Kayt Sukel
Kayt Sukel is a writer whose essays and articles have appeared in the the Atlantic Monthly, New Scientist, Pacific Standard, Science, Memory and Cognition, NeuroImage, the Washington Post, and National Geographic Traveler. She is the author of DIRTY MINDS: HOW OUR BRAINS INFLUENCE LOVE, SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS (Free Press, 2012), an exploration of love and the brain, and THE ART OF RISK (National Geographic Books, 2016), an investigation of risk-taking behavior inside and outside the laboratory. Currently living outside Houston, Texas, she can be reached at ksukel@hotmail.com or on Twitter as @kaytsukel.
Brain Bee Alumni: Where Are They Now?
Since the first Brain Bee in 1998, the competition has grown into an international annual event that engages more than 50,000 students from six continents. It has also inspired many of its top finishers to pursue careers in neuroscience and related fields.
How Does the Brain Learn Language?
We communicate with one another using movements (gestures), sounds (speech), and symbols (writing). Language is intrinsically tied to our emotions, social relationships, and many other aspects of cognition. Much is still mysterious about the process. Here’s what we know so far.
How We Learn
The brain is designed to help us learn and remember even before we leave the womb. But how does it do so? And what are the best ways to learn new material?
Understanding New Brain Research Models
Scientists can now grow living human brain tissue in lab dishes and in animals, creating organoids, neural transplants, and chimeras. While these models will help us better understand the brain in health and disease, they also raise thorny ethical questions that will only get thornier in the future.
Understanding Animal Models
What does experimenting with other animals tell us about people? Find out in our new Brain Basics article.
A Path to Biomarkers
Q&A with Jong Yoon, M.D.Predicting the path of illness for someone diagnosed with schizophrenia is difficult because its origins are so varied. Dana Grantee Jong Yoon is developing imaging methods to tease out the cellular mechanisms of one potential cause: too much dopamine production.
Understanding Gene/Environment Interactions
While we often talk about our genes as being responsible for individual traits like intelligence and temperament, the environments we live in may have just as much influence on who we are, how we look, and how we behave. Here are the basics.
A New Window into the Living Brain
Q&A with Jesse Schallek, Ph.D.By adding analysis methods from astronomy to an imaging tool doctors use every day, Dana Grantee Jesse Schallek and his lab have found ways to see translucent cells at the back of the eye.
Worrying and the Aging Brain
Using a machine learning model, researchers describe how excessive worrying can accelerate brain aging and cognitive decline.
When the Myth is the Message: Neuromyths and Education
Two reports suggest that neuromyths are more pervasive in the educational community than we might think, and this may work against academic achievement. We investigate some of the most common myths, explaining their scientific origins and realities.