Pregnancy

Recent articles

A pregnant woman seen in profile, sitting on the edge of a bed.

Maternal infection’s link to autism may be a mirage

Family-linked factors explain most associations between maternal illness and autism, a study of 1.1 million Danish children finds.

By Charles Q. Choi
6 March 2025 | 3 min read
Illustration of cranes attempting to assemble a structure out of very small black squares.

In case you missed it: Standout news stories from 2024

These five stories—on the pregnant brain, a failed imaging method and more—top our list of some of the most notable neuroscience research findings this year.

By The Transmitter
23 December 2024 | 2 min read
Research image of brain scans showing the structural integrity of white-matter tracts.

Repeat scans reveal brain changes that precede childbirth

A detailed look at a “pregnant brain” highlights a need to investigate the neural alterations that occur during a transition experienced by nearly 140 million people worldwide each year.

By Shaena Montanari
16 September 2024 | 9 min listen
Research image of a chimeroid.

Brain ‘chimeroids’ reveal person-to-person differences rooted in genetics

These fusions created from multiple donors’ organoids may help scale up comparative brain research.

By Charles Q. Choi
5 July 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of a conveyor belt spilling pills over a green cliff face.

Acetaminophen use during pregnancy does not increase child’s chance of having autism, study finds

The link reported in prior studies likely reflects confounding factors, which sibling-matched controls in the new work address.

By Calli McMurray
9 April 2024 | 7 min read
A research image of a mouse brain

Immune-activation model mice escape infantile amnesia, retain early memories

Male pups born to mothers treated with immune-stimulating molecules show autism-like behaviors and, unlike wildtype animals, do not lose memories formed during early life.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
11 January 2024 | 5 min read
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

The true meaning of a null result

This edition of Null and Noteworthy highlights results that reveal the difficulty in drawing definitive conclusions from data, including new findings about epidurals that contradict several others and an apparent null result on sex differences that may derive from “circular logic.”

By Laura Dattaro
14 August 2023 | 4 min read
A multiplexed image of human decidua.

Atlas charts cells of human placenta, uterus across early pregnancy

A new resource gives an unparalleled look at how fetal placental cells attach to the uterine wall and remodel maternal blood vessels to access nutrients.

By Emily Hayes
27 July 2023 | 4 min read
Illustration of half of a brain on the left and half of a heart on the right

Change of heart and mind: Autism’s ties to cardiac defects

Children with congenital heart disease have an increased likelihood of autism. Why?

By Lauren Schenkman
21 July 2023 | 12 min read
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Prenatal exposures; Angelman trial suspension; autistic adult well-being

This month’s issue of the Null and Noteworthy newsletter breaks down some negative results involving prenatal exposures, an experimental treatment for Angelman syndrome, and the role that age at autism diagnosis plays in subsequent outcomes, and more.

By Emily Harris
17 July 2023 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Bag of umbilical cord blood.

Why hype for autism stem cell therapies continues despite dead ends

After numerous tests, there is still no evidence that these experimental treatments help, so now is not the time to expand access to them.

By Paul Knoepfler
22 August 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of cortical maps of somatosensation.

Adult human cortex does not reorganize after amputation

The results from a new longitudinal study contradict classic findings in monkeys but may not warrant a rewriting of the textbooks just yet.

By Angie Voyles Askham
21 August 2025 | 8 min listen
A James Hudspeth.

Remembering A. James Hudspeth, hair cell explorer

Hudspeth, who died 16 August at age 79, devoted his 50-year career to untangling how the ear converts sound into electrical signals.

By Calli McMurray
21 August 2025 | 7 min read

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