Rahul Rao is a freelance science writer, graduate of New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program, and “Doctor Who” fan.
Rahul Rao
From this contributor
Web app tracks pupil size in people, mice
The app relies on artificial intelligence and could help researchers standardize studies of pupil differences in autistic people and in mouse models of autism.
New library catalogs the human gut microbiome
Researchers put hundreds of gut bacteria strains through their paces to chart the compounds each creates — and to help others explore the flora's potential contribution to autism.
New unified toolbox traces, analyzes neurons
‘SNT’ helps researchers sift through microscope images to reconstruct and analyze neurons and their connections.
Explore more from The Transmitter
The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
By
Ila Fiete
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
By
Diana Kwon
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
When is self-organization a mechanism in brain development?
Retinal waves offer a powerful example of a self-organizing system that can build structure without external guidance. The field would do well to embrace such phenomena more broadly as a type of mechanistic explanation.
When is self-organization a mechanism in brain development?
Retinal waves offer a powerful example of a self-organizing system that can build structure without external guidance. The field would do well to embrace such phenomena more broadly as a type of mechanistic explanation.
By
P. Robin Hiesinger
2 November 2026 | 6 min read