Erik Vance


Erik Vance is a native Bay Area writer replanted in Mexico as a non-native species. Before becoming a writer, he was, at turns, a biologist, a rock-climbing guide, an environmental consultant and an environmental educator.

His work focuses on the human element of science — the people who do it, those who benefit from it and those who do not. He has written for The New York Times, Nature, Scientific American, Harper’s, National Geographic and a number of other local and national outlets. His first book, “Suggestible You,” about how the mind and body continually twist and shape our realities, was supported in part by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and is available on Amazon or through SuggestibleYou.com.

From this contributor

Explore more from The Transmitter

Howard Fields.

In memoriam: Howard Fields, pain research pioneer

Over six decades, Fields mapped out the circuits of both pain and addiction.

By Natalia Mesa
22 May 2026 | 7 min read
Hand points to letters on a board.

Still no proof for facilitated spelling methods

A systematic review into whether the “rapid prompting method” or “spelling to communicate” can help autistic people express themselves comes up empty yet again.

By Brendan Borrell
21 May 2026 | 6 min read
Billboard reads Protect Life-Saving Science.

Oregon primate center scientists fight proposed sanctuary transition

A group of employees has launched a series of campaigns to advocate for their work and argue against the center’s potential transition to an animal sanctuary.

By Calli McMurray
21 May 2026 | 6 min read