Erika Check Hayden is an award-winning, San Francisco-based science and technology reporter. She writes for Nature, and on a freelance basis for a variety of publications, and is a lecturer in the University of California, Santa Cruz Science Communication Program.
Erika Check Hayden
Freelance writer
From this contributor
For studies, size matters: Let us count the ways
In autism research, as in other fields, small sample sizes can lead to false findings. The size of the sample needed for statistical significance depends on the type of study.

For studies, size matters: Let us count the ways
Preprint server bioRxiv gets boost from Facebook billionaire
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has pledged to provide financial support for bioRxiv, a website where researchers can share manuscripts before peer review.

Preprint server bioRxiv gets boost from Facebook billionaire
Book review: ‘Rigor Mortis’ reveals rampant sloppiness in science
In his new book, journalist Richard Harris writes that lack of reproducibility in research poses a serious threat to science.

Book review: ‘Rigor Mortis’ reveals rampant sloppiness in science
Rising star: Somer Bishop fine-tunes autism diagnosis
Somer Bishop is launching a revolution in autism diagnosis, creating faster, more precise tools that speed research and better capture the full spectrum of autism symptoms.

Rising star: Somer Bishop fine-tunes autism diagnosis
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Fly database secures funding for another year, but future remains in flux
The FlyBase team’s fundraising efforts have proven successful in the short term, but restoration of its federal grant remains uncertain.

Fly database secures funding for another year, but future remains in flux
The FlyBase team’s fundraising efforts have proven successful in the short term, but restoration of its federal grant remains uncertain.
Diving in with Nachum Ulanovsky
With an eye toward realism, the neuroscientist, who has a new study about bats out today, creates microcosms of the natural world to understand animal behavior.

Diving in with Nachum Ulanovsky
With an eye toward realism, the neuroscientist, who has a new study about bats out today, creates microcosms of the natural world to understand animal behavior.
Gene-activity map of developing brain reveals new clues about autism’s sex bias
Boys and girls may be vulnerable to different genetic changes, which could help explain why the condition is more common in boys despite linked variants appearing more often in girls.

Gene-activity map of developing brain reveals new clues about autism’s sex bias
Boys and girls may be vulnerable to different genetic changes, which could help explain why the condition is more common in boys despite linked variants appearing more often in girls.