Delia O’Hara is an award-winning writer and journalist, a former longtime features reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Specialties include science, health care, profiles, education, history, culture and the arts for magazines and websites. She is presently a member of the National Association of Science Writers and the Association of Health Care Journalists. She is also a published short story writer.
Delia O’Hara
From this contributor
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Konstantinos Zarbalis
Konstantinos “Kostas” Zarbalis talks about the upside of unexpected experimental results, and why he eats just one meal per day.
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Konstantinos Zarbalis
By
Delia O’Hara
10 February 2022 | 6 min read
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Kristin Sohl
When pediatrician Kristin Sohl isn’t building programs to improve care for and research about autistic people, you can find her reading psychological thrillers or playing Pokémon Go.
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Kristin Sohl
By
Delia O’Hara
13 January 2022 | 6 min read
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Andrew Whitehouse
Andrew Whitehouse talks about his conservation efforts in the Australian Outback, what it’s like to be an identical twin and why he leaves work promptly at 5 p.m.
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Andrew Whitehouse
By
Delia O’Hara
24 November 2021 | 7 min read
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Ethan Scott
Ethan Scott packs his lab with math, physics and computer science experts to decode sensory brain networks in zebrafish models of autism.
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Ethan Scott
By
Delia O’Hara
13 September 2021 | 9 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
By
Claudia López Lloreda, Calli McMurray, Natalia Mesa, Madeline Shaw
5 October 2026
11 min read
How Nobel Prize-winning optogenetics has revolutionized neuroscience
The technique has enabled neuroscientists to target brain circuits and cells with unprecedented specificity, transforming the study of memory, interoception, brain disorders and reward, among other domains.
How Nobel Prize-winning optogenetics has revolutionized neuroscience
The technique has enabled neuroscientists to target brain circuits and cells with unprecedented specificity, transforming the study of memory, interoception, brain disorders and reward, among other domains.
By
Claudia López Lloreda, Calli McMurray, Natalia Mesa, Madeline Shaw
5 October 2026 | 11 min read
Is confidence a second thought—or part of the first one?
In some settings, neural circuits may calculate confidence in a decision simultaneously with the choice itself. That changes the types of questions researchers should ask.
Is confidence a second thought—or part of the first one?
In some settings, neural circuits may calculate confidence in a decision simultaneously with the choice itself. That changes the types of questions researchers should ask.
By
Ariel Zylberberg
5 October 2026 | 6 min read
What AI can learn from hunger
To enhance AI safety, take a lesson from biological brains; a small set of wants maintains durable control over a much larger cognitive system.
What AI can learn from hunger
To enhance AI safety, take a lesson from biological brains; a small set of wants maintains durable control over a much larger cognitive system.
By
Anthony Zador
5 October 2026 | 6 min read