Laura Dattaro is a freelance science and health journalist, writing about the brain, physics and anything else that sparks her interest. She writes the Null and Noteworthy newsletter, a monthly recap of studies with null results and replications, for The Transmitter. Her recent work has also been published in Drug Discovery News, Nautilus, Quanta and The Washington Post, among other outlets. She was a senior reporter at Spectrum from 2020 to 2023, where she covered genetics, mental health, public policy and other areas of autism research. She also works as the administrator and communications coordinator for the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. You can find her work at Lauradattaro.com.
Laura Dattaro
Contributing writer
From this contributor
Familiar autism-linked genes emerge from first analysis of Latin American cohort
The findings, detailed in a January preprint, suggest autism’s fundamental biology is the same regardless of ancestry. But questions remain.
Familiar autism-linked genes emerge from first analysis of Latin American cohort
By
Laura Dattaro
20 February 2025 | 5 min read
New connectomes fly beyond the brain
Researchers are mapping the neurons in Drosophila’s ventral nerve cord, where the central nervous system meets the rest of the body.
‘SNAP’ dance of astrocytes and neurons falls out of step with age, disease
The findings add to growing evidence that astrocytes are star players in cognition.
‘SNAP’ dance of astrocytes and neurons falls out of step with age, disease
By
Laura Dattaro
6 March 2024 | 6 min read
Christine Wu Nordahl, doing whatever it takes to get good data
The head of the Autism Phenome Project has deepened the pool of study participants and helped overhaul the culture of the MIND Institute.
Christine Wu Nordahl, doing whatever it takes to get good data
By
Laura Dattaro
23 November 2023 | 13 min read
The true meaning of a null result
This edition of Null and Noteworthy highlights results that reveal the difficulty in drawing definitive conclusions from data, including new findings about epidurals that contradict several others and an apparent null result on sex differences that may derive from “circular logic.”
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Hessameddin Akhlaghpour outlines how RNA may implement universal computation
Could the brain’s computational abilities extend beyond neural networks to molecular mechanisms? Akhlaghpour describes how natural universal computation may have evolved via RNA mechanisms.
Hessameddin Akhlaghpour outlines how RNA may implement universal computation
Could the brain’s computational abilities extend beyond neural networks to molecular mechanisms? Akhlaghpour describes how natural universal computation may have evolved via RNA mechanisms.
By
Paul Middlebrooks
26 November 2024 | 107 min listen
Immune cell interlopers breach—and repair—brain barrier in mice
The choroid plexus, the protective network of blood vessels and epithelial cells that line the brain’s ventricles, recruits neutrophils and macrophages during inflammation, a new study shows.
Immune cell interlopers breach—and repair—brain barrier in mice
The choroid plexus, the protective network of blood vessels and epithelial cells that line the brain’s ventricles, recruits neutrophils and macrophages during inflammation, a new study shows.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
20 November 2024 | 6 min listen
Are brains and AI converging?—an excerpt from ‘ChatGPT and the Future of AI: The Deep Language Revolution’
In his new book, to be published next week, computational neuroscience pioneer Terrence Sejnowski tackles debates about AI’s capacity to mirror cognitive processes.
Are brains and AI converging?—an excerpt from ‘ChatGPT and the Future of AI: The Deep Language Revolution’
In his new book, to be published next week, computational neuroscience pioneer Terrence Sejnowski tackles debates about AI’s capacity to mirror cognitive processes.
By
Terrence Sejnowski
21 October 2024 | 12 min read