Grace Huckins is a former editorial intern at Spectrum. Her writing has been published in Scientific American, Wired and Popular Science. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Stanford University in California, where she builds computer models of brain dynamics. In 2020, she was the AAAS Mass Media Fellow at Wired. She previously studied at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom as a Rhodes scholar.
Grace Huckins
Former news intern
Spectrum
From this contributor
Extra Y chromosomes are linked to autism
Data from people with more or fewer than two sex chromosomes could help answer questions around genetic protection and vulnerability.
How Helen Willsey broke new ground, frogs in hand
A young researcher faces down the skeptics.
How Helen Willsey broke new ground, frogs in hand
By
Grace Huckins
29 November 2022 | 13 min read
Searching for the biology behind autism’s sex bias
The fact that autism seems to affect more boys than girls is often attributed to diagnostic gaps, but the skew remains largely unexplained. Some scientists are turning to basic biology for answers.
Searching for the biology behind autism’s sex bias
By
Grace Huckins
11 February 2022 | 11 min read
Patchwork mutations present a new frontier for autism research
Mosaic mutations, which affect only some of the body’s cells, play a small but meaningful role in autism. Though they are difficult to study, researchers are working to master their complexity.
Patchwork mutations present a new frontier for autism research
By
Grace Huckins
12 July 2021 | 10 min read
Pandemic pressures may drive young scientists away from autism research
After a year of juggling research, childcare and COVID-19 anxiety, some early-career academics are rethinking their place in autism science.
Pandemic pressures may drive young scientists away from autism research
By
Grace Huckins
9 June 2021 | 13 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Portfolio of SCN2A gene variants, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 9 March.
Portfolio of SCN2A gene variants, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 9 March.
By
Jill Adams
10 March 2026 | 2 min read
Hippocampus builds reputation as ‘general-purpose statistical learning machine’
New cross-species findings may help settle a long-standing debate about whether the hippocampus is required for passive learning.
Hippocampus builds reputation as ‘general-purpose statistical learning machine’
New cross-species findings may help settle a long-standing debate about whether the hippocampus is required for passive learning.
By
Natalia Mesa
10 March 2026 | 5 min read
‘The Fox, the Shrew, and You: How Brains Evolved,’ an excerpt
In his new book, Rogier Mars provides a detailed account of animal and human brain evolution. In this excerpt from Chapter 1, he starts with the sea squirt—and why it needs the brain it eats after its larval stage.
‘The Fox, the Shrew, and You: How Brains Evolved,’ an excerpt
In his new book, Rogier Mars provides a detailed account of animal and human brain evolution. In this excerpt from Chapter 1, he starts with the sea squirt—and why it needs the brain it eats after its larval stage.
By
Rogier Mars
10 March 2026 | 6 min read