Michael Platt is James S. Riepe University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Platt
Professor
University of Pennsylvania
From this contributor
Friends of friends: How monkey island’s residents bonded after Hurricane Maria
On 20 September 2017, Hurricane Maria passed over Puerto Rico’s Cayo Santiago Island, home to more than 1,500 non-native rhesus macaques. After the storm, the monkeys formed new, unexpected relationships in ways that could offer clues about autism.
Friends of friends: How monkey island’s residents bonded after Hurricane Maria
By
Peter Hess
13 April 2021 | 10 min read
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Cell atlas cracks open ‘black box’ of mammalian spinal cord development
The atlas details the genetics, birth dates and gene-expression signatures of roughly 150 neuron subtypes in the dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord.
Cell atlas cracks open ‘black box’ of mammalian spinal cord development
The atlas details the genetics, birth dates and gene-expression signatures of roughly 150 neuron subtypes in the dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord.
By
Natalia Mesa
3 February 2026 | 5 min read
Pangenomic approaches to the genetics of autism, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 2 February.
Pangenomic approaches to the genetics of autism, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 2 February.
By
Jill Adams
3 February 2026 | 2 min read
Betting blind on AI and the scientific mind
If the struggle to articulate an idea is part of how you come to understand it, then tools that bypass that struggle might degrade your capacity for the kind of thinking that matters most for actual discovery.
Betting blind on AI and the scientific mind
If the struggle to articulate an idea is part of how you come to understand it, then tools that bypass that struggle might degrade your capacity for the kind of thinking that matters most for actual discovery.
By
Tim Requarth
2 February 2026 | 11 min read