PNAS Science Sessions

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Welcome to Science Sessions, the PNAS podcast program. Listen to brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in PNAS, plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

Last refreshed: July 22nd, 2025 at 7:07 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Incentivizing positive behaviors

David Laibson describes how behavioral economics can help incentivize positive behaviors.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Making commercial tomatoes taste better

Harry Klee explains how he is trying to make commercial tomatoes more flavorful.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Health risks from eating Fukushima-contaminated seafood

Nicholas Fisher discusses his recent study investigating the health risks associated with eating seafood contaminated with Fukushima-derived radioactivity.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Curbing dishonest form-filling

Nina Mazar discusses her recent study showing that where people sign a form affects how honestly they complete it.

Jun 10, 2019•6 min

Mapping the mouse connectome

Jeff Lichtman explains the promise and challenges tied to building a mouse connectome.

Jun 10, 2019•6 min

The diets of ancient hominins

Matt Sponheimer discusses what our ancient evolutionary ancestors may have eaten.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Interview with 2012 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Andrew Zammit-Mangion, Michael Dewar,Visakan Kadirkamanathan, and Guido Sanguinetti

Andrew Zammit-Mangion, Michael Dewar,Visakan Kadirkamanathan, and Guido Sanguinetti describe their statistical model of conflict dynamics and how they tested it using the WikiLeaks Afghan War Diary.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Interview with 2012 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Janet Braam and E. Wassim Chehab

Janet Braam and E. Wassim Chehab discuss how plants anticipate and defend against insect attacks.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Interview with 2012 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Paloma Gonzalez-Bellido, Hanchuan Peng, and Apostolos Georgopoulos

Paloma Gonzalez-Bellido, Hanchuan Peng, and Apostolos Georgopoulos describe their research on how dragonflies catch their prey.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Interview with 2012 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Sean Palecek and Xiaojun Lian

Sean Palecek and Xiaojun Lian describe their efficient method for converting stem cells into heart muscle cells.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Interview with 2012 Cozzarelli Prize Winners Clayton R. Magill and Katherine H. Freeman

Clayton R. Magill and Katherine H. Freeman discuss how water availability and ecosystem changes influenced early human habitats.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Interview with 2012 Cozzarelli Prize Winner Bob MacCallum

Bob MacCallum explores how music can evolve from noise based on listeners' preferences.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

The life beneath our feet

Diana Wall discusses how life in the soil may change in a warming world.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Engineering bacteria to curb malaria transmission

Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena describes how he engineered a symbiotic bacterium found in mosquito guts to block the transmission of the malaria parasite.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

The science of microbes

Julie Segre and Liliana Losada discuss human-microbe interactions in a recording of a PNAS Science Cafe event held in Washington, DC on February 27, 2013.

Jun 10, 2019•6 min

Taking science to the streets

John Durant talks about the role of science festivals in science literacy.

Jun 10, 2019•6 min

Microbial cell factories

Bernhard Palsson explains how bacteria can be used as factories to produce sustainable products.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Fly social networks

Joel Levine discusses his research on social interaction networks in fruit flies.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

What makes us human

Chet Sherwood explores the unique aspects of the human brain's anatomy and function

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Why music moves us

Thalia Wheatley and Beau Sievers discuss the structural similarities between music and movement.

Jun 10, 2019•3 sec

Social bacteria

E. Peter Greenberg explains how antisense RNA help regulate bacterial social interactions.

Jun 10, 2019•6 min

How mosquitos survive raindrops

David Hu describes his research on how mosquitos survive collisions with raindrops, which could help design better flying robots.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

The evolution of music from noise

Bob MacCallum explores how music can evolve from noise based on listeners' preferences.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

The science of biodiversity - Part 2

Merlin Hanauer and Chase Mendenhall discuss the science of biodiversity, in the second of two recordings of a PNAS Science Cafe event held in Washington, DC on October 17, 2012.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

The science of biodiversity - Part 1

Merlin Hanauer and Chase Mendenhall discuss the science of biodiversity, in the first of two recordings of a PNAS Science Cafe event held in Washington, DC on October 17, 2012.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Reshuffling in the human genome

Fred Alt discusses methods to map human chromosomal reshuffling.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Widespread lead poisoning in condors

Myra Finkelstein discusses her research showing that California condors are significantly threatened by lead from lead-based ammunition.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

Cancer nanomedicines

Chemical engineer Mark Davis discusses his research on nano-sized cancer therapeutics.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

How caffeine can help prevent cancer

Chemical biologist Allan Conney discusses his research on caffeine's anticancer properties.

Jun 10, 2019•4 min

Understanding the brain's architecture

Neuroscientist Charles F. Stevens discusses his research on finding the brain's underlying design principles.

Jun 10, 2019•5 min

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