Probing the die-off of Pacific oysters
PNAS Science Sessions
A giant virus associated with oyster aquaculture mortality Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Curtis Suttle and Kevin Xu Zhong explain how a previously unidentified virus may be connected to mass die-offs of farmed Pacific oysters. In...
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Swamp lights and bat sight
PNAS Science Sessions
Swamp lights and bat sight Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, researchers explore two spooky mysteries: the source of will-o’-the-wisps and how bats integrate vision with echolocation. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00]...
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Enzyme linked with brain evolution
PNAS Science Sessions
Implications of a mutation in modern humans Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Xiangchun Ju and Svante Pääbo explore the evolutionary implications of a mutation that separates modern humans from ancestral hominins. In this episode,...
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Where primates evolved
PNAS Science Sessions
Where primates evolved Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Jorge Avaria-Llautureo and Chris Venditti explain why the evolution of primates likely occurred in cold, dry climates rather than in tropical forests. In this episode, we...
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How climate change alters lake oxygen levels
PNAS Science Sessions
Climate change and lake oxygenation Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Joachim Jansen explains how climate change altered cycles of oxygenation in lakes. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction. •[00:56] Limnologist...
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Unpacking the unreturnable squash nick shot
PNAS Science Sessions
The physics of the squash nick shot Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Roberto Zenit explains the physics behind the unanswerable nick shot in the game of squash. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction. •[00:56] Engineer...
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North America's oldest pterosaur fossil
PNAS Science Sessions
A pterosaur and its ecosystem at the end of the Triassic Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Kay Behrensmeyer and Ben Kligman describe what a fossil bone bed in Arizona reveals about a 209-million-year-old pterosaur and its ecosystem....
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Exploring the origins of a glacial relict seal
PNAS Science Sessions
The postglacial history of the Saimaa ringed seal Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Jaakko Pohjoismäki, Jukka Jernvall, and Ari Löytynoja discuss the evolutionary history of the Saimaa ringed seal. In this episode, we cover:...
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Conservation of the Eastern Black Rhinoceros
PNAS Science Sessions
Managing eastern black rhinoceros populations with genetic studies Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Barbara Mable and Ronald Mellya show how allowing endangered rhinos to move between populations enhances genetic diversity. In this...
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Rescuing the northern white rhino
PNAS Science Sessions
A reference genome aids efforts to rescue the northern white rhinoceros Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Franz-Josef Müller explains genomic tools to aid the functionally extinct northern white rhinoceros. In this episode, we...
info_outlineHow pathogen stowaways traversed the oceans
Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.
In this episode, Jamie Lloyd-Smith and Elizabeth Blackmore describe how they modeled the epidemiology of pathogens on ocean voyages.
In this episode, we cover:
•[00:00] Introduction
•[01:04] Integrative scientist Jamie Lloyd-Smith and disease ecologist Elizabeth Blackmore describe how they came to study the epidemiology of ocean travel.
•[03:21] Blackmore and Lloyd-Smith explain why they focused on three pathogens: influenza, measles, and smallpox.
•[04:13] Lloyd-Smith explains the results of the disease model, with pathogen biology, passenger number, and journey length factoring into the duration of shipboard outbreaks.
•[05:05] Blackmore details the additional insights provided by newspaper records of ship arrivals in 1850s San Francisco.
•[06:57] Lloyd-Smith and Blackmore talk about the caveats and limitations of the study.
•[08:02] Blackmore and Lloyd-Smith explore potential next steps.
•[09:47] Conclusion.
About Our Guests:
Jamie Lloyd-Smith
Professor
University of California, Los Angeles
Elizabeth Blackmore
Doctoral student
Yale University
View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2400425121
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