Amber Dance is an award-winning freelance science writer and editor based in Southern California. She is a contributor at Knowable Magazine, program director for the New Horizons in Science briefings at the ScienceWriters annual conference for the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, and a science writing instructor UCLA Extension. She is also a Fictionary StoryCoach Certified Editor.
Amber Dance
Science writer and editor
From this contributor
Measuring plastic in the brain: Improving, but incomplete
Meanwhile, researchers are publishing papers without “sufficient quality control,” says analytical chemist Dušan Materić.
Measuring plastic in the brain: Improving, but incomplete
By
Amber Dance
18 September 2026 | 9 min read
Maternity induces lasting gene-expression changes in mouse brains
The findings add to a small but growing body of research on neurological changes linked to pregnancy, birth and parenting.
Maternity induces lasting gene-expression changes in mouse brains
By
Amber Dance
12 June 2026 | 5 min read
Levels of autism severity in diagnostic manual track with intelligence
A rating of high severity of autism from the DSM-5, the latest version of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” tracks with low intelligence scores.
Levels of autism severity in diagnostic manual track with intelligence
By
Amber Dance
26 March 2018 | 4 min read
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Michael Reimann explains how the shape of neurons puts strong constraints on how they are wired in a network, and how this affects their structure-function relationships.
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Michael Reimann explains how the shape of neurons puts strong constraints on how they are wired in a network, and how this affects their structure-function relationships.
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Gaute Einevoll
28 October 2026 | 1 min read
How brains prevent ‘catastrophic forgetting’
Dendrite-specific inhibition lets overlapping neuronal assemblies form across brain areas without erasing existing memories, a new modeling study suggests.
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Dendrite-specific inhibition lets overlapping neuronal assemblies form across brain areas without erasing existing memories, a new modeling study suggests.
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Natalia Mesa
28 October 2026 | 6 min read
Lipids enter brain mapping limelight
Two new studies, including the first whole-brain lipid atlas in mice, uncover unforeseen complexity and influence during pregnancy and aging.
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Lauren Schenkman
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