Helen Pearson is a science writer based in New York City.
Helen Pearson
Freelance writer
Simons Foundation
From this contributor
Father’s advanced age feeds autism risk
Are older fathers more likely to have children with autism? A series of epidemiological studies is giving credence to the idea, suggesting that, with age, sperm may accumulate damage that increases risk in the next generation.
Sense of ‘self’ impaired in autism
People with autism struggle to see their own role in social situations. That's the conclusion from the first study to scan individualsʼ brains while they interact with another person - a technique that could lead to a diagnostic tool.
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The term ‘model organism’ should be reserved for biological systems
By referring to artificial neural networks as model organisms, we run the risk of distorting funding priorities and disregard the explanatory power of a shared evolutionary history across biological organisms.
The term ‘model organism’ should be reserved for biological systems
By referring to artificial neural networks as model organisms, we run the risk of distorting funding priorities and disregard the explanatory power of a shared evolutionary history across biological organisms.
By
Marc Coutanche
13 November 2026 | 6 min read
New phase of BRAIN Initiative spawns basal ganglia ‘parts list’
With a standardized cell naming system and infrastructure for data collection and analysis, the basal ganglia project sets the stage for a whole-brain primate atlas.
New phase of BRAIN Initiative spawns basal ganglia ‘parts list’
With a standardized cell naming system and infrastructure for data collection and analysis, the basal ganglia project sets the stage for a whole-brain primate atlas.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
12 November 2026 | 1 min watch
Machine-learning model spots autism-linked variants that scramble splicing
The model provides a way to investigate genetic variation in regions of the genome whose functions have been difficult to interpret.
Machine-learning model spots autism-linked variants that scramble splicing
The model provides a way to investigate genetic variation in regions of the genome whose functions have been difficult to interpret.
By
Giorgia Guglielmi
12 November 2026 | 4 min read