Lauren Gravitz is a freelance writer and editor in Hershey, Pennsylvania, who covers health, medicine, science and the environment. Her stories have appeared in Nature, Aeon, The Economist, Technology Review, O, The Oprah Magazine and Discover, among others.
Lauren Gravitz
Freelance Writer
From this contributor
A brief history of precision self-scanning
When a researcher solved a logistical problem by going rogue, the idea proved remarkably infectious.
A brief history of precision self-scanning
By
Lauren Gravitz
21 January 2026 | 13 min read
At the intersection of autism and trauma
Autism and post-traumatic stress disorder share many traits, but the connection between them was largely overlooked until now.
Autism’s drug problem
Many people on the spectrum take multiple medications — which can lead to serious side effects and may not even be effective.
Lack of DNA modification creates hotspots for mutations
The absence of a chemical alteration called methylation on some stretches of DNA makes them especially prone to mutations, according to a paper published in PLoS Genetics in May.
Lack of DNA modification creates hotspots for mutations
By
Lauren Gravitz
28 June 2012 | 4 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Crisis de financiación en Argentina desata nueva ola de protestas
Dos años luego de que colapsara la financiación para investigación del país colapsara, los científicos están manifestando en contra del incumplimiento del gobierno para restaurar becas cortadas previamente y aumentar salarios como lo establece una del 2025.
Crisis de financiación en Argentina desata nueva ola de protestas
Dos años luego de que colapsara la financiación para investigación del país colapsara, los científicos están manifestando en contra del incumplimiento del gobierno para restaurar becas cortadas previamente y aumentar salarios como lo establece una del 2025.
By
Claudia López Lloreda, Natalia Mesa
12 May 2026 | 5 min read
The silent majority: How astrocytes shape the brain across scales
Melissa Cooper talks to Mac Shine about her new work that reveals how these glial cells—long dismissed as the brain’s housekeepers—wire together in precise, long-range networks that remodel in response to experience.
The silent majority: How astrocytes shape the brain across scales
Melissa Cooper talks to Mac Shine about her new work that reveals how these glial cells—long dismissed as the brain’s housekeepers—wire together in precise, long-range networks that remodel in response to experience.
By
Mac Shine
12 May 2026 | 3 min read
Untangling genetic effects, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 11 May.
Untangling genetic effects, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 11 May.
By
Jill Adams
12 May 2026 | 2 min read