Meredith Wadman
Freelance writer
Simons Foundation
From this contributor
Ready or not, here come genetic tests for autism
Late in June, an announcement appeared on the website of GeneDx, a genetic testing company based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was highlighted in red with a single word: “new”.
Ready or not, here come genetic tests for autism
The case for copy number variations in autism
Following a series of papers in the past two years, what seems irrefutable is that copy number variations ― in which a particular stretch of DNA is either deleted or duplicated ― are important in autism.
The case for copy number variations in autism
Mouse models for autism debut
Two research groups have achieved an elusive goal: producing mouse models that show distinct social and behavioral abnormalities reminiscent of autism.
MEG imaging simplifies mapping of autistic brains
Imagine being confined for at least half an hour to a dark, claustrophobic tunnel, in a machine so obnoxiously loud that it sounds like you're in an oil drum with a jackhammer pounding on the outside. Thatʼs whatʼs involved in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): an experience enough to make even the bravest among us flinch.
MEG imaging simplifies mapping of autistic brains
Changes in chromosome 16 firmly linked to autism
In a paper published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have identified a segment containing 25 genes on chromosome 16 that was deleted or duplicated in roughly one percent of children with autism.
Changes in chromosome 16 firmly linked to autism
Explore more from The Transmitter
How energy determines where proteins are produced in neurons
Tatjana Tchumatchenko explains how mathematical modeling elucidates whether ion-channel proteins are produced locally in the soma or in the dendrites.
How energy determines where proteins are produced in neurons
Tatjana Tchumatchenko explains how mathematical modeling elucidates whether ion-channel proteins are produced locally in the soma or in the dendrites.
Wouldn’t you like to know? A mouse would
Mice seek information for curiosity’s sake—and their desire for knowledge versus a payout is represented distinctly in the brain, new findings suggest.
Wouldn’t you like to know? A mouse would
Mice seek information for curiosity’s sake—and their desire for knowledge versus a payout is represented distinctly in the brain, new findings suggest.
Five new neuroscience books, and other notable titles from 2026
The Transmitter’s summer reading list includes an autopsy of the Human Brain Project, an overview of the neuroscience of motherhood and a memoir from a pioneer in Huntington’s disease research.
Five new neuroscience books, and other notable titles from 2026
The Transmitter’s summer reading list includes an autopsy of the Human Brain Project, an overview of the neuroscience of motherhood and a memoir from a pioneer in Huntington’s disease research.