Talking shop: The Transmitter’s top quotes of 2025

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“Any number of minutes you spend pulling back the curtain on where our medical advances and scientific discoveries come from will be minutes well spent.”

— Ashley Juavinett, associate teaching professor of neurobiology at the University of California, San Diego, on the importance of educating students about the business of scientific research.

Ashley Juavinett, associate teaching professor of neurobiology at the University of California, San Diego, on the importance of educating students about the business of scientific research.

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“We need to start treating our statistics with the same respect that we do our experimental design.”

— Peter Kind, professor of neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, on how we can end the practice of pseudoreplication.

Peter Kind, professor of neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, on how we can end the practice of pseudoreplication.

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“Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence, many people still mistakenly believe that sex-related characteristics are ‘determined’ by our genes and ‘immutable.’”

— Nicole M. Baran, assistant professor of biology at Davidson College, on teaching neuroendocrinology students about the diversity of sex and gender in the natural world.

Nicole M. Baran, assistant professor of biology at Davidson College, on teaching neuroendocrinology students about the diversity of sex and gender in the natural world.

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“A research paper is a research paper. It is not a concrete statement of fact. It is a work in progress.”

— Timothy O’Leary, professor of information engineering and neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, on striking a balance between curiosity and caution in the scientific process.

Timothy O’Leary, professor of information engineering and neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, on striking a balance between curiosity and caution in the scientific process.

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“It resembled a molecular piñata—tiny, spherical and absolutely bursting with surprises inside and out—so densely packed it looked like one tap could trigger an exocytic meltdown. I was captivated.”

— Sandra Jurado, associate professor at the Spanish National Research Council, on the first-ever 3D model of a synaptic vesicle, showcased in a 2006 Cell paper that altered the course of her career.

Sandra Jurado, associate professor at the Spanish National Research Council, on the first-ever 3D model of a synaptic vesicle, showcased in a 2006 Cell paper that altered the course of her career.

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“In a world where we’re constantly being pinged, alerted, nudged and notified, the ability to not react—to gate our arousal and filter our responses—may be one of the brain’s most underappreciated superpowers.”

— Mac Shine, associate professor of computational systems neurobiology at the University of Sydney, on the inhibitory role of the pericoeruleus, which appears to act as a delicate micromanager of arousal in the brain.

Mac Shine, associate professor of computational systems neurobiology at the University of Sydney, on the inhibitory role of the pericoeruleus, which appears to act as a delicate micromanager of arousal in the brain.

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“There should be a really high bar for how the associations between pregnancy factors and child neurodevelopment are communicated to the general public.”

— Magdalena Janecka, associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and population health at New York University, on exercising caution when discussing a potential link between maternal infection and autism.

Magdalena Janecka, associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and population health at New York University, on exercising caution when discussing a potential link between maternal infection and autism.

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“We cannot afford to lose the next generation of autism researchers, especially at this critical juncture.”

— Brian Boyd, president of the International Society for Autism Research and professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on the threats that recent U.S. federal funding cuts pose for early-career researchers.

Brian Boyd, president of the International Society for Autism Research and professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on the threats that recent U.S. federal funding cuts pose for early-career researchers.

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“There's an entire level of regulation of the brain that we have been, for the most part, ignoring. We need to step back and think more about how astrocytes are inserting themselves into the equation.”

— Marc Freeman, senior scientist at Oregon Health & Science University, on the crucial behind-the-scenes roles astrocytes play in cognition and behavior.

Marc Freeman, senior scientist at Oregon Health & Science University, on the crucial behind-the-scenes roles astrocytes play in cognition and behavior.

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“One of the most important things we can do is to talk about our research in our everyday lives and explain why we think it’s so valuable.”

— Omar Abubaker, professor and chairman of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry; Karla Kaun, associate professor of neuroscience at Brown University; and Eric J. Nestler, professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in an essay on closing the knowledge gap between neuroscientists and the general public.

Omar Abubaker, professor and chairman of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry; Karla Kaun, associate professor of neuroscience at Brown University; and Eric J. Nestler, professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in an essay on closing the knowledge gap between neuroscientists and the general public.