Pregnancy

Recent articles

Illustration of cranes attempting to assemble a structure out of very small black squares.

In case you missed it: Standout news stories from 2024

These five stories—on the pregnant brain, a failed imaging method and more—top our list of some of the most notable neuroscience research findings this year.

By The Transmitter
23 December 2024 | 2 min read
Research image of brain scans showing the structural integrity of white-matter tracts.

Repeat scans reveal brain changes that precede childbirth

A detailed look at a “pregnant brain” highlights a need to investigate the neural alterations that occur during a transition experienced by nearly 140 million people worldwide each year.

By Shaena Montanari
16 September 2024 | 9 min listen
Research image of a chimeroid.

Brain ‘chimeroids’ reveal person-to-person differences rooted in genetics

These fusions created from multiple donors’ organoids may help scale up comparative brain research.

By Charles Q. Choi
5 July 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of a conveyor belt spilling pills over a green cliff face.

Acetaminophen use during pregnancy does not increase child’s chance of having autism, study finds

The link reported in prior studies likely reflects confounding factors, which sibling-matched controls in the new work address.

By Calli McMurray
9 April 2024 | 7 min read
A research image of a mouse brain

Immune-activation model mice escape infantile amnesia, retain early memories

Male pups born to mothers treated with immune-stimulating molecules show autism-like behaviors and, unlike wildtype animals, do not lose memories formed during early life.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
11 January 2024 | 5 min read
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

The true meaning of a null result

This edition of Null and Noteworthy highlights results that reveal the difficulty in drawing definitive conclusions from data, including new findings about epidurals that contradict several others and an apparent null result on sex differences that may derive from “circular logic.”

By Laura Dattaro
14 August 2023 | 4 min read
A multiplexed image of human decidua.

Atlas charts cells of human placenta, uterus across early pregnancy

A new resource gives an unparalleled look at how fetal placental cells attach to the uterine wall and remodel maternal blood vessels to access nutrients.

By Emily Hayes
27 July 2023 | 4 min read
Illustration of half of a brain on the left and half of a heart on the right

Change of heart and mind: Autism’s ties to cardiac defects

Children with congenital heart disease have an increased likelihood of autism. Why?

By Lauren Schenkman
21 July 2023 | 12 min read
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Prenatal exposures; Angelman trial suspension; autistic adult well-being

This month’s issue of the Null and Noteworthy newsletter breaks down some negative results involving prenatal exposures, an experimental treatment for Angelman syndrome, and the role that age at autism diagnosis plays in subsequent outcomes, and more.

By Emily Harris
17 July 2023 | 4 min read
A woman stands by a window while talking on the phone and holding a pill bottle.

Evidence linking acetaminophen to autism, ADHD under debate again

As acetaminophen lawsuits make their way through the U.S. court system, researchers reevaluate the quality of the evidence linking in-utero exposure to the painkiller to neurodevelopmental issues in children.

By Teresa Carr, Undark
12 July 2023 | 18 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Image of squirrels on a branch.

NeuroAI and the hidden complexity of agency

As we attempt to build autonomous artificial-intelligence systems, we're discovering that a capability we take for granted in animals may be much more complex than we imagined.

By Anthony Zador
5 February 2025 | 6 min read

Plaque levels differ in popular Alzheimer’s mouse model depending on which parent’s variants are passed down

5XFAD model mice that inherit two disease-related genes from their fathers have double the plaques seen in those with maternal inheritance, a new study shows.

By Shaena Montanari
4 February 2025 | 0 min watch
The word Doctored spelled out on pills.

‘Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s,’ an excerpt

In his new book, published today, investigative journalist Charles Piller tells the story of the scientific misconduct that shook Alzheimer’s disease research to its core, and the neuroscientist who helped to expose it.

By Charles Piller
4 February 2025 | 9 min read