Michael Marshall is a freelance science journalist based in the United Kingdom. He writes about life sciences and the environment. He has a B.A. and an M.Phil. in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge and an M.Sc. in science communication from Imperial College London. Marshall was a staff journalist at New Scientist and at BBC Earth before going freelance in 2017. His work has since appeared in Nature, BBC Future and The Telegraph, among others. His first book, on the origin of life on Earth, is slated to be published in 2020.
Michael Marshall
From this contributor
Autistic children’s sleep problems linked to behavioral regulation issues
Young autistic children with sleep troubles tend to have difficulty regulating their behavior later in childhood.
Autistic children’s sleep problems linked to behavioral regulation issues
By
Michael Marshall
5 July 2021 | 4 min read
Remote diagnosis, support could aid families during lockdown
Cut off from clients by the pandemic, clinicians are turning to video conferencing and other technologies to diagnose children with autism.
Remote diagnosis, support could aid families during lockdown
By
Michael Marshall
27 April 2020 | 4 min read
Autism’s relationship to head size, explained
Some people with autism have an unusually large head. What causes the enlargement? And does it have any bearing on outcome?
Autism’s relationship to head size, explained
By
Michael Marshall
9 April 2020 | 6 min read
U.K. government faces lawsuit over mistreatment of autistic people
Following a series of scandals in the United Kingdom over people with autism being held against their will and mistreated in hospitals, a watchdog group has issued a legal challenge to the government.
U.K. government faces lawsuit over mistreatment of autistic people
By
Michael Marshall
23 March 2020 | 4 min read
Preprints of autism research, explained
Over the past decade, biologists have increasingly been posting their research results on preprint servers, ahead of the results' publication in traditional scientific journals.
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Up and out with Peggy Mason
Mason helped define the rodent prosocial behavior field, but now she’s changing course.
Up and out with Peggy Mason
Mason helped define the rodent prosocial behavior field, but now she’s changing course.
By
Sydney Wyatt
15 August 2025 | 13 min read
The spectrum goes multidimensional in search of autism subtypes
Grouping people with autism based on shared features, genetics and co-occurring conditions may improve clinical trial outcomes, researchers say.
The spectrum goes multidimensional in search of autism subtypes
Grouping people with autism based on shared features, genetics and co-occurring conditions may improve clinical trial outcomes, researchers say.
By
Katie Moisse
14 August 2025 | 9 min listen
Exclusive: Harvard University lays off fly database team
The layoffs jeopardize this resource, which has served more than 4,000 labs for about three decades.
Exclusive: Harvard University lays off fly database team
The layoffs jeopardize this resource, which has served more than 4,000 labs for about three decades.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
13 August 2025 | 5 min listen