Art in science

Recent articles

Drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal of a hypothesis for how signals travel through neurons.

‘Sacred objects’ display discredits Golgi and Ramón y Cajal’s rivalry: Q&A with curator Daniel Colón Ramos

A new exhibit that opened last week shows drawings from the influential duo side by side for the first time and recasts them as collaborators. It also reveals lessons for modern scholars.

By Claudia López Lloreda
10 December 2024 | 7 min read
Illustrated portrait of Kanaka Rajan.

How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan

The artistic approach can help explain complex ideas frame by frame without diluting the science, Rajan says.

By Olivia Gieger
9 October 2024 | 7 min read

Redrawing Santiago Ramón y Cajal: Q&A with Dawn Hunter

The painter and visual arts professor spent hours recreating Ramón y Cajal’s art and poring over his sketchbooks and self-portraits in the National Archives of Spain, uncovering unappreciated aspects of his techniques and influences.

By Rebecca Horne
4 June 2024 | 7 min read
Portrait of the interior designer Madeleine Castaing by the French painter Chaïm Soutine.

The creative brain—an edited excerpt from ‘Essays on Art and Science’

In his new book, neuroscientist Eric Kandel explores how sensory perception and higher-order cognitive processes influence our experience of art.

By Eric Kandel
19 March 2024 | 8 min read

Unmasking Alzheimer’s disease

People with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease describe why they enrolled in clinical trials through the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN), in a new book of portrait photography.

By Rebecca Horne
13 November 2023 | 2 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of portions of the adult dentate gyrus.

Machine learning spots neural progenitors in adult human brains

But the finding has not settled the long-standing debate over the existence and extent of neurogenesis during adulthood, says Yale University neuroscientist Juan Arellano.

By Claudia López Lloreda
3 July 2025 | 7 min listen

Xiao-Jing Wang outlines the future of theoretical neuroscience

Wang discusses why he decided the time was right for a new theoretical neuroscience textbook and how bifurcation is a key missing concept in neuroscience explanations.

By Paul Middlebrooks
2 July 2025 | 112 min listen
Overlapping speech bubbles.

Memory study sparks debate over statistical methods

Critics of a 2024 Nature paper suggest the authors failed to address the risk of false-positive findings. The authors argue more rigorous methods can result in missed leads.

By Katie Moisse
2 July 2025 | 5 min read