feature explores how spatial exclusion intersects with environmental conditions, infrastructure, biodiversity, and climate adaptation across cities worldwide. Explore the research:

One of the most-viewed PNAS Nexus articles in the last week is “Nuclear archaeology reassesses Heisenberg’s last reactor experiment.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/Y5WT50ZXc9W To learn more about submitting your own research, visit PNAS Nexus at https://ow.ly/gNqw50ZXc9V.

Spooky season is taking flight. 🦇 Revisit a classic from the Science Sessions archive and discover how bats use echolocation (and an innate sense of the speed of sound) to navigate the world around them. 🎧Listen now in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: https://ow.ly/1gkI50ZXeGs

When air quality is categorized as “Hazardous” or “Very Unhealthy” in urban China, usage spikes on the Ant Forest program embedded in the Alipay app. Ant Forest offers to plant trees for users in exchange for actions that reduce climate emissions. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/w1ki50ZXbYP

In this week’s Advance Articles explore MgSiO3 liquid-crystal similarities, multiscale complexity in networks, signal weighting in adaptive systems, and more. Explore now: https://ow.ly/Arai50ZXbbZ

Researchers surveyed 117 US Catholics four times during the 2025 papal conclave to study how shared emotion and group identity evolve during live-broadcast rituals. Collective enthusiasm peaked at the “Habemus Papam” announcement. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/r0J850ZWW0W

A study in the UK finds that when researching controversial topics such as climate change, immigration, criminal justice, or COVID-19 policy, AI chatbots may perform on par with a self-directed Google search in terms of accuracy. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/Rpfp50ZWW0F

One of the most-discussed PNAS Nexus articles on Reddit last month was “Like humans, language models demonstrate face-to-character biases.” Explore the article: https://ow.ly/bGr450ZWW3A

Explore peer-reviewed research in demography from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, including population dynamics, demographic transitions, and census methodologies. Discover articles that inform social policy, healthcare planning, and economic development: https://ow.ly/Vaza50ZWonz

Nominations for the 2026 Cozzarelli Prize are now open! Each year, six outstanding Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences articles are honored for their significant contributions to their fields. Submit a nomination today: https://ow.ly/h4yB50ZWoR2

More than 41,000 people played a quiz game about famous people. The data show that people are about 10 percentage points more likely to get questions right when asked about a person from their own country rather than from a foreign country. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/3on850ZWqz9

The National Academy of Engineering’s Fall 2026 issue of The Bridge explores how engineering, medicine, and the life sciences are creating new possibilities for improving human health. Explore the issue: https://ow.ly/2xYW50ZWpzO

A more-diverse-than-average suite of complex molecules has been proposed as a signature of life in the universe. A modeling study of spatially complex environments helps define the boundaries of abiotic complexity. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/iJnO50ZWmt6

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has joined ResearchGate’s Journal Home, bringing full-text PNAS research to a global community of more than 25 million researchers and expanding opportunities for discovery and engagement. Learn more about the partnership: https://ow.ly/n5jV50ZWptZ

One of the most-viewed PNAS Nexus articles in the last week is “Why the mortality penalty of smoking is rising over time.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/HU0a50ZV4Hy To learn more about submitting your own research, visit PNAS Nexus at https://ow.ly/XR7350ZV4Hz.

🌍 #SDG2: Zero Hunger How can high-yield agriculture support climate-smart policy? A Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study examines its potential to reduce land-use emissions, offering insights for progress toward the #GlobalGoals. Read the article: https://ow.ly/q10X50ZV4sa

Computational language analysis helps explain why the book Bushido: The Soul of Japan was so popular among Western audiences. The study sheds light on how cultural traditions can reach new societies without losing their core meanings. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/UynW50ZV50L

The Ecology of Segregation in Cities Special Feature examines disparities in access to nature, exposure to environmental hazards, and pathways toward more equitable, resilient cities. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: https://ow.ly/f4fP50ZV2CR

Does faster information mean better learning? Research finds learning from LLM summaries vs. web search may lead to shallower knowledge and less original advice. In Search Engine Journall: https://ow.ly/nV6k50ZUJ0I In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/Ssrs50ZUJ1M

Can complex networks be modeled with less computational work? Researchers developed HierX to efficiently model distance-decay potential fields, using Great Britain’s road network as a test case. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/cS3O50ZUzea

Explore peer-reviewed astronomy research from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, including exoplanets, dark matter, cosmic radiation, lunar volatiles, and large-scale astrophysical phenomena. Discover articles that deepen our knowledge of the cosmos: https://ow.ly/q3BO50ZUzYM

Researchers presented 21 LLMs with ethical dilemmas to explore their social norms when interacting with people who do not cooperate. Differences between models could steer people, and society, in more or less cooperative directions. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/Ujkf50ZU2a1

An analysis of two of the 14 remaining cubes of uranium from the German WWII nuclear project, along with historical records, reveals that the Nazis wouldn’t have been able to create a working bomb with the materials available to them. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/KVNO50ZU1Sa

What can DNA reveal about connections across the Tree of Life? 🧬🌳 Discover Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences research on the evolutionary history linking species, then watch those connections come to life with LabX. Read: https://ow.ly/o43w50ZU1Oi Watch: https://ow.ly/HnLo50ZU1I3