Hannah Furfaro was a news writer at Spectrum from 2017 to 2019. Before that, Hannah was an investigative reporting fellow at Columbia University. She previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Fresno Bee and the Associated Press. Her work has also appeared in The Guardian and Audubon Magazine.

Hannah Furfaro
From this contributor
How aripiprazole’s promise for treating autism fell short
Aripiprazole, marketed as Abilify, is widely thought to be safer than risperidone, the only other drug approved for use in autistic children. A decade’s worth of data suggests that is not true.

How aripiprazole’s promise for treating autism fell short
Sleep problems in autism, explained
Many people with autism have difficulty falling and staying asleep, but there may be ways to help them.
Autistic girls’ brains show distinct anatomical features
Nerve fiber tracts in the brains of autistic girls appear more fragmented than those of typical girls’. Autistic boys’ brains, meanwhile, look like those of typical boys.

Autistic girls’ brains show distinct anatomical features
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Annie Ciernia
Annie Ciernia describes the greenhouse origins of her scientific career and why a unicorn makes a good lab mascot.

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Annie Ciernia
Small sponge may sop up maternal antibody tied to autism
Researchers have created a microscopic particle that traps immune molecules found in a woman that are linked to autism in her child.

Small sponge may sop up maternal antibody tied to autism
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This paper changed my life: Dan Goodman on a paper that reignited the field of spiking neural networks
Friedemann Zenke’s 2019 paper, and its related coding tutorial SpyTorch, made it possible to apply modern machine learning to spiking neural networks. The innovation reinvigorated the field.

This paper changed my life: Dan Goodman on a paper that reignited the field of spiking neural networks
Friedemann Zenke’s 2019 paper, and its related coding tutorial SpyTorch, made it possible to apply modern machine learning to spiking neural networks. The innovation reinvigorated the field.
Autism and anxiety insights; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 15 September.

Autism and anxiety insights; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 15 September.
First nerve-net connectome shows how evolutionarily ancient nervous system coordinates movement
The map of a comb jelly’s aboral nerve net, which helps the animal orient and position itself within the water column, reveals a unique system for sensing the world and coordinating movement.
First nerve-net connectome shows how evolutionarily ancient nervous system coordinates movement
The map of a comb jelly’s aboral nerve net, which helps the animal orient and position itself within the water column, reveals a unique system for sensing the world and coordinating movement.