Daisy Yuhas commissions and edits stories for Spectrum on The Transmitter. A freelance science journalist and editor based in Austin, Texas, she has edited features, news and opinions for multiple publications, including SAPIENS and Scientific American MIND. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, Audubon, The Hechinger Report and Symmetry, among other outlets. (Photograph by Brio Photography)
Daisy Yuhas
Contributing editor
Spectrum
From this contributor
Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.
Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
By
Daisy Yuhas
10 July 2025 | 3 min read
Genetic testing; LSD1 inhibitors; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 30 June.
Dosage of X or Y chromosome relates to distinct outcomes; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 23 June.
Dosage of X or Y chromosome relates to distinct outcomes; and more
By
Daisy Yuhas
24 June 2025 | 2 min read
Reporter’s notebook: Highlights from INSAR 2025
The annual meeting brought autism researchers, advocates and clinicians to Seattle to discuss the latest research, including attempts to define subgroups, a potential new CHD8 macaque model and life expectancy gaps.
Spectrum 2024: Year in review
We round up our most notable autism stories of the past 12 months.
Explore more from The Transmitter
Some facial expressions are less reflexive than previously thought
A countenance such as a grimace activates many of the same cortical pathways as voluntary facial movements.
Some facial expressions are less reflexive than previously thought
A countenance such as a grimace activates many of the same cortical pathways as voluntary facial movements.
By
Natalia Mesa
8 January 2026 | 5 min read
Cracking the neural code for emotional states
Rather than act as a simple switchboard for innate behaviors, the hypothalamus encodes an animal's internal state, which influences behavior.
Cracking the neural code for emotional states
Rather than act as a simple switchboard for innate behaviors, the hypothalamus encodes an animal's internal state, which influences behavior.
By
Natalia Mesa
8 January 2026 | 8 min read
Alex Maier argues that a scientific explanation of consciousness requires grounding in formalized mathematics
When it comes to discovering laws of nature for consciousness similar to those in physics, Maier argues that integrated information theory is the only game in town.
Alex Maier argues that a scientific explanation of consciousness requires grounding in formalized mathematics
When it comes to discovering laws of nature for consciousness similar to those in physics, Maier argues that integrated information theory is the only game in town.
By
Paul Middlebrooks
7 January 2026 | 1 min read