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In-depth analysis of important topics in neuroscience
Cephalopods, vision’s next frontier
For decades, scientists have been teased by the strange but inaccessible cephalopod visual system. Now, thanks to a technological breakthrough from a lab in Oregon, data are finally coming straight from the octopus brain.

Cephalopods, vision’s next frontier
For decades, scientists have been teased by the strange but inaccessible cephalopod visual system. Now, thanks to a technological breakthrough from a lab in Oregon, data are finally coming straight from the octopus brain.
The last two-author neuroscience paper?
Author lists on papers have ballooned, and it’s getting hard to discern contribution.

The last two-author neuroscience paper?
Author lists on papers have ballooned, and it’s getting hard to discern contribution.
Static pay, shrinking prospects fuel neuroscience postdoc decline
Postdoctoral researchers sponsored by the National Institutes of Health now toil longer than ever before, for less money. They are responding accordingly.

Static pay, shrinking prospects fuel neuroscience postdoc decline
Postdoctoral researchers sponsored by the National Institutes of Health now toil longer than ever before, for less money. They are responding accordingly.
A scientific fraud. An investigation. A lab in recovery.
Science is built on trust. What happens when someone destroys it?

A scientific fraud. An investigation. A lab in recovery.
Science is built on trust. What happens when someone destroys it?
Putting a bright idea to the test
A surprising wave of findings in mice suggests that light and sound flickering at 40 hertz clears the brain of Alzheimer’s-disease-linked plaques. Several companies are hoping to prove it works in people.

Putting a bright idea to the test
A surprising wave of findings in mice suggests that light and sound flickering at 40 hertz clears the brain of Alzheimer’s-disease-linked plaques. Several companies are hoping to prove it works in people.
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.

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.
Can an emerging field called ‘neural systems understanding’ explain the brain?
This mashup of neuroscience, artificial intelligence and even linguistics and philosophy of mind aims to crack the deep question of what "understanding" is, however un-brain-like its models may be.

Can an emerging field called ‘neural systems understanding’ explain the brain?
This mashup of neuroscience, artificial intelligence and even linguistics and philosophy of mind aims to crack the deep question of what "understanding" is, however un-brain-like its models may be.
Making cancer nervous
Nerve cells in the brain and throughout the body can turbocharge tumor growth — a finding that not only expands conventional ideas about the nervous system but points to novel therapeutic targets for a range of malignancies.

Making cancer nervous
Nerve cells in the brain and throughout the body can turbocharge tumor growth — a finding that not only expands conventional ideas about the nervous system but points to novel therapeutic targets for a range of malignancies.
Uncertainty and excitement surround one company’s cell therapy for epilepsy
After 10 years of work, Neurona may have the data to quiet its skeptics. But its ongoing clinical trial will be the ultimate test.

Uncertainty and excitement surround one company’s cell therapy for epilepsy
After 10 years of work, Neurona may have the data to quiet its skeptics. But its ongoing clinical trial will be the ultimate test.
On the periphery: Thinking ‘outside the brain’ offers new ideas about autism
Neuronal alterations outside the brain may help to explain a host of the condition’s characteristic traits, including sensory changes, gut problems and motor differences.

On the periphery: Thinking ‘outside the brain’ offers new ideas about autism
Neuronal alterations outside the brain may help to explain a host of the condition’s characteristic traits, including sensory changes, gut problems and motor differences.
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ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release
The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.

ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release
The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.
Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants
The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.

Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants
The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.
Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.

Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.