Carrie Arnold is a Virginia-based freelance science journalist who covers many aspects of the living world. She’s a contributing editor at NOVA Next, and has also written for Mosaic, National Geographic, Aeon, Nautilus, Scientific American and Women’s Health. She is also the author of “Decoding Anorexia: How Breakthroughs in Science Offer Hope for Eating Disorders.”
Carrie Arnold
From this contributor
Weighing up autism’s obesity crisis
Autism’s underlying biology, associated behaviors and treatments can all put people on the spectrum at serious risk for obesity.
Rare form of autism shows unique pattern of regression
More than 40 percent of children with Phelan-McDermid syndrome lose skills they once had, beginning, on average, at age 6.
Rare form of autism shows unique pattern of regression
By
Carrie Arnold
24 May 2017 | 3 min read
The innovators: How families launch their own autism studies
Some parents are starting ‘N-of-1’ studies for autism, but their efforts don’t always get taken seriously.
The innovators: How families launch their own autism studies
By
Carrie Arnold
28 September 2016 | 20 min read
The invisible link between autism and anorexia
Autism and anorexia may seem to have nothing in common, but below the surface, the two conditions are startlingly similar—and sometimes affect the same person.
The invisible link between autism and anorexia
By
Carrie Arnold
17 February 2016 | 18 min read
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Genetic profiles separate early, late autism diagnoses
Age at diagnosis reflects underlying differences in common genetic variants and developmental trajectories among people with autism.
Genetic profiles separate early, late autism diagnoses
Age at diagnosis reflects underlying differences in common genetic variants and developmental trajectories among people with autism.
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Natalia Mesa
27 November 2025 | 5 min read
To persist, memories surf molecular waves from thalamus to cortex
During the later stages of learning, the mouse brain progressively activates transcriptional regulators that drive memory consolidation.
To persist, memories surf molecular waves from thalamus to cortex
During the later stages of learning, the mouse brain progressively activates transcriptional regulators that drive memory consolidation.
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Claudia López Lloreda
26 November 2025 | 4 min read
Sex hormone boosts female rats’ sensitivity to unexpected rewards
During the high-estradiol stages of their estrus cycle, female rats learn faster than they do during other stages—and than male rats overall—thanks to a boost in their dopaminergic response to reward, a new study suggests.
Sex hormone boosts female rats’ sensitivity to unexpected rewards
During the high-estradiol stages of their estrus cycle, female rats learn faster than they do during other stages—and than male rats overall—thanks to a boost in their dopaminergic response to reward, a new study suggests.
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Angie Voyles Askham
26 November 2025 | 5 min read