Policy

Recent articles

Piggy bank with half of its body replaced by a brain.

Neuroscientists reeling from past cuts advocate for more BRAIN Initiative funding

The director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health calls BRAIN a “high priority” but acknowledges that difficult decisions lie ahead if federal budgets remain flat.

By Angie Voyles Askham
22 November 2024 | 5 min read
Photo of the U.S. Capitol Building.

In updated U.S. autism bill, Congress calls for funding boost, expanded scope

The current Autism CARES Act sunsets in late September.

By Rachel Zamzow
5 September 2024 | 6 min listen
A photograph of a scientist holding a cannabis plant

Cannabis may be rescheduled–what does it mean for neuroscience?

The drug could become much easier to access, increasing the number of researchers who can work with it and the manufacturers who can produce it.

By Gina Jiménez
22 May 2024 | 6 min read
Hands pull apart a pie chart.

What neuroscientists should know—and what they can do—about changes to BRAIN initiative funding

Many grant proposals submitted to the program in the past year are unlikely to be funded, according to people within the National Institutes of Health. But scientist advocates are reaching out to congressional representatives to try to make changes for 2025.

By Angie Voyles Askham
2 May 2024 | 7 min read
Illustration of hands of different colors reaching out to untangle string that is covering a sheet of paper with text on it.

NIH seeks input on how structural racism affects brain research, health

The feedback could lead to “novel ways” to conduct studies and reduce health disparities, a National Institutes of Health employee says.

By Calli McMurray
17 April 2024 | 8 min listen
Photograph of a cuttlefish underwater.

Knowledge gaps in cephalopod care could stall welfare standards

The U.S. National Institutes of Health wants to regulate research involving cephalopods. But there aren’t enough rigorous studies to base the regulations on, veteran cephalopod researchers say.

By Calli McMurray
13 March 2024 | 10 min listen
A line of airplanes flies across the sky.

Neuroscientists weigh carbon costs of attending annual meeting

Travel to the Society for Neuroscience conference is responsible for tens of thousands of metric tons of carbon emissions, according to a new study, but neuroscientists have yet to agree on what that should mean for the future of the in-person meeting.

By Angie Voyles Askham, Shaena Montanari
6 November 2023 | 7 min read
A scientist looks into a microscope

Raising the bar for stem cell research: Q&A with Jack Mosher

New quality benchmarks for basic research involving stem cells promise to improve rigor and reproducibility, says Mosher, who helped develop the standards.

By Lauren Schenkman
10 October 2023 | 7 min read
Marchers in St. Petersburg, Florida protest anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Neuroscience group to relocate 2025 meeting slated for Florida

Going forward, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology plans to gather at “non-discriminatory sites,” following the passage of Florida laws targeting LGBTQ+ people and reproductive rights.

By Emmet Fraizer
5 October 2023 | 4 min read
Young child stacks colored blocks on a table.

High prevalence of developmental delay strains Australia’s support systems

The nation needs to build capacity to support the roughly 20 percent of children in Australia who have developmental delay.

By Andrew Whitehouse
1 September 2023 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of distorted lines of different colors being pulled into a box where they are smoothed in a single multicolored line.

The Transmitter’s favorite essays and columns of 2024

From sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease to enduring citation bias, experts weighed in on important scientific and practical issues in neuroscience.

By The Transmitter
23 December 2024 | 2 min read
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Say what? The Transmitter’s top quotes of 2024

“We’ve cured mouse-heimer’s thousands of times...”—find out who said this to a Transmitter reporter, and read our other favorite quotes from the past year.

By The Transmitter
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The Transmitter’s favorite podcasts of 2024

Our picks include a deep dive into dopamine, the role of PKMzeta in memory, and studying the stomatogastric ganglion.

By The Transmitter
23 December 2024 | 1 min read