Marta Zaraska is a freelance science journalist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, Scientific American and The Boston Globe, among other publications. She has written two literary novels and contributed to two travel books published by National Geographic. Her nonfiction book “Meathooked: The History and Science of Our 2.5-Million-Year Obsession With Meat,” was published in 2016 by Basic Books and chosen by Nature as one of “the best science picks” in March 2016.

Marta Zaraska
From this contributor
Moving for autism care
Disparities in state services for autism are driving families to relocate. But not everyone can afford to move, and others find that their new home also has faults.
The problems with prenatal testing for autism
As prenatal testing improves, it presents a host of thorny issues — from what to test and how to interpret the results, to what to do about them.

The problems with prenatal testing for autism
Europe’s race to ramp up genetic tests for autism
Many countries in Europe are reckoning with the growing demand for genetic tests for autistic people — and the accompanying ethical and scientific considerations.

Europe’s race to ramp up genetic tests for autism
France faces down its outdated notions about autism
After lagging behind other countries for decades, France is working on a new national plan for autism.

France faces down its outdated notions about autism
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Worms help untangle brain structure/function mystery
The synaptic connectome of most animals bears little resemblance to functional brain maps, but it can still predict neuronal activity, according to two preprints that tackle the puzzle in C. elegans.

Worms help untangle brain structure/function mystery
The synaptic connectome of most animals bears little resemblance to functional brain maps, but it can still predict neuronal activity, according to two preprints that tackle the puzzle in C. elegans.
Microglia nurture young interneurons
The immune cells secrete a growth factor that “sets the supply of GABAergic interneurons in the developing brain.”

Microglia nurture young interneurons
The immune cells secrete a growth factor that “sets the supply of GABAergic interneurons in the developing brain.”
Xaq Pitkow shares his principles for studying cognition in our imperfect brains and bodies
Pitkow discusses how evolution's messy constraints shape optimal brain algorithms, from Bayesian inference to ecological affordances.
Xaq Pitkow shares his principles for studying cognition in our imperfect brains and bodies
Pitkow discusses how evolution's messy constraints shape optimal brain algorithms, from Bayesian inference to ecological affordances.