Leto Sapunar is a freelance science journalist covering physics, space, climate and science accountability since 2020. He has been writing for Popular Science since early 2021, and his work can also be found in Scientific American, Inside Climate News and Retraction Watch, among other outlets.
Leto Sapunar
From this contributor
Pinning hope to ketamine
Doctors can prescribe it, but evidence that ketamine eases autism traits is still preliminary.
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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.
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.
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
Seeing the world as animals do: How to leverage generative AI for ecological neuroscience
Generative artificial intelligence will offer a new way to see, simulate and hypothesize about how animals experience their worlds. In doing so, it could help bridge the long-standing gap between neural function and behavior.
Seeing the world as animals do: How to leverage generative AI for ecological neuroscience
Generative artificial intelligence will offer a new way to see, simulate and hypothesize about how animals experience their worlds. In doing so, it could help bridge the long-standing gap between neural function and behavior.
By
Shahab Bakhtiari
8 December 2025 | 8 min read