Open-source tools

Recent articles

Illustration of three figures standing in front of a grid of dots and a world map.

The S-index Challenge: Develop a metric to quantify data-sharing success

The NIH-sponsored effort aims to help incentivize scientists to share data. But many barriers to the widespread adoption of useful data-sharing remain.

By Loren Frank
8 October 2024 | 6 min listen
Research image of a variety of brain atlases.

New ‘decoder’ tool translates functional neuroimaging terms across labs

The compendium of brain-parcellation atlases makes it possible to compare large-scale network data, which often involves different and overlapping network names.

By Holly Barker
23 July 2024 | 4 min read
Research image of data from electrode arrays inserted into mice.

10 standards for brain electrode-array recordings enhance reproducibility

Electrophysiology findings can vary widely from lab to lab, even among those using identical protocols. New guidelines set forth in a preprint should help.

By Elissa Welle
12 July 2024 | 5 min read
Image of neural activity in a mouse as seen through the Miniscope.

Designing an open-source microscope

Funding for the development of open-source tools is on the rise, but support for their maintenance and dissemination, both crucial for their meaningful uptake, remains a major challenge.

By Daniel Aharoni
17 June 2024 | 6 min read

Getting musical to spot patterns in whole-brain imaging data: Q&A with Elizabeth Hillman

The new technique takes advantage of humans’ “extraordinary” sensory processing abilities, Hillman says.

By Calli McMurray
21 February 2024 | 0 min watch

Explore more from The Transmitter

Abstract illustration of a feminine face in structural flux.

Revisiting sex and gender in the brain

To conduct scientifically accurate and socially responsible research, it is useful to think of “sex” as a complex, multifactorial and context-dependent variable.

By Marija Kundakovic
28 January 2025 | 8 min read
Research image of regional structural differences in the brains of neurodiverse people.

Cortical myelination; early vocabulary; EEG in tuberous sclerosis

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 27 January.

By Jill Adams
28 January 2025 | 2 min read
Computer-generated illustration of an hourglass encased in a larger piece of cracked glass.

The brain holds no exclusive rights on how to create intelligence

Many of the recent developments underlying the explosive success of artificial intelligence have diverged from using neuroscience as a source of inspiration—and the trend is likely to continue.

By Dean Buonomano
27 January 2025 | 7 min read