Linda Nordling is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa. She writes about science, education, health and development.
Linda Nordling
From this contributor
The perils of parachute research
Scientists who study autism in lower-income countries are working to end practices that exploit or ignore collaborators and communities on the ground.
Petrus de Vries: Architect of the autism research field in Africa
Petrus de Vries is on a quest to outfit Africa, the continent of his birth, with trained autism researchers and service providers.
Petrus de Vries: Architect of the autism research field in Africa
By
Linda Nordling
16 February 2022 | 5 min read
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This paper changed my life: John Tuthill reflects on the subjectivity of selfhood
Wittlinger, Wehner and Wolf’s 2006 “stilts and stumps” Science paper revealed how ants pull off extraordinary feats of navigation using a biological odometer, and it inspired Tuthill to consider how other insects sense their own bodies.
This paper changed my life: John Tuthill reflects on the subjectivity of selfhood
Wittlinger, Wehner and Wolf’s 2006 “stilts and stumps” Science paper revealed how ants pull off extraordinary feats of navigation using a biological odometer, and it inspired Tuthill to consider how other insects sense their own bodies.
By
John Tuthill
12 January 2026 | 7 min read
Some facial expressions are less reflexive than previously thought
A countenance such as a grimace activates many of the same cortical pathways as voluntary facial movements.
Some facial expressions are less reflexive than previously thought
A countenance such as a grimace activates many of the same cortical pathways as voluntary facial movements.
By
Natalia Mesa
8 January 2026 | 5 min read
Cracking the neural code for emotional states
Rather than act as a simple switchboard for innate behaviors, the hypothalamus encodes an animal's internal state, which influences behavior.
Cracking the neural code for emotional states
Rather than act as a simple switchboard for innate behaviors, the hypothalamus encodes an animal's internal state, which influences behavior.
By
Natalia Mesa
8 January 2026 | 8 min read