Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is science communicator at JILA and editor-in-chief of their journal, Light & Matter. She is also a freelance science journalist. Her beats include quantum technology, artificial intelligence, diversity within the tech industries, animal intelligence, corvids and cephalopods. Her work has been featured in various publications, including Scientific American, New Scientist, Discover Magazine, Ars Technica, Nature Biotechnology, Astronomy Magazine, Leaps Magazine, Hakai Magazine, ChemistryWorld, Physics.org, Colorado Magazine, Inside Quantum Technology, The Debrief and more. She sits on the board of the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains (SWARM) and teaches science writing to graduate students at JILA.
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry
Contributing writer
From this contributor
Number-associated neurons help crows link values to symbols
Comparable neurons also exist in primates, which shared a common ancestor with crows more than 300 million years ago, suggesting that the ability to “count” evolved independently in the two lineages.
Number-associated neurons help crows link values to symbols
By
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry
19 January 2024 | 4 min read
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Future remains uncertain for U.S. federal funding of behavioral, cognitive science
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Future remains uncertain for U.S. federal funding of behavioral, cognitive science
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Calli McMurray
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How energy determines where proteins are produced in neurons
Tatjana Tchumatchenko explains how mathematical modeling elucidates whether ion-channel proteins are produced locally in the soma or in the dendrites.
How energy determines where proteins are produced in neurons
Tatjana Tchumatchenko explains how mathematical modeling elucidates whether ion-channel proteins are produced locally in the soma or in the dendrites.
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Gaute Einevoll
26 August 2026 | 104 min listen
Wouldn’t you like to know? A mouse would
Mice seek information for curiosity’s sake—and their desire for knowledge versus a payout is represented distinctly in the brain, new findings suggest.
Wouldn’t you like to know? A mouse would
Mice seek information for curiosity’s sake—and their desire for knowledge versus a payout is represented distinctly in the brain, new findings suggest.
By
Sarah Thau
26 August 2026 | 5 min read