Robin Lloyd is a freelance writer, editor and educator, as well as a contributing editor for Scientific American and an adjunct professor at New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She has a Ph.D. and M.A. in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a B.A. from Smith College. She completed a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the 1998-1999 academic year.
Robin Lloyd
Locum News Editor
Spectrum
From this contributor
Sounding out ultrasounds; name game; geek gathering
A tie between first-trimester ultrasounds and autism severity is tenuous at best, misnamed genes litter the literature, and neuroscientists enjoy their version of summer camp.
Sounding out ultrasounds; name game; geek gathering
By
Robin Lloyd
9 September 2016 | 5 min read
Calming remedies; labor lessons; women wanted
New drugs target the brain’s calming chemical, inducing labor does not boost autism risk, and the start is imminent for a project to develop personalized treatments.
Fake facilitation; third strike; Pokémon passion
An autism researcher retracts her third paper in as many years, scientists write fraudulent reviews of their own papers, and Pokémon Go boosts social skills in children with autism.
Brexit break-ups; little impact; micro medicine
Scientists are excluding U.K. colleagues from studies; a life sciences publisher abandons the ‘impact factor;’ and a new open-access journal makes its debut.
CRISPR medicine; inclusive experiments; autism in Egypt
Scientists target human cancer with CRISPR, device trials may become more diverse, and autism awareness grows in Egypt.
CRISPR medicine; inclusive experiments; autism in Egypt
By
Robin Lloyd
24 June 2016 | 4 min read
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ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release
The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.
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Calli McMurray
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Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants
The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.
Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants
The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.
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Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.
Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.
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Daisy Yuhas
10 July 2025 | 3 min read