Shweta Karikehalli is an environmental and science journalist based in New York City. Prior to joining _Spectrum_, Shweta was an editorial fellow at _Audubon_ magazine and worked for the _Daily Orange_, Syracuse University’s award-winning independent newspaper, as a copy editor and reporter. She has an M.A. in magazine, newspaper and online journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a B.S. in conservation biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Shweta Karikehalli
From this contributor
‘Zombie’ pig brains fire hours after death
A new method restores blood flow and some functions in pig brains four hours after the animals have died.
New method creates complex, long-lived brain ‘organoids’
A new method for growing brain organoids allows them to survive for up to a year — more than four times as long as is possible with other methods.
New method creates complex, long-lived brain ‘organoids’
By
Shweta Karikehalli
10 May 2019 | 2 min read
Mighty magnet promises to render human brain in intricate detail
A new magnetic resonance imaging machine has the power to reveal the brain’s structure and activity at unprecedented resolution.
Mighty magnet promises to render human brain in intricate detail
By
Shweta Karikehalli
26 April 2019 | 2 min read
Genome catalog bolsters global microbiome research
The largest-yet attempt to characterize the global diversity of the human microbiome — the population of microbes that live in our bodies — has found 4,930 species, 77 percent of which were previously unknown.
Genome catalog bolsters global microbiome research
By
Shweta Karikehalli
22 March 2019 | 3 min read
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‘Tour de force’ study flags fount of interneurons in human brain
The newly discovered cell type might point to the origins of the inhibitory imbalance linked to autism and other conditions.
‘Tour de force’ study flags fount of interneurons in human brain
The newly discovered cell type might point to the origins of the inhibitory imbalance linked to autism and other conditions.
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Holly Barker
29 January 2026 | 4 min read
Michael Shadlen explains how theory of mind ushers nonconscious thoughts into consciousness
All of our thoughts, mostly nonconscious, are interrogations of the world, Shadlen says. The opportunity to report our answers to ourselves or others brings a thought into conscious awareness.
Michael Shadlen explains how theory of mind ushers nonconscious thoughts into consciousness
All of our thoughts, mostly nonconscious, are interrogations of the world, Shadlen says. The opportunity to report our answers to ourselves or others brings a thought into conscious awareness.
By
Paul Middlebrooks
28 January 2026 | 1 min read
‘Peer review is our strength’: Q&A with Walter Koroshetz, former NINDS director
In his first week off the job, the former National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke director urges U.S. scientists to remain optimistic about the future of neuroscience research, even if the executive branch “may not value what we do.”
‘Peer review is our strength’: Q&A with Walter Koroshetz, former NINDS director
In his first week off the job, the former National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke director urges U.S. scientists to remain optimistic about the future of neuroscience research, even if the executive branch “may not value what we do.”
By
Angie Voyles Askham
27 January 2026 | 7 min read