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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Shaena Montanari

Enterprise Reporter

Shaena Montanari joined Spectrum as an enterprise reporter in January 2023. She was previously an investigative health reporter at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting in Phoenix. Shaena holds an M.A. in investigative journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Prior to becoming a journalist, Shaena worked as a paleontologist and earned her B.S. in geological sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Ph.D. in comparative biology at the Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural History.

Contact Info

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April 2024

Wild and free: Understanding animal behavior beyond the lab

by  /  11 April 2024

Technological advancements have made it possible to study animals in more natural settings, but researchers are debating what that really means and whether natural is always better.

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Two red pencils form a letter X against a surf green background.

Nobel Prize winner Thomas Südhof retracts study

by  /  4 April 2024

The retraction follows an editorial expression of concern that the journal applied to the paper in October, seven months after it was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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December 2023
Photograph of a stack of white papers with six red post-it notes sticking out.

Work of autism researcher questioned again

by  /  14 December 2023

Four studies, including results of a clinical trial, were flagged on PubPeer for a variety of criticisms.

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November 2023
A line of airplanes flies across the sky

Neuroscientists weigh carbon costs of attending annual meeting

by ,  /  6 November 2023

Travel to the Society for Neuroscience conference is responsible for tens of thousands of metric tons of carbon emissions, according to a new study, but neuroscientists have yet to agree on what that should mean for the future of the in-person meeting.

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October 2023
A photograph of Thomas Sudhof standing in a courtyard

Nobel laureate’s study earns expression of concern over data integrity issues

by  /  19 October 2023

Data sleuths have flagged apparent errors in the study, which was led by neuroscientist Thomas Südhof.

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August 2023
Illustration of a series of web browser windows overlaid over a face, distorting it.

Scammers threaten quality of research survey data

by  /  24 August 2023

Jammed online surveys and invaded video calls are forcing researchers to rethink their outreach methods.

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June 2023
Portrait photograph of Donald Triplett against a black background.

Donald Triplett, autism’s ‘Case 1,’ dies at 89

by  /  20 June 2023

Triplett gained media attention for his autism later in life, and he became the face of the effort to research the lives of older adults with autism.

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Dorothy Bishop stands in a dark room wearing a turquoise shirt.

Retraction, She Wrote: Dorothy Bishop’s life after research

by  /  12 June 2023

A renowned researcher’s eye for detail has given her a second career and a new following.

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May 2023
Collage of multiple figures on a hillside looking at a large blue book in the distance.

Debate remains over changes in DSM-5 a decade on

by  /  31 May 2023

Changes to the DSM-5’s diagnostic criteria for autism were meant to add clarity, but they also generated new questions.

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April 2023
Image of allegedly duplicated data in a scientific paper.

Questions arise around two published studies from Harvard group

by  /  20 April 2023

An anonymous tipster has been sifting through the papers of Jia Liu and his team.

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