Breakout room

Recent articles

In this moderated forum, scientists debate current issues in neuroscience.

Abstract illustration of paper shapes representing different kinds of ideas and speech.

Must a theory be falsifiable to contribute to good science?

Four researchers debate the role that non-testable theories play in neuroscience.

By Grace Lindsay, moderator
10 June 2024 | 55 min read

Subscribe to get notified every time a new “Breakout room” is published.

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of scientists climbing over a barrier to reach publications.

Scientific talent is global. Access to the world’s scientific stage is not.

Neuroscience in Chile, and across Latin America, does not lack talent or ideas, but the systems that make science visible—prestigious journals, conferences and networks—increasingly price its researchers out.

By Vicente Medel
3 August 2026 | 8 min read
Ground squirrel.

How thirteen-lined ground squirrels illuminate retinal development

In most mammalian retinas, rods outnumber cones. But that ratio is flipped in ground squirrels, a quirk that helps Seth Blackshaw explore how retinal cells develop their identities.

By Sarah Thau
31 July 2026 | 5 min read