Front Matter

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A special kind of electrical discharge at the base of a volcanic ash plume could signal from afar that an eruption has commenced.

Volcano eruption.

Profiles / Retrospectives / QnAs

Science Sessions Podcast

Tropical forests in the Anthropocene – Part 2

A tropical island.

A collection of research articles explores how tropical ecosystems have borne the brunt of the human impact on the environment.

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About

PNAS Front Matter delves into the stories of science. The section’s News Features cover research trends in depth, Opinion pieces further the debate on topics of interest to scientists and other readers with a keen interest in science, Inner Workings explore cutting-edge methods or approaches, Core Concepts are substantive explanations of timely terms, and Science and Culture articles feature intersections between research and aspects of culture. Journal Club blog posts are short news stories featuring a recent important, timely journal article selected by one of our Journal Club panelists, who are postdocs and graduate students in NAS members’ labs.

Science Sessions podcasts present brief conversations on topics relevant to today's scientific community, Profiles highlight the life and work of NAS members, QnAs are conversations with PNAS authors, and Retrospectives memorialize recently deceased NAS members.