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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Ramping up cortical activity in early life sparks autism-like behaviors in mice
The findings add fuel to the long-running debate over how an imbalance in excitatory and inhibitory signaling contributes to the autism.
Ramping up cortical activity in early life sparks autism-like behaviors in mice
The findings add fuel to the long-running debate over how an imbalance in excitatory and inhibitory signaling contributes to the autism.
By
Sarah DeWeerdt
30 October 2025 | 6 min read
Psychedelics muddy fMRI results: Q&A with Adam Bauer and Jonah Padawer-Curry
The drugs disrupt the link between vascular and neuronal activity, which complicates interpretations of fMRI data. Adopting a more holistic view of what constitutes brain activity may help, the researchers say.
Psychedelics muddy fMRI results: Q&A with Adam Bauer and Jonah Padawer-Curry
The drugs disrupt the link between vascular and neuronal activity, which complicates interpretations of fMRI data. Adopting a more holistic view of what constitutes brain activity may help, the researchers say.
By
Calli McMurray
29 October 2025 | 7 min read
First Pan-African neuroscience journal gets ready to launch
With lower-than-average article processing fees, and issues dedicated to topics important to the continent, the journal hopes to give African neuroscience research much-needed international visibility.
First Pan-African neuroscience journal gets ready to launch
With lower-than-average article processing fees, and issues dedicated to topics important to the continent, the journal hopes to give African neuroscience research much-needed international visibility.
By
Lauren Schenkman
28 October 2025 | 5 min listen