Claudia Lopez Lloreda
@claudia-lopez.bsky.social
Reporter at The Transmitter | PhD, Neuroscience from UPenn 🧠 | Prev: Science, The Open Notebook & ‘21 AAAS Mass Media Fellow at STAT News | Boricua 🇵🇷
Organoids, which typically reflect prenatal brains, amass the features of postnatal brains if grown for longer, which could help researchers study later stages of development. #neuroskyence By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/organoids/fi...
Five-year-old human brain organoids aged on schedule
The cultured spheres typically mimic only prenatal development, but the five-year-old ones grown in Paola Arlotta’s lab acquired postnatal features.
thetransmitter.org
Experience-dependent interneuron plasticity may represent a convergent circuit mechanism for these neurodevelopmental risk genes that reflects a shared genetic architecture, a new study suggests. By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/los...
Neurodevelopmental conditions may share faulty plasticity
Restoring expression of an experience-dependent interneuron plasticity gene aids memory and cuts seizures in CNTNAP2 knockout mice, a new study shows.
thetransmitter.org
NEW: The NIH is quietly restricting funding for research that evaluates how public policy impacts human health. According to internal documents I obtained, the agency no longer considers policymakers "mission relevant" — a massive shift for the biomedical funder. My latest for @nature.com:
NIH limits funding for research on the health effects of public policy
US biomedical agency no longer considers policymakers as ‘mission relevant’, leaving dozens of grants in limbo.
nature.com
Today’s article by @bichacientifica.bsky.social highlights @maximanzoni.bsky.social’s work as an investigative climate journalist, founding his newsletter, Consenso, and his recent project on the effects of extreme heat on schools in Paraguay. Read it here: www.theopennotebook.com/2026/08/04/t...
Translating Climate Data into Local Action: How Maximiliano Manzoni Charted Extreme Heat in Paraguayan Schools - The Open Notebook
In this interview with TON, climate journalist Maximiliano Manzoni shares how Consenso, the outlet he founded, connects directly with readers using a newsletter format. In one of the publication’s…
theopennotebook.com
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
In their essay, ALBA Network team members Keerthana Iyer, Arish Rakshasa-Loots, Ana Silva and Violetta Zujovic argue that to improve global neuroscience participation the field must embrace a more holistic definition of underrepresentation. #neuroskyence
Redefining underrepresentation in global neuroscience
Shifting the focus of equity initiatives from identity categories to structural barriers can reveal overlooked challenges and increase global support.
thetransmitter.org
Our new book is out today! Edited by our own @siricarpenter.bsky.social, the collection contains 11 exemplary science stories with commentary. Thank you to our authors and annotators, @sloanfoundation.bsky.social, and @uchicagopress.bsky.social. Order here: www.theopennotebook.com/the-best-sci...
Brain-computer interfaces implanted long term could help researchers unravel the mysteries of speech. #neuroskyence By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social, @rebeccasky.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/brain-comput...
How BCIs reveal the speaking brain
Long-term implants provide an opportunity to study how speech arises in everyday life.
thetransmitter.org
The (initial) results are in: most of the publicly available comments on OMB's proposal to overhaul federal grantmaking are negative 95% of the 50k available comments were opposed, just 1% were in support Political control, peer review, and terminations were most common topics mentioned
You may have heard about the OMB rule change that will put politics over federal grants. However bad you think it is? It's probably worse. Thanks to @theverge.com for letting me report this one out. There is still time to comment. bit.ly/4v2X4nQ
The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it
“Everyone will be affected, not just scientists. Every community in the country.“
bit.ly
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
Employees at Scientific American were told today that the magazine has been sold to LabX Media Group, the outfit that runs Discover Magazine and IFLScience. And that means -- of course! -- editorial layoffs. The media mass extinction rolls ever onward.
HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus will close two of its programs dedicated to rodent work, @thetransmitter.bsky.social has learned. #neuroskyence By @callimcflurry.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/community/ex...
Exclusive: Janelia sunsets rodent work, launches transparent fish project
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus is banking on whole-brain imaging in the Danionella fish to advance neuroscience, but some scientists forced to close their labs say that…
thetransmitter.org
The motor cortex is organized functionally to promote “meaningful, ethologically relevant behavior patterns,” new study shows. #neuroskyence By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/motor-cortex...
New recordings show ‘blurry map’ of human motor cortex
The motor cortex is organized into an “intermixed jumble of tiles” to generate meaningful movement.
thetransmitter.org
We're excited to share our latest profile! Dr. Suzanne Haber studies the circuits underlying reward-based learning & decision making, and how those circuits can be therapeutically targeted to treat disease. Follow the link below to learn more! #WomenInNeuro www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Suzanne Haber — Stories of WiN
studies the circuits underlying reward-based learning and decision making, and how those circuits can be therapeutically targeted to treat disease
storiesofwin.org
According to @edvardmoser.bsky.social, director of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, the four recipients of the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience challenged what had long been regarded as a central dogma in neuroscience. By Alissa de Chassey www.thetransmitter.org/awards/four-...
Protein synthesis pioneers garner Kavli neuroscience prize
Their research revealed how neurons synthesize proteins in previously unrecognized places.
thetransmitter.org
The Trump Administration’s racist science policies have achieved some of their goals. The number of Black Principal Investigators has dropped by 10% between 2024 and 2025; while the number of Hispanic PIs has fallen by 7%. For research trainees, the numbers are far worse.
Trends in NIH Investigators by Sex, Race, Ethnicity, and Disability Status
This cross-sectional study assesses National Institutes of Health (NIH) data from fiscal years 2016-2025 comprising annual counts of principal investigators funded through research grants and fellowsh...
jamanetwork.com
Scientists ejected from diabetes conference for distributing journal reprints of editorial critical of the Trump administrations's ongoing attacks on science. Those ousted included ADA journal editor-in-chief Steven Kahn and former ADA president Desmond Schatz arstechnica.com/science/2026...
Scientists ejected from diabetes conference for distributing journal reprints
Those ousted included ADA journal editor-in-chief Steven Kahn and former ADA president Desmond Schatz...
arstechnica.com
📡 🇵🇷 Hoy se lanzó oficialmente ReCiTe PR, la Red de Museos y Centros de Ciencia y Tecnología de Puerto Rico. Arecibo C3 es una de las organizaciones co-fundadoras, junto a instituciones. www.cienciapr.org/es/recitepr
ReCiTe Puerto Rico — Red de Museos y Centros de Ciencia y Tecnología de Puerto Rico | Ciencia Puerto Rico
La Red de Museos y Centros de Ciencia y Tecnología de Puerto Rico (ReCiTe PR) busca unir y fortalecer a las instituciones locales que se dedican a través de su programación, a mejorar la comprensión…
cienciapr.org
The @burkeneurosci.bsky.social, a spinal cord and brain injury research center, has ended research operations, citing a lack of funds. #neuroskyence By Lauren Schenkman www.thetransmitter.org/neurology/ex...
Exclusive: Brain and spinal cord institute stops research
The Burke Neurological Institute, which aims to find treatments to repair the brain and spinal cord, ceased research operations on 22 May.
thetransmitter.org
Neuroscientists argue that discontinuing in vivo models before using them to fix historical sex inequities in research risks embedding a male bias in biomedicine. #Biomedicine #Neuroscience #Neuroskyence
Scientists Caution that Phasing Out Animal Research Prematurely Could Risk Women’s Health | The Scientist
Neuroscientists argue that discontinuing in vivo models before using them to fix historical sex inequities in research risks embedding a male bias in biomedicine.
the-scientist.com
Scientists are raising the alarm about a White House proposal that could fundamentally recast federally funded science. The proposed rules would put political appointees in control of all federal grants and de-emphasize peer review, among other measures. go.nature.com/4ucZgsk
White House proposes vast overhaul of US science funding: what you need to know
The Trump administration’s proposal aims to improve transparency in federal funding, but critics fear the proposed rules would politicize research
go.nature.com
BREAKING: '60 Minutes' correspondent Scott Pelley was just fired — by email — after saying Bari Weiss had "murdered" the newsmagazine. There is widespread belief that Pelley's departure could very well trigger a broader exodus.
Clock Strikes Midnight for Pelley
The “60 Minutes” correspondent was fired by email Tuesday night after a dramatic showdown with CBS News leadership, throwing the show into an unprecedented and existential crisis.
status.news
𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 + 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 Brain dynamics must-reads by Deisseroth team. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #neuroskyence
Oliver Darcy got the audio of the heated 60 Minutes meeting where Scott Pelley dressed Nick Bilton down! "You know what was rude? Black Thursday. That was the absolute definition of rudeness. Telling Tanya Simon she had to be out of here at five o'clock." www.status.news/p/scott-pell...
Mice use the same thalamocortical pathway to decode orientation selectivity established by Hubel and Wiesel in cats, showing that this visual feature “is preserved through evolution,” says Jose-Manuel Alonso. #neuroskyence By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/vision/unbel...
‘Unbelievably beautiful’ evidence extends model of vision
Orientation tuning—the ability to distinguish a horizontal line from a vertical one or something in between—originates in the visual cortex.
thetransmitter.org
Scoop: NSF has been quietly blocking new funds and grants to four top universities: Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Dozens of proposals from PIs at these universities—and their collaborators—have been stuck at the Office of Award Management awaiting finalization for months.
Exclusive: NSF puts new research grants to top universities on hold
US science funder once again restricts awards to Harvard University and other research institutions.
nature.com
The % of scientists who think public engagement makes science better has gone up from 21% in 2006 to 64% now. That's huge.
"Siento que va a ser difícil que algo cambie para mejor”, dice @muraronara.bsky.social, neurocientífica en Buenos Aires. “Entonces vas a la protesta de todas formas, pero sabes que no va a servir para nada”. #neuroskyence By @natmesanash.bsky.social and @claudia-lopez.bsky.social bit.ly/4nLtlxS
"Google's Neighbors - How Uruguay approved the largest data center in its history" @amenazaroboto.bsky.social Read our investigation in English: amenazaroboto.com/googles-neig... And in Spanish: amenazaroboto.com/los-vecinos-... cc @pulitzercenter.org #DataCenters #EIA #EIS #Uruguay
