Lauren Gravitz is a freelance writer and editor in Hershey, Pennsylvania, who covers health, medicine, science and the environment. Her stories have appeared in Nature, Aeon, The Economist, Technology Review, O, The Oprah Magazine and Discover, among others.
Lauren Gravitz
Freelance Writer
SFARI.org
From this contributor
At the intersection of autism and trauma
Autism and post-traumatic stress disorder share many traits, but the connection between them was largely overlooked until now.
Autism’s drug problem
Many people on the spectrum take multiple medications — which can lead to serious side effects and may not even be effective.
Lack of DNA modification creates hotspots for mutations
The absence of a chemical alteration called methylation on some stretches of DNA makes them especially prone to mutations, according to a paper published in PLoS Genetics in May.
Lack of DNA modification creates hotspots for mutations
By
Lauren Gravitz
28 June 2012 | 4 min read
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Mitochondrial ‘landscape’ shifts across human brain
Evolutionarily newer regions sport mitochondria with a higher capacity for energy production than older regions, according to the first detailed map of the organelles in a tissue slice, adding to mounting evidence that the brain features a metabolic gradient.
Mitochondrial ‘landscape’ shifts across human brain
Evolutionarily newer regions sport mitochondria with a higher capacity for energy production than older regions, according to the first detailed map of the organelles in a tissue slice, adding to mounting evidence that the brain features a metabolic gradient.
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Claudia López Lloreda
25 April 2025 | 6 min read
Expediting clinical trials for profound autism: Q&A with Matthew State
Aligning Research to Impact Autism, a new initiative funded by the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, wants to bring basic science discoveries to the clinic faster.
Expediting clinical trials for profound autism: Q&A with Matthew State
Aligning Research to Impact Autism, a new initiative funded by the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, wants to bring basic science discoveries to the clinic faster.
By
Lauren Schenkman
24 April 2025 | 8 min read
This paper changed my life: Shane Liddelow on two papers that upended astrocyte research
A game-changing cell culture method developed in Ben Barres’ lab completely transformed the way we study astrocytes and helped me build a career studying their reactive substates.
This paper changed my life: Shane Liddelow on two papers that upended astrocyte research
A game-changing cell culture method developed in Ben Barres’ lab completely transformed the way we study astrocytes and helped me build a career studying their reactive substates.
By
Shane Liddelow
23 April 2025 | 6 min read