Cellular neuroscience

Recent articles

Research image of whole-brain 3D visualizations of pixels colored by their corresponding lipizone.

Lipids enter brain mapping limelight

Two new studies, including the first whole-brain lipid atlas in mice, uncover unforeseen complexity and influence during pregnancy and aging.

By Lauren Schenkman
27 October 2026 | 6 min read

Microglia scoop out garbage from inside neurons

Through a newly identified process called skoupocytosis, neurons recruit the immune cells to remove cellular waste they find hard to deal with themselves.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
23 September 2026 | 0 min watch
Cortical organoids.

Five-year-old human brain organoids aged on schedule

The cultured spheres typically mimic only prenatal development, but the five-year-old ones grown in Paola Arlotta’s lab acquired postnatal features.

By Claudia López Lloreda
19 August 2026 | 5 min read

Textbook model of hippocampus’s role in memory may need updating

The CA3 region, long thought to have just one circuit, has two, sporting different wiring and functions, a new preprint suggests.

By Alissa de Chassey
4 August 2026 | 5 min read
Illustration of cells converting from fibroblasts to myoblasts.

This paper changed my life: Learning the molecular rules of cell identity

A 1987 Cell paper showed that a single transcription factor could turn fibroblasts into muscle cells. The work inspired Ardem Patapoutian to think about the molecular codes that define neuronal subtypes.

By Ardem Patapoutian
17 June 2026 | 6 min read
Research image of patterns of expression of autosomal genes.

Gene activity in human cortex shows striking sex differences

The results mark a “dramatic shift” in how neuroscientists think about sex differences, and they may help explain sex biases in certain neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental conditions.

By Lauren Schenkman
5 May 2026 | 5 min read
Research image showing more glucose in the bird retina than the bird brain.

Inner retina of birds powers sight sans oxygen

The energy-intensive neural tissue relies instead on anaerobic glucose metabolism provided by the pecten oculi, a structure unique to the avian eye.

By Federica Sgorbissa
18 February 2026 | 4 min read
Research image of stem cells derived from people of African ancestry.

Bringing African ancestry into cellular neuroscience

Two independent teams in Africa are developing stem cell lines and organoids from local populations to explore neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions.

By Lauren Schenkman
14 January 2026 | 7 min read
Research image of astrocytic activation in mice.

Engrams in amygdala lean on astrocytes to solidify memories

Disrupting the astrocyte-neuronal dynamic in mice destabilizes their memory of fear conditioning.

By Lauren Schneider
15 October 2025 | 5 min read

Cell ‘antennae’ link autism, congenital heart disease

Variants in genes tied to both conditions derail the formation of cilia, the tiny hair-like structure found on almost every cell in the body, a new study finds.

By Lauren Schenkman
24 July 2025 | 0 min watch

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of cake with genetic code inside.

The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain

During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.

By Ila Fiete
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
Illustration of four faces of a rhesus macaque transitioning from opaque to transparent.

Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle

Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.

By Diana Kwon
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
A measuring cup with a whirlpool in it.

When is self-organization a mechanism in brain development?

Retinal waves offer a powerful example of a self-organizing system that can build structure without external guidance. The field would do well to embrace such phenomena more broadly as a type of mechanistic explanation.

By P. Robin Hiesinger
2 November 2026 | 6 min read