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
Science writer
From this contributor
Optimized two-photon microscopy enables voltage imaging at multiple depths
The tool could reveal how information flows within and between cortical layers during neural processing.
Optimized two-photon microscopy enables voltage imaging at multiple depths
By
Simon Makin
11 August 2026 | 4 min read
Designer synapses edit brain circuits in living animals
The approach could help elucidate relationships between circuit structure and function, as well as the role of natural electrical synapses.
Designer synapses edit brain circuits in living animals
By
Simon Makin
23 June 2026 | 5 min read
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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Climate neuroscience needs ‘integration’ and ‘guided’ research
Five years after a groundbreaking paper, can a young field move beyond piecemeal studies?
Climate neuroscience needs ‘integration’ and ‘guided’ research
Five years after a groundbreaking paper, can a young field move beyond piecemeal studies?
By
Sarah DeWeerdt
21 August 2026 | 7 min read
Nuclear location helps control gene activity during brain development
A study of developing human brain tissue suggests that genes switch on more strongly when they move from the nucleus’s edge toward structures that contain proteins involved in making and processing RNA.
Nuclear location helps control gene activity during brain development
A study of developing human brain tissue suggests that genes switch on more strongly when they move from the nucleus’s edge toward structures that contain proteins involved in making and processing RNA.
By
Giorgia Guglielmi
20 August 2026 | 4 min read
Five-year-old human brain organoids aged on schedule
The cultured spheres typically mimic only prenatal development, but the five-year-old ones grown in Paola Arlotta’s lab acquired postnatal features.
Five-year-old human brain organoids aged on schedule
The cultured spheres typically mimic only prenatal development, but the five-year-old ones grown in Paola Arlotta’s lab acquired postnatal features.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
19 August 2026 | 5 min read