Claudia Wallis is an award-winning science writer and magazine editor whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Time, Fortune, The New Republic, Scientific American and Rolling Stone. She is a health columnist for Scientific American and writes “The Science of Learning” column for the Hechinger Report. Wallis is the author of 40 Time Magazine cover stories, two of which were National Magazine Award finalists. Her writing has won journalism prizes from the American Psychiatric Association, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and the National Women’s Political Caucus, among other organizations.
Claudia Wallis
Science writer
From this contributor
Book Review: ‘Nobody’s Normal’ chronicles the intertwined history of mental illness and stigma
Anthropologist and autism expert Richard Roy Grinker’s latest title reveals how our definitions of mental illnesses and notions of ‘normality’ reek of cultural biases that stop many from seeking help.
Book Review: ‘Nobody’s Normal’ chronicles the intertwined history of mental illness and stigma
By
Claudia Wallis
26 January 2021 | 6 min read
Book Review: ‘The Pattern Seekers’ links human invention — past, present and future — to autism traits
Simon Baron-Cohen’s new book is essentially a 272-page argument for his hypothesis that all human innovation stems from the ability to discern and manipulate causal patterns.
Book Review: ‘The Pattern Seekers’ links human invention — past, present and future — to autism traits
By
Claudia Wallis
10 November 2020 | 6 min read
How to get children with autism to sleep
Insomnia troubles many children with autism. Luckily, research is awakening parents to some simple bedtime solutions.
Explore more from The Transmitter
Coding error caused layoffs at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke this week, source says
Thirty employees—including 11 lab heads—at the institute should “immediately return to work,” according to an email the institute’s Office of Human Resources sent to top administration at the institute Wednesday evening.
Coding error caused layoffs at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke this week, source says
Thirty employees—including 11 lab heads—at the institute should “immediately return to work,” according to an email the institute’s Office of Human Resources sent to top administration at the institute Wednesday evening.
By
Sydney Wyatt
3 April 2025 | 3 min read
PTEN problems underscore autism connection to excess brain fluid
Damaging variants in the autism-linked gene cause congenital hydrocephalus—a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain—by turbocharging a downstream signaling pathway that promotes the growth of cells, according to a new study.
PTEN problems underscore autism connection to excess brain fluid
Damaging variants in the autism-linked gene cause congenital hydrocephalus—a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain—by turbocharging a downstream signaling pathway that promotes the growth of cells, according to a new study.
By
Holly Barker
3 April 2025 | 4 min read
U.S. health agency purge includes 10 lab heads at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The reasons for selecting these researchers—who have led work on neuronal migration, dopamine receptors in neuronal signaling and the structure of ion channels, among other areas—remain unclear.
U.S. health agency purge includes 10 lab heads at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The reasons for selecting these researchers—who have led work on neuronal migration, dopamine receptors in neuronal signaling and the structure of ion channels, among other areas—remain unclear.
By
Angie Voyles Askham, Sydney Wyatt
2 April 2025 | 5 min read