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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
A curly line connects two pencils that are hovering over overlapping speech bubbles.

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
23 December 2024 | 2 min read
Illustration of a person holding a box that is emitting laser-like beams and projecting a large curved black surface.

Imagining the ultimate systems neuroscience paper

A growing body of papers on systems neuroscience and on giant simulations of neural circuits involves data beyond the point that anyone can reasonably understand end to end. Looking ahead, “paper-bots” could solve that problem.

By Mark Humphries
2 December 2024 | 8 min read
Two surreal heads touch each other’s faces.

The case for redefining ‘theory of mind’: Q&A with François Quesque

In a new commentary, Quesque and 44 experts in neuroscience and psychology propose a standardized lexicon for research on the attribution of mental states.

By Lauren Schenkman
10 October 2024 | 7 min read
Bret Rutherford.

Former Columbia University psychiatrist committed research misconduct, says federal watchdog

Bret Rutherford, whose research was halted following a suicide in a clinical trial, falsely reported participant eligibility, according to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity.

By Brendan Borrell, Ellie Kincaid
8 October 2024 | 3 min read
Illustration of a lab with a smoking crater in the middle of the floor.

A scientific fraud. An investigation. A lab in recovery.

Science is built on trust. What happens when someone destroys it?

By Calli McMurray
4 October 2024 | 27 min listen
Photograph of Thomas Sudhof with his hand on his chin.

Second paper from lab of Nobel Prize winner to be retracted

The paper was corrected in May, but comments on PubPeer spurred further analysis.

By Shaena Montanari
26 August 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of a red pencil with a white eraser that is being used against a white sheet of paper.

Task swap prompts data do-over for autism auditory perception study

The investigators retracted their paper after other researchers pointed out the error; the original team plans to redo the experiment, according to one author.

By Shaena Montanari
22 August 2024 | 2 min read
Photograph of a pink pencil standing out from a row of blue pencils.

Women are systematically under-cited in neuroscience. New tools can change that.

An omitted citation in a high-profile paper led us to examine our own practices and to help others adopt tools that promote citation diversity.

By Anne Churchland, Felicia Davatolhagh
22 July 2024 | 5 min listen
Picture of bees in flight.

Postdoc’s grad-school sleuthing raises questions about bee waggle-dance data

A journal has flagged two papers with expressions of concern, which note a co-author acknowledged errors.

By Shaena Montanari
4 July 2024 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Abstract illustration of a feminine face in structural flux.

Revisiting sex and gender in the brain

To conduct scientifically accurate and socially responsible research, it is useful to think of “sex” as a complex, multifactorial and context-dependent variable.

By Marija Kundakovic
28 January 2025 | 8 min read
Research image of regional structural differences in the brains of neurodiverse people.

Cortical myelination; early vocabulary; EEG in tuberous sclerosis

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 27 January.

By Jill Adams
28 January 2025 | 2 min read
Computer-generated illustration of an hourglass encased in a larger piece of cracked glass.

The brain holds no exclusive rights on how to create intelligence

Many of the recent developments underlying the explosive success of artificial intelligence have diverged from using neuroscience as a source of inspiration—and the trend is likely to continue.

By Dean Buonomano
27 January 2025 | 7 min read