2011: Year in review

Recent articles

Spectrum from The Transmitter.

The year in review

The ten notable papers picked by SFARI staff describe superb contributions that span the breadth of autism research from molecules to behavior. But we recognize that ten other articles might have been selected without loss of enthusiasm or excitement.

By Gerald D. Fischbach
23 December 2011 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of scientists climbing over a barrier to reach publications.

Scientific talent is global. Access to the world’s scientific stage is not.

Neuroscience in Chile, and across Latin America, does not lack talent or ideas, but the systems that make science visible—prestigious journals, conferences and networks—increasingly price its researchers out.

By Vicente Medel
3 August 2026 | 8 min read
Ground squirrel.

How thirteen-lined ground squirrels illuminate retinal development

In most mammalian retinas, rods outnumber cones. But that ratio is flipped in ground squirrels, a quirk that helps Seth Blackshaw explore how retinal cells develop their identities.

By Sarah Thau
31 July 2026 | 5 min read