Melinda Wenner Moyer (@Lindy2350) is a science writer based in New York’s Hudson Valley. She is a visiting scholar at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and an Alicia Patterson fellow. Moyer writes a column for Slate and is a contributing editor at Scientific American. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times, Mother Jones, and a number of women’s magazines.

Melinda Wenner Moyer
From this contributor
When autistic people commit sexual crimes
Many first-time sex offenders on the spectrum may not understand the laws they break. How should their crimes be treated?

When autistic people commit sexual crimes
How pregnancy may shape a child’s autism
Autism is predominantly genetic in origin, but a growing list of prenatal exposures for mother and baby may sway the odds.

How pregnancy may shape a child’s autism
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Oxytocin shapes both mouse mom and pup behavior
Distressed pups emit distinct cries for help, which depend on oxytocin neurons in their hypothalamus.

Oxytocin shapes both mouse mom and pup behavior
Distressed pups emit distinct cries for help, which depend on oxytocin neurons in their hypothalamus.
Sensory gatekeeper drives seizures, autism-like behaviors in mouse model
The new work, in mice missing the autism-linked gene CNTNAP2, suggests a mechanism to help explain the overlap between epilepsy and autism.

Sensory gatekeeper drives seizures, autism-like behaviors in mouse model
The new work, in mice missing the autism-linked gene CNTNAP2, suggests a mechanism to help explain the overlap between epilepsy and autism.
Michael Breakspear and Mac Shine explain how brain processing changes across neural population scales
Breakspear and Shine find a scale-free property of brain activity that is conserved across diverse species, suggesting that a universal principle of brain activity underlies cognition.
Michael Breakspear and Mac Shine explain how brain processing changes across neural population scales
Breakspear and Shine find a scale-free property of brain activity that is conserved across diverse species, suggesting that a universal principle of brain activity underlies cognition.