Natasha Gilbert is a freelance writer who has spent a decade covering the environment, biology, agriculture and education for outlets including The Guardian, National Public Radio and Scientific American. She is a former staff reporter for Nature. She has an M.Sc. in philosophy of science from the London School of Economics and a B.Sc. in environmental biology from the University of Reading in the U.K. She is a native Londoner living in Washington, D.C.
Natasha Gilbert
From this contributor
Snapshots reveal striking changes in adult brain over time
The most detailed depiction of an individual brain to date shows that the connections in a person's brain vary significantly over the course of a year and a half.
Snapshots reveal striking changes in adult brain over time
By
Natasha Gilbert
7 September 2015 | 5 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
New Stanford initiative aims to build digital twin of human brain
The effort, funded by private donors, seeks to train the model on a trove of MRI and magnetoencephalography data that scientists plan to collect over the next five years—but questions about its scientific utility and feasibility remain.
New Stanford initiative aims to build digital twin of human brain
The effort, funded by private donors, seeks to train the model on a trove of MRI and magnetoencephalography data that scientists plan to collect over the next five years—but questions about its scientific utility and feasibility remain.
By
Natalia Mesa
2 November 2026 | 0 min watch
The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
By
Ila Fiete
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
By
Diana Kwon
2 November 2026 | 8 min read