Academia

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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
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
Photograph of the Montreal Neurological Institute.

Inclusivity committee disbands in protest at Canadian neuroscience institute

The majority of an 11-person committee resigned from the group this week following news that a staff position overseeing equity, diversity and inclusion would not be renewed.

By Elissa Welle
3 May 2024 | 5 min read

‘These are not alternative careers’: More neuroscience Ph.D. programs start to facilitate industry internships

The opportunities cater to students interested in careers outside the ivory tower.

By Elissa Welle
29 April 2024 | 4 min read

Reporting bias widespread in early-childhood autism intervention trials

Only 7 percent of completed registered trials were later updated with results, one of several failings identified in a new analysis.

By Gina Jiménez
18 April 2024 | 5 min read
A stack of papers with a red paper on top.

‘Star’ neuroscientist faked data in paper and grant applications, U.S. government finds

The faked data, which was part of research on the genetic mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, was used to obtain more than $1.4 million in federal funding.

By Calli McMurray
5 April 2024 | 3 min read
A stack of papers with red bookmarks

Nobel Prize winner acknowledges errors in three more papers

The papers, published in the Journal of Neuroscience and Cell, were led by neuroscientist Thomas Südhof.

By Shaena Montanari
5 April 2024 | 4 min read
Headshot of Stanley Prusiner.

Nobel Prize winner’s paper to be corrected, according to co-author

A data sleuth flagged an apparent duplicate image in the 2015 prion study led by neurologist and biochemist Stanley Prusiner.

By Elissa Welle
27 March 2024 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of neurons in the fly’s ventral nerve cord.

New connectomes fly beyond the brain

Researchers are mapping the neurons in Drosophila’s ventral nerve cord, where the central nervous system meets the rest of the body.

By Laura Dattaro
26 July 2024 | 7 min read
Illustration of researchers talking to laypeople amidst strands of DNA.

Building an autism research registry: Q&A with Tony Charman

A purpose-built database of participants who have shared genomic and behavioral data could give clinical trials a boost, Charman says.

By Cathleen O’Grady
25 July 2024 | 8 min read

Cerebellar circuit may convert expected pain relief into real thing

The newly identified circuit taps into the brain’s opioid system to provide a top-down form of pain relief.

By Angie Voyles Askham
24 July 2024 | 6 min read