Publishing

Recent articles

Photograph of Thomas Sudhof with his hand on his chin.

Second paper from lab of Nobel Prize winner to be retracted

The paper was corrected in May, but comments on PubPeer spurred further analysis.

By Shaena Montanari
26 August 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of a red pencil with a white eraser that is being used against a white sheet of paper.

Task swap prompts data do-over for autism auditory perception study

The investigators retracted their paper after other researchers pointed out the error; the original team plans to redo the experiment, according to one author.

By Shaena Montanari
22 August 2024 | 2 min read
Photograph of a pink pencil standing out from a row of blue pencils.
Publishing Microphone

Women are systematically under-cited in neuroscience. New tools can change that.

An omitted citation in a high-profile paper led us to examine our own practices and to help others adopt tools that promote citation diversity.

By Anne Churchland, Felicia Davatolhagh
22 July 2024 | 5 min listen
Picture of bees in flight.

Postdoc’s grad-school sleuthing raises questions about bee waggle-dance data

A journal has flagged two papers with expressions of concern, which note a co-author acknowledged errors.

By Shaena Montanari
4 July 2024 | 6 min read

Widely used calcium imaging protocol can lead to spurious results, new paper cautions

The technique, which measures calcium currents as a proxy for neuronal firing, sometimes reports unusual and potentially misleading waves of activity in the hippocampus.

By Angie Voyles Askham
19 June 2024 | 0 min watch
A photograph of Paul-Antoine Libourel.
Sleep Microphone

At the end of the earth with Paul-Antoine Libourel

The French researcher’s accomplishments working with chinstrap penguins in the Antarctic highlight the importance of recording sleep in the wild.

By Yves Sciama
11 June 2024 | 18 min listen
A magnifying glass shines a light on a series of Xs.

Bounty hunting for blunders: Q&A with Russell Poldrack and Jan Wessel

The guinea pigs for a post-publication error-spotting project discuss why the field should destigmatize slipups—and how to handle them better.

By Calli McMurray
7 June 2024 | 10 min read
an illustration of scientists parachuting

The perils of parachute research

Scientists who study autism in lower-income countries are working to end practices that exploit or ignore collaborators and communities on the ground.

By Linda Nordling
6 June 2024 | 11 min read

Anti-vax blogger retracts critique of study that debunked vaccination-autism link

The commentary contained misguided criticisms of the study’s statistical methods, the lead investigator says.

By Calli McMurray
29 May 2024 | 3 min read
Illustration of a nametag with many names on it.
Publishing Microphone

At the credit crossroads: Modern neuroscience needs a cultural shift to adopt new authorship practices

Old heuristics to acknowledge contributors—calling out first and last authors, with everyone else in between—don’t work well for large collaborative and interdisciplinary projects, yet they remain the default.

By Megan Peters
20 May 2024 | 9 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Cell population in brainstem coordinates cough, new study shows

The work also adds to a growing body of evidence showing that mice, and their genetic toolbox, can be used to study cough.

By Calli McMurray
6 September 2024 | 5 min read
Capitol building
Spectrum Microphone

In updated U.S. autism bill, Congress calls for funding boost, expanded scope

The current Autism CARES Act sunsets in late September.

By Rachel Zamzow
5 September 2024 | 5 min listen
Illustration of ketamine blocking open ion channels in active NMDA receptors, quieting the cells and disrupting downstream signaling involved in depression.

Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects

The drug’s affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.

By Olivia Gieger
4 September 2024 | 6 min read