Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science writer covering astronomy, zoonoses and everything in between. She writes for Popular Science, Wired and New Scientist, among other publications for adults and children.
Rebecca Boyle
From this contributor
The brain’s secret gardeners
Once thought merely to be specialized immune system cells, microglia now appear to be master landscapers of the developing brain.
Explore more from The Transmitter
Infant memories: Lost but not gone?
Infantile amnesia is not simply a story about forgetting the past. It is an opportunity to understand how memory itself is built.
Infant memories: Lost but not gone?
Infantile amnesia is not simply a story about forgetting the past. It is an opportunity to understand how memory itself is built.
By
Paul Frankland, Sheena Josselyn, Nick Turk-Browne
14 September 2026 | 6 min read
Finally, a new route for the magnetic-sense field
Researchers have dueled for years over how the magnetic sense works. New data from monarch butterflies could finally help settle the debate.
Finally, a new route for the magnetic-sense field
Researchers have dueled for years over how the magnetic sense works. New data from monarch butterflies could finally help settle the debate.
By
Calli McMurray
11 September 2026 | 16 min read
Sensory over-responsivity tied to autism, anxiety but not other conditions
Negative reactions to sensations track with certain neurodevelopmental traits in more than 15,000 children—pointing to shared neurobiological roots.
Sensory over-responsivity tied to autism, anxiety but not other conditions
Negative reactions to sensations track with certain neurodevelopmental traits in more than 15,000 children—pointing to shared neurobiological roots.
By
Diana Kwon
10 September 2026 | 5 min read