New Neuroscience Publication, The Transmitter, Will Inform and Connect the Field

Today marks the launch of The Transmitter, a new publication focused on helping neuroscientists stay current on the latest developments in the field and build new connections.

Created by the team that brings Spectrum to autism researchers, The Transmitter will provide essential news, insights and resources across neuroscience disciplines and career stages. Spectrum will continue to publish news and perspectives on autism research as an anchor of The Transmitter. Like Spectrum, The Transmitter is an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation.

“Neuroscience discoveries are rapidly shifting our understanding of biological phenomena — and, in fact, what it means to be human,” says editor-in-chief Ivan Oransky. “The Transmitter is committed to being an essential resource, delivering content that enables researchers across the field to stay current on the latest news and findings while building a digital community for communication and collaboration that can help advance scientific research.”

The Transmitter ensures that the most compelling news and insights, written by science journalists and scientists, are curated and centralized in one place. News and features provide deeper analysis of developments in the field. A diversity of voices in the neuroscience community provides readers with varied points of view, and essays and opinions from experts offer perspectives on emerging topics.

The inaugural “edition” includes essays and articles on a range of topics, including how cancer hijacks the nervous system to seed tumors, metastasize and even resist therapy; how neural implants to treat epilepsy are revealing secrets about real-world recall; and how some neuroscientists are redirecting their analytic skills to tackle the existential problem of climate change. It also features a podcast interview with Nobel Prize winner Ardem Patapoutian; a video tour of the custom fly-releasing “PEZ dispenser” and mini-IMAX theater scientists are using to map out — neuron by neuron — how individual insects respond to an imaginary predator; and a photo gallery of people with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease describing in their own words why they participate in clinical studies.

A core group of contributing editors from leading institutions will help shape the content and contribute editorially.

“The research being conducted in neuroscience is among the most ambitious in any fundamental science,” says Simons Foundation president, David Spergel. “As the Simons Foundation broadens its support for this work, it is also committed to supporting the launch and growth of an exciting new publication dedicated to covering the field. The time is right.”

The Transmitter is an essential resource for the neuroscience community, dedicated to helping scientists at all career stages stay current and build new connections. The publication aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. As part of that mission, The Transmitter offers a steady stream of up-to-date news and analysis of the field, written by journalists and scientists. Visit thetransmitter.org.