Pregnancy

Recent articles

Illustration of cranes attempting to assemble a structure out of very small black squares.

In case you missed it: Standout news stories from 2024

These five stories—on the pregnant brain, a failed imaging method and more—top our list of some of the most notable neuroscience research findings this year.

By The Transmitter
23 December 2024 | 2 min read
Research image of brain scans showing the structural integrity of white-matter tracts.

Repeat scans reveal brain changes that precede childbirth

A detailed look at a “pregnant brain” highlights a need to investigate the neural alterations that occur during a transition experienced by nearly 140 million people worldwide each year.

By Shaena Montanari
16 September 2024 | 9 min listen
Research image of a chimeroid.

Brain ‘chimeroids’ reveal person-to-person differences rooted in genetics

These fusions created from multiple donors’ organoids may help scale up comparative brain research.

By Charles Q. Choi
5 July 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of a conveyor belt spilling pills over a green cliff face.

Acetaminophen use during pregnancy does not increase child’s chance of having autism, study finds

The link reported in prior studies likely reflects confounding factors, which sibling-matched controls in the new work address.

By Calli McMurray
9 April 2024 | 7 min read
A research image of a mouse brain

Immune-activation model mice escape infantile amnesia, retain early memories

Male pups born to mothers treated with immune-stimulating molecules show autism-like behaviors and, unlike wildtype animals, do not lose memories formed during early life.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
11 January 2024 | 5 min read
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

The true meaning of a null result

This edition of Null and Noteworthy highlights results that reveal the difficulty in drawing definitive conclusions from data, including new findings about epidurals that contradict several others and an apparent null result on sex differences that may derive from “circular logic.”

By Laura Dattaro
14 August 2023 | 4 min read
A multiplexed image of human decidua.

Atlas charts cells of human placenta, uterus across early pregnancy

A new resource gives an unparalleled look at how fetal placental cells attach to the uterine wall and remodel maternal blood vessels to access nutrients.

By Emily Hayes
27 July 2023 | 4 min read
Illustration of half of a brain on the left and half of a heart on the right

Change of heart and mind: Autism’s ties to cardiac defects

Children with congenital heart disease have an increased likelihood of autism. Why?

By Lauren Schenkman
21 July 2023 | 12 min read
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Prenatal exposures; Angelman trial suspension; autistic adult well-being

This month’s issue of the Null and Noteworthy newsletter breaks down some negative results involving prenatal exposures, an experimental treatment for Angelman syndrome, and the role that age at autism diagnosis plays in subsequent outcomes, and more.

By Emily Harris
17 July 2023 | 4 min read
A woman stands by a window while talking on the phone and holding a pill bottle.

Evidence linking acetaminophen to autism, ADHD under debate again

As acetaminophen lawsuits make their way through the U.S. court system, researchers reevaluate the quality of the evidence linking in-utero exposure to the painkiller to neurodevelopmental issues in children.

By Teresa Carr, Undark
12 July 2023 | 18 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Colorful illustration of a latticework of proteins.

Cracking the code of the extracellular matrix

Despite evidence for a role in plasticity and other crucial functions, many neuroscientists still view these proteins as “brain goop.” The field needs technical advances and a shift in scientific thinking to move beyond this outdated perspective.

By Anna Victoria Molofsky
17 January 2025 | 5 min read
A repeated DNA strand extends farther from the left side of the image with each iteration.

Huntington’s disease gene variants past a certain size poison select cells

The findings—providing “the next step in the whole pathway”—help explain the disease’s late onset and offer hope that it has an extended therapeutic window.

By Angie Voyles Askham
16 January 2025 | 6 min read
Research image highlighting different brain regions.

X marks the spot in search for autism variants

Genetic variants on the X chromosome, including those in the gene DDX53, contribute to autism’s gender imbalance, two new studies suggest.

By Holly Barker
16 January 2025 | 6 min read