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.

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

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

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
Gecko with circular pulses emanating from its head.

What geckos tell us about the evolution of hearing

Catherine Carr explains her discovery that geckos retain a vibration-sensing pathway previously thought to be lost when animals moved onto land.

By Helena Kudiabor
1 April 2026 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Fruit flies use memory to track odors

When flies encounter a tasty smell, they stroll in and out of the odor plume—a process that depends on encoding a memory of the angle needed to travel back to the plume, according to a new study.

By Calli McMurray
8 September 2026 | 2 min watch
Map of genome variation.

New methods to contextualize autism-linked genes, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 7 September.

By Jill Adams
8 September 2026 | 2 min read
Illustration of folded origami.

Dimensionality—neuroscience’s red herring?

Placing too much emphasis on a specific interpretation of dimensionality, or treating it as an end-all quantification of some aspect of neural computation, may hinder progress in understanding the brain.

By Matthew Perich
7 September 2026 | 8 min read