Kate Yandell is a Philadelphia-based freelance writer with a love for genomics and neuroscience. She writes for Spectrum‘s Toolbox section.
Kate Yandell
Contributing Writer
Spectrum
From this contributor
With new part, CRISPR can cut RNA in living cells
A new version of the gene-editing tool CRISPR can target and cut RNA, offering a way to tinker with the expression of autism genes.
With new part, CRISPR can cut RNA in living cells
By
Kate Yandell
15 July 2016 | 2 min read
Sequencing approach bares large variety of brain cell types
Analyzing gene expression in a vision center of the mouse brain has revealed 49 different classes of cells.
Sequencing approach bares large variety of brain cell types
By
Kate Yandell
24 February 2016 | 2 min read
Precise program traces firing patterns in neural networks
By tracking calcium’s movement, a new algorithm simultaneously delineates individual neurons’ shapes as well as their firing patterns.
Precise program traces firing patterns in neural networks
By
Kate Yandell
17 February 2016 | 2 min read
Simple steps let star-shaped brain cells thrive in culture
A new method allows researchers to culture cells known as astrocytes from human brains.
Simple steps let star-shaped brain cells thrive in culture
By
Kate Yandell
10 February 2016 | 3 min read
Method marks variants among repeated DNA segments
A new tool trawls sequencing data to reveal single-letter DNA swaps within large duplications.
Method marks variants among repeated DNA segments
By
Kate Yandell
9 December 2015 | 2 min read
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Four experts weigh in on how to establish ethical guardrails for research on the 3D neuron clusters as these models become ever more complex.
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Claudia López Lloreda
10 December 2025 | 7 min read
Insights on suicidality and autism; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 8 December.
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By
Jill Adams
9 December 2025 | 2 min read
Exclusive: Springer Nature retracts, removes nearly 40 publications that trained neural networks on ‘bonkers’ dataset
The dataset contains images of children’s faces downloaded from websites about autism, which sparked concerns at Springer Nature about consent and reliability.
Exclusive: Springer Nature retracts, removes nearly 40 publications that trained neural networks on ‘bonkers’ dataset
The dataset contains images of children’s faces downloaded from websites about autism, which sparked concerns at Springer Nature about consent and reliability.
By
Calli McMurray
8 December 2025 | 5 min read