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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PTEN problems underscore autism connection to excess brain fluid
Damaging variants in the autism-linked gene cause congenital hydrocephalus—a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain—by turbocharging a downstream signaling pathway that promotes the growth of cells, according to a new study.
PTEN problems underscore autism connection to excess brain fluid
Damaging variants in the autism-linked gene cause congenital hydrocephalus—a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain—by turbocharging a downstream signaling pathway that promotes the growth of cells, according to a new study.
By
Holly Barker
3 April 2025 | 4 min read
U.S. health agency purge includes 10 lab heads at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The reasons for selecting these researchers—who have led work on neuronal migration, dopamine receptors in neuronal signaling and the structure of ion channels, among other areas—remain unclear.
U.S. health agency purge includes 10 lab heads at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The reasons for selecting these researchers—who have led work on neuronal migration, dopamine receptors in neuronal signaling and the structure of ion channels, among other areas—remain unclear.
By
Angie Voyles Askham, Sydney Wyatt
2 April 2025 | 5 min read
Five things to know if your federal grant is terminated
If you want to appeal the decision, know the rules that govern terminations, as well as the specific rationale given in your notice, science policy experts say.
Five things to know if your federal grant is terminated
If you want to appeal the decision, know the rules that govern terminations, as well as the specific rationale given in your notice, science policy experts say.
By
Calli McMurray
2 April 2025 | 7 min read