Courtney Humphries is a freelance writer based in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
Courtney Humphries
Freelance Writer
SFARI.org
From this contributor
Noncoding gene linked to autism
Researchers have identified a noncoding RNA, a genetic message that is not translated into a protein, that may be involved in autism. The discovery, published 4 April in Science Translational Medicine, came from examining a region on chromosome 5 that has been previously linked to the disorder.
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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.
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
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.
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
Highlights from the first-ever Neural Genetics and Epigenetics Gordon Research Conference
The meeting’s organizers recap the science to watch.
Highlights from the first-ever Neural Genetics and Epigenetics Gordon Research Conference
The meeting’s organizers recap the science to watch.
By
Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
30 July 2026 | 4 min read