Emma Yasinski is a freelance writer covering biology, neuroscience and medicine. Her stories have appeared in The Scientist, Discover Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, Kaiser Health News and other publications. Yasinski has an M.Sc. in science and medical journalism from Boston University and a B.S. in neuroscience from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Emma Yasinski
Contributing writer
From this contributor
Parental care may sculpt brain development in prairie voles
Voles reared primarily by their fathers show altered synapse density.

Parental care may sculpt brain development in prairie voles
Social-pragmatic difficulties common with autism, other diagnoses
A standard questionnaire can help identify social (pragmatic) communication disorder more readily in school-age children.

Social-pragmatic difficulties common with autism, other diagnoses
Fragile X neurons develop atypically in chimeric mice
After a brain transplant of reprogrammed human cells, the animals can for the first time recapitulate some neuronal changes seen in people with fragile X syndrome.

Fragile X neurons develop atypically in chimeric mice
Inflexible thinking in adolescence linked to emotional, behavioral issues in adulthood
Treating cognitive inflexibility — for example, by practicing problem-solving — might help ease anxiety and depression in autistic people.

Inflexible thinking in adolescence linked to emotional, behavioral issues in adulthood
Mutations linked to autism may be detectable in men’s sperm
An advanced DNA-sequencing technique has identified gene-damaging mutations, some with ties to autism, in about 1 in 15 men.

Mutations linked to autism may be detectable in men’s sperm
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During decision-making, brain shows multiple distinct subtypes of activity
Person-to-person variability in brain activity might represent meaningful differences in cognitive processes, rather than random noise.

During decision-making, brain shows multiple distinct subtypes of activity
Person-to-person variability in brain activity might represent meaningful differences in cognitive processes, rather than random noise.
Basic pain research ‘is not working’: Q&A with Steven Prescott and Stéphanie Ratté
Prescott and Ratté critique the clinical relevance of preclinical studies in the field and highlight areas for improvement.

Basic pain research ‘is not working’: Q&A with Steven Prescott and Stéphanie Ratté
Prescott and Ratté critique the clinical relevance of preclinical studies in the field and highlight areas for improvement.
Proposed NIH budget cut threatens ‘massive destruction of American science’
A leaked draft of a Trump administration proposal includes an approximately 40 percent cut to the National Institutes of Health’s budget and a major reorganization of its 27 institutes and centers.

Proposed NIH budget cut threatens ‘massive destruction of American science’
A leaked draft of a Trump administration proposal includes an approximately 40 percent cut to the National Institutes of Health’s budget and a major reorganization of its 27 institutes and centers.