Simon J. Makin is an auditory perception researcher turned science journalist. Originally from Liverpool, he has a Ph.D in computational auditory modeling from the University of Sheffield. His writing has appeared in Nature, Scientific American and New Scientist, among other places.
Simon Makin
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From 0 to 60 in 10 years
After a decade of fast-paced discovery, researchers are racing toward bigger datasets, more genes and a deeper understanding of the biology of autism.
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Dispute erupts over universal cortical brain-wave claim
The debate highlights opposing views on how the cortex transmits information.
Dispute erupts over universal cortical brain-wave claim
The debate highlights opposing views on how the cortex transmits information.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
12 December 2025 | 5 min read
Waves of calcium activity dictate eye structure in flies
Synchronized signals in non-neuronal retinal cells draw the tiny compartments of a fruit fly’s compound eye into alignment during pupal development.
Waves of calcium activity dictate eye structure in flies
Synchronized signals in non-neuronal retinal cells draw the tiny compartments of a fruit fly’s compound eye into alignment during pupal development.
By
Lauren Schneider
12 December 2025 | 0 min watch
Among brain changes studied in autism, spotlight shifts to subcortex
The striatum and thalamus are more likely than the cerebral cortex to express autism variants or bear transcriptional changes, two unpublished studies find.
Among brain changes studied in autism, spotlight shifts to subcortex
The striatum and thalamus are more likely than the cerebral cortex to express autism variants or bear transcriptional changes, two unpublished studies find.
By
Holly Barker
11 December 2025 | 5 min read