The hihi is among New Zealand’s rarest birds. A study finds that early embryo mortality accounts for over half of hatching failures, whereas just 17% were caused by fertilization failure. The findings could help conservationists save the species. In PNAS: ow.ly/Hp8p50T9XHK

Archeologists excavating Ilé-Ifè in southwestern Nigeria have found evidence of wheat and cotton—both crops originally from outside West Africa—as early as the 13th century, suggesting a highly developed trade in commodity crops across Africa. In PNAS: ow.ly/iAgA50Ta5yy

Read highlights in this week’s issue of PNAS: We study how mosquitoes sense humidity, explore co-evolution in diatoms and copepods, and learn how radio jets prevent galaxy growth. ow.ly/GyGI50T96Km

Opinion piece: Pausing the #TenureClock sounds great, but it can have significant downsides, including negative effects on lifetime earnings. Here’s how #EarlyCareerResearchers can avoid pitfalls—and how institutions can improve their policies: ow.ly/J72h50Ta60T

Honeybees eat nectar and pollen, a diet of up to 60% sugar. So why don’t they get diabetes? A study of the bee’s gut microbiota investigates the role of the bacterial metabolite succinate, which activates genes for an insulin-like peptide. In PNAS: ow.ly/eUEF50Ta5u9

Researchers engineered synthetic cells with inner compartments resembling nuclei, by using an oil and water layering technique, potentially paving the way for biotech microdevices. In PNAS: ow.ly/aO2b50Ta5Er

Stay informed with the latest scientific research, news, and commentary with PNAS Highlights, the free bi-monthly newsletter from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Sign up here: ow.ly/1afL50Ta9gI

#ClimateChange is drying out #canopy plants, which could mean less water for the entire #rainforest. A PNAS News Feature in partnership with Pulitzer Center: ow.ly/jWPx50Ta6RW #CloudForest #epiphytes #orchids #ferns #CostaRica #hydrology #trees #ecophysiology

To enjoy music, one must be able to perceive the boundaries between musical phrases. An fMRI study of 18 musicians and 18 nonmusicians listening to music captures two functional networks potentially involved in processing boundary transitions. In PNAS: ow.ly/KecO50Ta5Ln

Habitat fragmentation has divided wild giant pandas into 33 isolated subpopulations. A genomic analysis of over 600 pandas finds that captive pandas have lower levels of inbreeding and deleterious mutations than their wild relatives. In PNAS: ow.ly/wfy550Ta5NF

Should you use ChatGPT as your research assistant? Systematic tests suggest the AI text generator is a poor curator of scientific articles but a surprisingly good research ethicist. Its greatest weakness? Predicting novel data. In PNAS: ow.ly/uXEw50Ta5ST

Dive into Susan T. Lovett’s groundbreaking research on the SOS response and SspA’s role in replication stress. As a leading molecular biologist and National Academy of Sciences member, she discusses new insights into DNA repair and antibiotic resistance. Read the QnAs: ow.ly/KNif50Ta92r

Is global behavioral science research possible? In PNASNews , Andrés Gvirtz and I unpack the issue of sample diversity. Our world map shows that Asian, African, and South American countries remain largely missing from leading data collection platforms. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2…

How does #ketamine work to alleviate #depression? At least in part, ketamine interrupts machine gun-like #NeuralActivity in the #brain. In PNAS Journal Club: ow.ly/TtnX50TfUob #brain #LateralHabenula

In this issue: Paternal imprinting and x chromosome inactivation; co-evolution in diatoms and copepods; and early medieval elites in post-Roman Italy. ow.ly/FKZ850TfUrX

In the latest Science Sessions episode, Funing Li of MIT and Dan Chavas of Purdue University discuss how the Gulf of Mexico's smooth surface influences tornado formation in Tornado Alley. Listen now: ow.ly/z8nc50TfUvA

Carbon financing systems prioritize protecting forests with historically high levels of deforestation—potentially overlooking forests with historically low levels of deforestation that could face increased pressure in the future. In PNAS: ow.ly/qOGO50TgseW

A study in mice confirms an inverse relationship, mediated by gut microbiota, between colorectal cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Prevotella molecules inhibited tumors but made the intestines more permeable and caused cognitive decline. In PNAS: ow.ly/M6IN50Tgsye

The rainforest’s #CanopyPlants hold vast amounts of water. What happens when #ClimateChange dries out these cisterns? Researchers are climbing into the trees to investigate. A PNAS News Feature: ow.ly/bYCe50TgsHF #epiphytes #CostaRica #hydrology #trees #ecophysiology

Many reptiles' sex depends on egg temperature. A study of red-eared slider turtles explores the temperature-dependent genetic pathway to ovary development through the transcription factor pSTAT3 and the sex-determining gene FoxI2. In PNAS: ow.ly/LaSM50TgKmc