Niko McCarty was Spectrum’s data reporter from 2021 to 2022. He has an M.A. from New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. He also has an M.Res. in systems and synthetic biology from Imperial College London, where he was a Fulbright Scholar, and an M.Sc. in bioengineering from the California Institute of Technology. His prior research focused on engineered microbial communities and building CRISPR-Cas technologies.
Niko McCarty
Former data reporter
Spectrum
From this contributor
Neuroscience journal retracts 13 papers at once
The papers were flagged by a method that has now been called into question.
DNA unwinder tied to social behaviors in mice, zebrafish
Blocking the enzyme, called TOP2A, in embryos makes the animals less inclined to seek companionship later in life.
DNA unwinder tied to social behaviors in mice, zebrafish
Microscopy mash-up quantifies, maps neural circuits
A new method that merges tissue expansion, light-sheet microscopy and automated image segmentation can reconstruct neural circuits in about a week.
Microscopy mash-up quantifies, maps neural circuits
Autism brain signature most pronounced in sensory areas
An analysis of 11 cortical regions shows anterior-to-posterior shifts in gene expression linked to autism.
Autism brain signature most pronounced in sensory areas
New tool transforms, compares dissimilar brain maps
The open-source software makes it possible to overlay disparate datasets and potentially accelerate hypothesis generation.
New tool transforms, compares dissimilar brain maps
Explore more from The Transmitter
Is our intelligence rooted in how living organisms are organized?
Kathryn Nave explains how a concept called constraint closure may be fundamental to understanding brains, minds and cognition.
Is our intelligence rooted in how living organisms are organized?
Kathryn Nave explains how a concept called constraint closure may be fundamental to understanding brains, minds and cognition.
Making an impact through academic administration
As executive director of research at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Neurobiology, Soha Ashrafi supports more than 300 scientists, students and staff members.
Making an impact through academic administration
As executive director of research at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Neurobiology, Soha Ashrafi supports more than 300 scientists, students and staff members.
This paper changed my life: Embracing an early model for naturalistic neuroscience
A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.
This paper changed my life: Embracing an early model for naturalistic neuroscience
A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.