Neuro’s ark

Recent articles

This series highlights neuroscience research in nontraditional organisms and the questions those animals are well suited to help researchers answer.

Illustration of pipa frog showing nerves in fingertips.

How the pipa frog hunts prey by touch

Each of the frog’s eight fingers branches into 16 ultra-sensitive tips, which together function as a fovea—potentially the first demonstration of this type of sensory structure outside of mammals.

By Calli McMurray
30 September 2026 | 7 min read
An illustration of a sea cucumber as it moves through it's environment; depicted in shades of purple.

Inside the sea cucumber’s regenerative superpowers

José E. García-Arrarás studies how these marine invertebrates manage to regrow their nervous system, intestines and other internal organs in a matter of months after threats prompt them to literally spill their guts.

By Alissa de Chassey
28 August 2026 | 5 min read
An illustration of a sea cucumber as it moves through it's environment; depicted in shades of purple.

Os superpoderes regenerativos do pepino-do-mar

José E. García-Arrarás estuda como esses invertebrados marinhos conseguem regenerar seu sistema nervoso, intestinos e outros órgãos internos em questão de meses, depois que ameaças os levam a, literalmente, "expelir suas entranhas".

By Alissa de Chassey
28 August 2026 | 6 min read
An illustration of a sea cucumber as it moves through it's environment; depicted in shades of purple.

Los superpoderes regenerativos del pepino de mar

José E. García-Arrarás estudia cómo estos invertebrados marinos logran regenerar su sistema nervioso, intestinos y otros órganos internos en cuestión de meses, tras amenazas que los llevan a expulsar sus vísceras.

By Alissa de Chassey
28 August 2026 | 6 min read
Ground squirrel.

How thirteen-lined ground squirrels illuminate retinal development

In most mammalian retinas, rods outnumber cones. But that ratio is flipped in ground squirrels, a quirk that helps Seth Blackshaw explore how retinal cells develop their identities.

By Sarah Thau
31 July 2026 | 5 min read
Mosquito.

What mosquitos lay bare about proprioception

By comparing the proprioceptive systems of mosquitos and fruit flies, Sweta Agrawal aims to uncover fundamental features of the ability to sense self-movement.

By Calli McMurray
1 July 2026 | 5 min read
Illustration of spiny mouse.

Learning why spiny mice play well with others

Aubrey Kelly studies the gregarious mammal to explore how the brain controls complex social behaviors “akin to friendship.”

By Hannah Thomasy
2 June 2026 | 5 min read
leech illustration.

What leeches reveal about movement

Lidia Szczupak turned to the animals to explore how the nervous system coordinates movement.

By Claudia López Lloreda
1 May 2026 | 6 min read
Sanguessuga medicinal.

O que as sanguessugas revelam sobre o movimento

Lidia Szczupak recorreu a esses animais para investigar como o sistema nervoso coordena o movimento.

By Claudia López Lloreda
1 May 2026 | 6 min read
La sanguijuela medicinal.

Lo que las sanguijuelas revelan sobre movimiento

Lidia Szczupak recurrió a los animales para explorar cómo el sistema nervioso coordina el movimiento.

By Claudia López Lloreda
1 May 2026 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

How does a control theorist explain cognition?

Maxim Raginsky draws on control theory, engineering and philosophy to explore what makes biological brains intelligent, what artificial intelligence is missing, and what principles underlie biological autonomy.

By Paul Middlebrooks
7 October 2026 | 1 min read

Holographic mesoscope reads, writes from different cortical regions simultaneously

The tool could help reveal how information transmission between areas relates to perception, cognition and behavior.

By Simon Makin
7 October 2026 | 0 min watch

Susana Carmona on the neurobiology of pregnancy

In a Q&A about her new book, “A Mother’s Brain,” Carmona shares key moments in her career that led her to study the neuroscience of motherhood and discusses some of the major questions the field still needs to address.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
6 October 2026 | 8 min read