Jennifer Richler is a freelance science writer based in Bloomington, Indiana, who holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
Jennifer Richler
Science Writer
Freelance
From this contributor
Questions for Ari Ne’eman: Partnering with participants
Autistic adults should be partners in the research process, not just ‘subjects’ in a study, says Ari Ne’eman.

Questions for Ari Ne’eman: Partnering with participants
Funding agency revamps strategy for mental health research
The National Institute of Mental Health is overhauling its funding strategy to emphasize the translation of advances in genomics and information technology into therapies.

Funding agency revamps strategy for mental health research
How to build a better scientist
Budding scientists need career guidance from faculty mentors, not just technical handholding by graduate students, suggests a comprehensive review.
When researchers share data, everyone wins
Imagine a world in which researchers reveal all their clinical trial data, allowing their peers to do their own analyses and confirm the findings. A new report by the Institute of Medicine outlines ways to make this scenario a reality.

When researchers share data, everyone wins
Lingering gaps permeate public perception of science
When it comes to research, scientists and the public are often at odds. It’s a long-standing problem, but the results of a survey released last week reveal that in particular areas, this opinion gap has grown.

Lingering gaps permeate public perception of science
Explore more from The Transmitter
Null and Noteworthy: Neurons tracking sequences don’t fire in order
Instead, neurons encode the position of sequential items in working memory based on when they fire during ongoing brain wave oscillations—a finding that challenges a long-standing theory.

Null and Noteworthy: Neurons tracking sequences don’t fire in order
Instead, neurons encode the position of sequential items in working memory based on when they fire during ongoing brain wave oscillations—a finding that challenges a long-standing theory.
How to teach this paper: ‘Neurotoxic reactive astrocytes are induced by activated microglia,’ by Liddelow et al. (2017)
Shane Liddelow and his collaborators identified the factors that transform astrocytes from their helpful to harmful form. Their work is a great choice if you want to teach students about glial cell types, cell culture, gene expression or protein measurement.

How to teach this paper: ‘Neurotoxic reactive astrocytes are induced by activated microglia,’ by Liddelow et al. (2017)
Shane Liddelow and his collaborators identified the factors that transform astrocytes from their helpful to harmful form. Their work is a great choice if you want to teach students about glial cell types, cell culture, gene expression or protein measurement.
Astrocytes sense neuromodulators to orchestrate neuronal activity and shape behavior
Astrocytes serve as crucial mediators of neuromodulatory processes previously attributed to direct communication between neurons, four new studies show.

Astrocytes sense neuromodulators to orchestrate neuronal activity and shape behavior
Astrocytes serve as crucial mediators of neuromodulatory processes previously attributed to direct communication between neurons, four new studies show.