portrait of writer Leah Shaffer

Leah Shaffer

Freelance writer

Leah Shaffer is a freelance science writer based in St. Louis, Missouri. Her stories have appeared in publications such as Wired, The Atlantic, Discover, NOVA Next and UnDark. She writes about biology, medicine and the weird critters inside and outside the human body.

From this contributor

Giant helminth flies over figure with glowing gut and microbiome
Spectrum

Supplements, worms and stool: How families are trying to game the gut to treat autism traits

By Leah Shaffer
26 June 2019 | 16 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Spectrum

Leucovorin saga, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 15 June.

By Jill Adams
16 June 2026 | 2 min read
Illustration of pixelated AI models.
The big picture

Models at the speed of thought: How AI coding is reshaping theoretical neuroscience

Agentic coding makes it possible to specify a neuroscience model in hours instead of months. Six neuroscientists weigh in on what that tectonic change may bring to the field.

By Brian DePasquale
16 June 2026 | 17 min read
Illustration of pixelated eye and stacks of paper
Artificial intelligence

Writing science that humans and machines can read

Large language models are now routinely used to search, summarize and synthesize the literature at scales impossible for any individual researcher—yet scientific publishing has not adapted to that reality.

By Rachel Parkinson
15 June 2026 | 7 min read