Grace Huckins is a former editorial intern at Spectrum. Her writing has been published in Scientific American, Wired and Popular Science. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Stanford University in California, where she builds computer models of brain dynamics. In 2020, she was the AAAS Mass Media Fellow at Wired. She previously studied at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom as a Rhodes scholar.
![Headshot of Grace Huckins.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Huckins170-1.jpg)
Grace Huckins
Former news intern
Spectrum
From this contributor
Extra Y chromosomes are linked to autism
Data from people with more or fewer than two sex chromosomes could help answer questions around genetic protection and vulnerability.
How Helen Willsey broke new ground, frogs in hand
A young researcher faces down the skeptics.
![Helen Willsey in her lab at the University of California, San Francisco.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Helen-Willsey-lab-frogs-autism-844.jpg)
How Helen Willsey broke new ground, frogs in hand
Searching for the biology behind autism’s sex bias
The fact that autism seems to affect more boys than girls is often attributed to diagnostic gaps, but the skew remains largely unexplained. Some scientists are turning to basic biology for answers.
![Conceptual illustration of female brain versus male brain.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SexGenderBrains844V2.jpg)
Searching for the biology behind autism’s sex bias
Patchwork mutations present a new frontier for autism research
Mosaic mutations, which affect only some of the body’s cells, play a small but meaningful role in autism. Though they are difficult to study, researchers are working to master their complexity.
![Brain composed of legos with various legos scattered around](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210309-MOSAICISM-lead844.jpg)
Patchwork mutations present a new frontier for autism research
Pandemic pressures may drive young scientists away from autism research
After a year of juggling research, childcare and COVID-19 anxiety, some early-career academics are rethinking their place in autism science.
![Mother racing to complete her research, while carrying two small children on her back.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/20210602-LostGeneration844.jpg)
Pandemic pressures may drive young scientists away from autism research
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Cracking the code of the extracellular matrix
Despite evidence for a role in plasticity and other crucial functions, many neuroscientists still view these proteins as “brain goop.” The field needs technical advances and a shift in scientific thinking to move beyond this outdated perspective.
![Colorful illustration of a latticework of proteins.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ECM-Molofsky-neuroscience-1200-1024x692.png)
Cracking the code of the extracellular matrix
Despite evidence for a role in plasticity and other crucial functions, many neuroscientists still view these proteins as “brain goop.” The field needs technical advances and a shift in scientific thinking to move beyond this outdated perspective.
Huntington’s disease gene variants past a certain size poison select cells
The findings—providing “the next step in the whole pathway”—help explain the disease’s late onset and offer hope that it has an extended therapeutic window.
![A repeated DNA strand extends farther from the left side of the image with each iteration.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1200-hungintons-disease-repeats-cell-death-neuroscience-1024x683.png)
Huntington’s disease gene variants past a certain size poison select cells
The findings—providing “the next step in the whole pathway”—help explain the disease’s late onset and offer hope that it has an extended therapeutic window.
X marks the spot in search for autism variants
Genetic variants on the X chromosome, including those in the gene DDX53, contribute to autism’s gender imbalance, two new studies suggest.
![Research image highlighting different brain regions.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1200-transmitter-neuroscience-DDX53-genetic-variants-1024x683.png)
X marks the spot in search for autism variants
Genetic variants on the X chromosome, including those in the gene DDX53, contribute to autism’s gender imbalance, two new studies suggest.