Dalmeet Singh Chawla is a freelance science journalist based in London. His work has been featured in Nature, Science, Slate, Undark, The Economist, New Scientist and Pacific Standard, among other publications. See more about his work here: www.dalmeets.com.
Dalmeet Singh Chawla
Contributing writer
From this contributor
Neuroscience conference policy draws confusion, apology
NeurIPS organizers apologized and altered course after issuing a policy that barred submissions from researchers at U.S.-government-sanctioned institutions.
Neuroscience conference policy draws confusion, apology
By
Dalmeet Singh Chawla
27 March 2026 | 5 min read
Faked results lead to retraction of high-profile cancer neuroscience study
An investigation found that the experiments required more animals than the scientists had purchased.
Faked results lead to retraction of high-profile cancer neuroscience study
By
Dalmeet Singh Chawla
18 June 2024 | 4 min read
‘Tainted kids,’ other odd phrases cropping up in autism studies
The “tortured phrases” — strangely worded paraphrases of established terms — may be the work of software that attempts to disguise plagiarism.
‘Tainted kids,’ other odd phrases cropping up in autism studies
By
Dalmeet Singh Chawla
2 May 2022 | 4 min read
Why was a study about autism cited by a paper on plant beauty?
Autism studies are appearing in the reference lists of entirely unrelated papers, suggesting what a few scholars worry is a plot to manipulate citations.
Why was a study about autism cited by a paper on plant beauty?
By
Dalmeet Singh Chawla
21 January 2022 | 5 min read
Large study supports discarding the term ‘high-functioning autism’
Autistic people described as ‘high functioning’ because they do not have intellectual disability often still struggle with daily living skills.
Large study supports discarding the term ‘high-functioning autism’
By
Dalmeet Singh Chawla
3 July 2019 | 3 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Autism-linked genes alter sleep behavior, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 April.
Autism-linked genes alter sleep behavior, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 April.
By
Jill Adams
14 April 2026 | 2 min read
This paper changed my life: Erin Calipari ponders the nuances of rewarding and aversive stimuli
A 1960s study by Kelleher and Morse found that lever pressing in squirrel monkeys depended not on whether they received a reward or shock, but on the rules of the task. This taught Calipari to think deeply about factors that influence how behavior is generated and maintained.
This paper changed my life: Erin Calipari ponders the nuances of rewarding and aversive stimuli
A 1960s study by Kelleher and Morse found that lever pressing in squirrel monkeys depended not on whether they received a reward or shock, but on the rules of the task. This taught Calipari to think deeply about factors that influence how behavior is generated and maintained.
By
Erin Calipari
14 April 2026 | 5 min read
Why neural foundation models work, and what they might—and might not—teach us about the brain
These models can partly generalize across species, brain regions and tasks, suggesting that a set of machine-learnable rules govern neural population activity. But will we be able to understand them?
Why neural foundation models work, and what they might—and might not—teach us about the brain
These models can partly generalize across species, brain regions and tasks, suggesting that a set of machine-learnable rules govern neural population activity. But will we be able to understand them?
By
Juan Gallego
13 April 2026 | 8 min read