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
Explore more from The Transmitter
Nuclear location helps control gene activity during brain development
A study of developing human brain tissue suggests that genes switch on more strongly when they move from the nucleus’s edge toward structures that contain proteins involved in making and processing RNA.
Nuclear location helps control gene activity during brain development
A study of developing human brain tissue suggests that genes switch on more strongly when they move from the nucleus’s edge toward structures that contain proteins involved in making and processing RNA.
By
Giorgia Guglielmi
20 August 2026 | 4 min read
Five-year-old human brain organoids aged on schedule
The cultured spheres typically mimic only prenatal development, but the five-year-old ones grown in Paola Arlotta’s lab acquired postnatal features.
Five-year-old human brain organoids aged on schedule
The cultured spheres typically mimic only prenatal development, but the five-year-old ones grown in Paola Arlotta’s lab acquired postnatal features.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
19 August 2026 | 5 min read
Marco Facchin explores the ever-shifting landscape of neuroscience theory and philosophy
Computational explanations of cognition, though powerful, aren't the only game in town.
Marco Facchin explores the ever-shifting landscape of neuroscience theory and philosophy
Computational explanations of cognition, though powerful, aren't the only game in town.
By
Paul Middlebrooks
19 August 2026 | 1 min read