Maaisha Osman was the Spring 2023 editorial intern at Spectrum, writing articles about the latest in autism research. She graduated from the Northeastern Journalism School in Boston, Massachusetts, and was an editor at Storybench — a digital publication on media innovation. Her work has appeared in STAT, The Bay State Banner and other local news outlets in Boston. You can find her on Twitter @MaaishaO.

Maaisha Osman
Former news intern
Spectrum
From this contributor
Abundant motor proteins disrupt cries in FOXP2 mice
Knocking down the gene that codes for the proteins normalizes the vocalizations.

Abundant motor proteins disrupt cries in FOXP2 mice
Two scientists, two interventions: A ‘gentle rivalry’ to aid autistic children
Minimally verbal autistic preschoolers gained new words and phrases in a head-to-head comparison of two interventions.

Two scientists, two interventions: A ‘gentle rivalry’ to aid autistic children
Medicaid waivers curb disenrollment among autistic young adults
Autistic people tend to drop out of Medicaid once they reach adulthood in states that don’t waive the income restrictions on enrollment.

Medicaid waivers curb disenrollment among autistic young adults
Autism intervention before age 2 may aid social, language skills
Autistic toddlers who receive a personalized intervention at about 18 months of age gain more abilities than those who start the therapy nine months later.

Autism intervention before age 2 may aid social, language skills
Black and women researchers are less likely to hold three or more NIH grants simultaneously
A growing proportion of researchers has reached such “super principal investigator” status, but the distribution is not even across demographic groups.

Black and women researchers are less likely to hold three or more NIH grants simultaneously
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Oxytocin prompts prairie voles to oust outsiders, fortifying their friendships
The “love hormone” drives the neurobiology behind platonic bonds in animals usually studied for their romantic attachments.

Oxytocin prompts prairie voles to oust outsiders, fortifying their friendships
The “love hormone” drives the neurobiology behind platonic bonds in animals usually studied for their romantic attachments.
Contested paper on vaccines, autism in rats retracted by journal
The editor-in-chief cited “inconsistencies in the number of subjects” as the reason for the retraction.

Contested paper on vaccines, autism in rats retracted by journal
The editor-in-chief cited “inconsistencies in the number of subjects” as the reason for the retraction.
Body state, sensory signals commingle in mouse whisker cortex
The new study challenges a long-held view that the barrel cortex exclusively encodes sensory signals from the whiskers.
Body state, sensory signals commingle in mouse whisker cortex
The new study challenges a long-held view that the barrel cortex exclusively encodes sensory signals from the whiskers.