Calli McMurray
@callimcflurry.bsky.social
neuroscience reporter at The Transmitter covering brain-body physiology, research integrity and the structural and regulatory issues that affect research signal: cmcmurray.82 my work: https://www.thetransmitter.org/contributor/calli-mcmurray/
Neuroscience in Chile, and across Latin America, does not lack talent or ideas, but the systems that make science visible—prestige journals, conferences and networks—increasingly price its researchers out, argues @medelero.bsky.social. #neuroskyence
Scientific talent is global. Access is not.
Neuroscience in Chile does not lack talent or ideas, but the systems that make science visible increasingly price its researchers out.
thetransmitter.org
Last week, about 120 genetic neuroscientists gathered in rural New Hampshire for the first-ever Neural Genetics and Epigenetics Gordon Research Conference. The meeting’s organizers spoke to The Transmitter about the major themes and takeaways. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/epigenetics/...
Highlights from first Neural Genetics and Epigenetics GRC
The meeting’s organizers recap the science to watch.
thetransmitter.org
NEW! Explore @thetransmitter.bsky.social’s newest tool, Neuro Funding Finder. Discover grants, fellowships and funding opportunities for neuroscience research at all career stages. Find your next funding source and apply, all in one place: thetransmitter.org/neuroscience... #neuroskyence
Myelin may serve as an energy reserve for the brain, according to recent studies. Carlos Matute argues that these findings might mean that structure and metabolism should no longer sit in separate boxes. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/metabolism/b...
Beyond glucose: The brain may feed itself
Myelin may serve as an energy reserve for the brain, and neuroscientists are rethinking how the brain stores, shares and protects energy.
thetransmitter.org
Salaries for workers across universities in Argentina have dropped 30 to 40 percent since Javier Milei took office, creating a scientific crisis that has driven researchers to the streets. #neuroskyence By @natmesanash.bsky.social, @claudia-lopez.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/funding/fund...
Science defunding in Argentina sparks new wave of protests
Scientists are protesting the government’s failure to restore previously cut scholarships and update salaries as required by a 2025 law.
thetransmitter.org
A new preprint shows that deep learning can make a fly walk realistically using a worm’s brain — exposing a fundamental problem with how connectome models are being built and sold to investors. By @natmesanash.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/systems-neur...
‘Digital sphinx’ raises questions about connectome models
The sphinx, with a worm’s brain and a fly’s body, illustrates the potential pitfalls of using deep-learning techniques to model biological processes.
thetransmitter.org
The Orange Cat Brain Atlas is here. 🧠🐈 Today, we published the first comprehensive cellular map of the orange cat brain. The new atlas reveals a single, specialized neuron responsible for behaviors like staring at walls, knocking objects off tables, and the 3am "zoomies."
Catherine Carr explains her discovery that geckos retain a vibration-sensing pathway previously thought to be lost when animals moved onto land. By @helenak.bsky.social #neuroskyence" www.thetransmitter.org/neuros-ark/n...
Neuro’s ark: Sounding out the evolution of hearing with geckos
Catherine Carr explains her discovery that geckos retain a vibration-sensing pathway previously thought to be lost when animals moved onto land.
thetransmitter.org
The authors of a Nature paper outlining a mechanism for multisensory memories in Drosophila melongaster have retracted the work after they were unable to replicate a set of imaging experiments. By @callimcflurry.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/retraction/r...
Researchers retract multisensory learning paper
Even though one set of experiments did not hold up, the authors stand by the original conclusions of the work and plan to resubmit it as a new paper.
thetransmitter.org
2025 winner @callimcflurry.bsky.social tells the stories behind scientific discoveries, focusing on the people and systems that make them possible. 🔗 Apply by April 3, 2026 for our #scicomm awards which recognize excellent science journalists like Calli: www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excel...
Carola Städele @tickphysiology.bsky.social a self-proclaimed “tick magnet,” studies the sensory neurobiology of ticks—in other words, how the parasitic animals zero in on their next meal. By @callimcflurry.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/neuros-ark/n...
Neuro’s ark: Cracking the secret sensory world of ticks
Carola Städele, a self-proclaimed “tick magnet,” studies the sensory neurobiology of ticks—how the parasitic animals zero in on their next meal.
thetransmitter.org
Wicked art by Kai Gietzen: Spying on the secret sensory world of ticks. Carola Städele, a self-proclaimed “tick magnet,” studies the arachnids’ sensory neurobiology—how these tiny parasites zero in on their next meal. By @callimcflurry.bsky.social: www.thetransmitter.org/neuros-ark/n... #sciart
Chances are you have not heard her name, but Marcelle Lapicque may have been the first Black woman neuroscientist in Europe. By @avaskham.bsky.social, @rebeccasky.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/history-of-n...
Some good NIH news! Basic studies in people won't need to follow clinical trial reporting rules anymore. Read more: www.thetransmitter.org/policy/nih-s...
NIH scraps policy that classified basic research in people as clinical trials
The policy aimed to increase the transparency of research in humans but created “a bureaucratic nightmare” for basic neuroscientists.
thetransmitter.org
A wonderful piece by @callimcflurry.bsky.social on how mechanosensitive PIEZO ion channels are being used to explore how our bodies rely on pressure sensing. It is a thoughtfully researched article, with perspectives from many colleagues across the field. www.thetransmitter.org/interoceptio...
PIEZO channels are opening the study of mechanosensation in unexpected places
The force-activated ion channels underlie the senses of touch and proprioception. Now scientists are using them as a tool to explore molecular mechanisms at work in internal organs…
thetransmitter.org
Former NINDS director Walter Koroshetz sat down with @avaskham.bsky.social to reflect on his tenure and share his thoughts on the "attempts at influence" from politicians www.thetransmitter.org/science-and-...
‘Peer review is our strength’: Q&A with Walter Koroshetz, former NINDS director
In his first week off the job, the former National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke director urges U.S. scientists to remain optimistic about the future of neuroscience research…
thetransmitter.org
🧠 Some of science’s greatest unanswered questions center around the human brain. Join us on 1/30 for free Presents event: “Shaping the Future of Neuroscience,” featuring three of @thetransmitter.bsky.social Rising Stars. https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/shaping-the-future-of-neuroscience/
Shaping the Future of Neuroscience
Shaping the Future of Neuroscience on Simons Foundation
simonsfoundation.org
Had a great time chatting with Steve about his new book, How to Change A Memory. Check out the interview and read a short excerpt of the book today on @thetransmitter.bsky.social tinyurl.com/42vam6hn
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 9mo ago@okaysteve.bsky.social sat down with @franciscorr25.bsky.social to discuss the inspiration behind the book, why he decided to write it partly as a memoir, and what he wants readers to take away from reading it. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/memory/how-t...
The work with bats on barren, 7-acre Latham Island was Nachum Ulanovsky’s most complex undertaking yet. By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/neuroetholog...
Check out our FlyWire anniversary piece to learn how @crezaval.bsky.social, @anitadevineni.bsky.social, Pelin Volkan, and six other researchers are using connectome data in their labs, and to read their thoughts on what new tools Drosophila neuroscience needs to move forward!
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 10mo agoTo celebrate the first anniversary of the release of FlyWire, we asked nine neuroscientists to share how they are using connectome data in their research and what they hope is in store for the future of fly connectomics. By @franciscorr25.bsky.social #neuroskyence bit.ly/3Wx5nt3
@deffinger.bsky.social and @melissaherman.bsky.social argue that, though many human psychedelic clinical trials are underway, preclinical studies remain our best bet to answer fundamental questions about the neurobiology of psychedelics. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/psychedelics...
Why we need basic science to better understand the neurobiology of psychedelics
Despite the many psychedelics clinical trials underway, there is still much we don’t know about how these drugs work. Preclinical studies represent our best viable avenue to answer these lingering…
thetransmitter.org
Hi everyone! We are taking a look at the state of funding in the neuroscience field so we are looking for PIs to answer this survey. Please feel free to fill out and share with colleagues. Ty!
Quantifying funding sources across neuroscience labs
We want to hear from you about the sources of funding for your research.
thetransmitter.org
Faux fish and birds are helping researchers decipher some of the rules that govern schooling and squawking, among other social behaviors. By @callimcflurry.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/social-behav...
Robots marry natural neuroscience, experimental control to probe animal interactions
Faux fish and birds are helping researchers decipher some of the rules that govern schooling and squawking, among other social behaviors.
thetransmitter.org
In The Transmitter's reading list, we highlight the most anticipated upcoming neuroscience books and other notable 2025 releases. Featuring titles by @okaysteve.bsky.social, @dr-brein.bsky.social, @nicolecrust.bsky.social, Xiao-Jing Wang and many more. By @franciscorr25.bsky.social bit.ly/45MvK41
The Transmitter’s reading list: Six upcoming neuroscience books, plus notable titles in 2025
Dig into an exploration of the fundamental aspects of intelligence, a new textbook about theoretical neuroscience and a memoir about memory research, among other new releases.
bit.ly
NEW: The NIH removed gender identity variables from the latest ABCD study data release. This counteracts the goals of the study "by pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist," @nicolagrissom.bsky.social told me. Read more: www.thetransmitter.org/gender/abcd-...
ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release
The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.
thetransmitter.org
NEW: The Trump administration said their research did not "enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness." Thousands of scientists disagreed. We heard from +150 researchers impacted by the NIH grant terminations on what is being lost in the cuts. 🧵👇 projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...
Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding
The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. More than 150 researchers shared with ProPu...
projects.propublica.org
The hunt for a soulmate can be hard work. Neurons in the developing Drosophila antennal lobe simplify the problem by turning a 3D search into a 1D one. By @callimcflurry.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/developmenta...
How developing neurons simplify their search for a synaptic mate
Streamlining the problem from 3D to 1D eases the expedition—a strategy the study investigators deployed to rewire an olfactory circuit in flies.
thetransmitter.org
FlyBase, a crucial resource for drosophila research, has lost its funding because its grant is awarded to Harvard. The team is scrambling to find other sources of funds, including donations from labs. Read more: www.thetransmitter.org/community/fl... @flybase.bsky.social
FlyBase funding squashed amid Harvard grant terminations
The team behind the Drosophila genetics database is now requesting donations from labs to keep the resource afloat.
thetransmitter.org
