Hannah Furfaro was a news writer at Spectrum from 2017 to 2019. Before that, Hannah was an investigative reporting fellow at Columbia University. She previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Fresno Bee and the Associated Press. Her work has also appeared in The Guardian and Audubon Magazine.

Hannah Furfaro
From this contributor
How aripiprazole’s promise for treating autism fell short
Aripiprazole, marketed as Abilify, is widely thought to be safer than risperidone, the only other drug approved for use in autistic children. A decade’s worth of data suggests that is not true.

How aripiprazole’s promise for treating autism fell short
Sleep problems in autism, explained
Many people with autism have difficulty falling and staying asleep, but there may be ways to help them.
Autistic girls’ brains show distinct anatomical features
Nerve fiber tracts in the brains of autistic girls appear more fragmented than those of typical girls’. Autistic boys’ brains, meanwhile, look like those of typical boys.

Autistic girls’ brains show distinct anatomical features
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Annie Ciernia
Annie Ciernia describes the greenhouse origins of her scientific career and why a unicorn makes a good lab mascot.

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Annie Ciernia
Small sponge may sop up maternal antibody tied to autism
Researchers have created a microscopic particle that traps immune molecules found in a woman that are linked to autism in her child.

Small sponge may sop up maternal antibody tied to autism
Explore more from The Transmitter
New findings on Phelan-McDermid syndrome; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 1 September.

New findings on Phelan-McDermid syndrome; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 1 September.
From bench to bot: Why AI-powered writing may not deliver on its promise
Efficiency isn’t everything. The cognitive work of struggling with prose may be a crucial part of what drives scientific progress.

From bench to bot: Why AI-powered writing may not deliver on its promise
Efficiency isn’t everything. The cognitive work of struggling with prose may be a crucial part of what drives scientific progress.
Bringing neuroscience to rural Mexico: In conversation with Mónica López-Hidalgo
By offering education and translating scientific terms into Indigenous languages, López-Hidalgo’s outreach program, Neurociencias Para Todos, provides schoolteachers with tools to bring neuroscience to their communities.
Bringing neuroscience to rural Mexico: In conversation with Mónica López-Hidalgo
By offering education and translating scientific terms into Indigenous languages, López-Hidalgo’s outreach program, Neurociencias Para Todos, provides schoolteachers with tools to bring neuroscience to their communities.