Sydney Wyatt
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sydneywyatt.bsky.social
Sydney Wyatt
@sydneywyatt.bsky.social
130 followers 110 following 23 posts
Health and Science Reporter | formerly @thetransmitter.bsky.social, Statesman Journal/USA Today Network, Boston U journo, and UT Knoxville neuroscience & public health | she/her
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Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
thetransmitter.bsky.social
Peggy Mason, who helped define the rodent prosocial behavior field with the trapped rat paradigm in 2011, is now changing course and pursuing other scientific interests.

By @sydneywyatt.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/empathy/up-a...
Up and out with Peggy Mason
Mason helped define the rodent prosocial behavior field, but now she’s changing course.
www.thetransmitter.org
August 15, 2025 at 1:53 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
This one was super interesting to learn about and discuss. The findings of this new study date back to the early 1990s—replicating and expanding upon Catherine Woolley’s series of cross-sectional studies in the rat hippocampus. I love a study with historical context! #neuroskyence
June 25, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
thetransmitter.bsky.social
Diego Bohórquez’s theories around the neuropod have challenged the boundaries of classic ideas regarding gut-brain communication.

By @sydneywyatt.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/gut-brain/th...
The big idea with Diego Bohórquez
His theories around the neuropod have challenged the boundaries of classic ideas regarding gut-brain communication.
www.thetransmitter.org
June 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
For over six months now I have been reporting out and writing (and then reporting some more) this profile of Duke University gut-brain neuroscientist, Diego Bohórquez. This was my first long-form profile, and I couldn't be more excited to share it with you. #neuroskyence
The big idea with Diego Bohórquez
His theories around the neuropod have challenged the boundaries of classic ideas regarding gut-brain communication.
www.thetransmitter.org
June 23, 2025 at 5:54 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
If you haven't checked out The Satire Fire podcast, you're missing out! And if this is the first episode you listen to & you're wondering why I sound utterly exasperated... it's because, well, I was. Cheers to another week of hating on such a popular satirical novel 🥂 #booksky #podcast
thesatirefire.bsky.social The Satire Fire @thesatirefire.bsky.social · Jun 8
Part 2 of our series on Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is here!! Want to hear another week of us being haters?? Then don’t worry! We discuss the author & historical context of this book—& how Bradbury’s views were just as confusing & indecisive as the book. Listen wherever you get your podcasts 💙📚
June 12, 2025 at 5:48 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
In a recent study, @antoinemadar.bsky.social & Mark Sheffield looked at place cells of the mouse hippocampus in vivo to understand what plasticity rules support learning—spoiler alert, it wasn’t Hebbian plasticity! Go check out my story for @thetransmitter.bsky.social

#neuroskyence 🧪
Learning in living mice defies classic synaptic plasticity rule
Donald Hebb’s theory—memorably summarized as “cells that fire together, wire together”—does not explain the shifting hippocampal connections in mice learning to navigate a virtual environment…
www.thetransmitter.org
June 2, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
avaskham.bsky.social
Later that day, the NINDS layoffs were revoked, @sydneywyatt.bsky.social and I reported this week for @thetransmitter.bsky.social:

www.thetransmitter.org/science-and-...

#neuroskyence 🧪
May 23, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
thetransmitter.bsky.social
After more than a month of uncertainty, 30 previously purged employees at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke received an email yesterday stating they no longer face termination.

By @sydneywyatt.bsky.social, @avaskham.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

bit.ly/4dwfrdG
Exclusive: Layoffs revoked at U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
After more than a month of uncertainty, at least 26 previously purged employees at the institute no longer face termination.
bit.ly
May 21, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
avaskham.bsky.social
Sen. Durbin brought up these specific NINDS cuts at today's HHS budget hearing and Sec. RFK jr said once again that he didn't know anything about them:

#neuroskyence 🧪

www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-...
RFK Jr. told Congress no working scientists were fired, but these top NIH brain scientists are still facing job cuts
"As far as I know, we have not fired any working scientists," RFK Jr. had told Congress.
www.cbsnews.com
May 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
This one was fun to report out because I got to learn a lot of new things—especially about the complex evolutionary history of the mammalian brainstem. Thanks to @ndosenbach.bsky.social and @samkrimmelneuro.bsky.social for talking with me about your new work! #neuroskyence 🧪
thetransmitter.bsky.social The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · May 16
The brainstem’s red nucleus is an evolutionarily old structure that emerged as animals began to use limbs for walking, but its function in humans reaches beyond motor control, a new study suggests.

By @sydneywyatt.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/brain-imagin...
‘Old’ brainstem structure evolved beyond basic motor control
The human red nucleus may also help coordinate action, reward and motivated behavior, a new study suggests.
www.thetransmitter.org
May 19, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
cedricboeckx.bsky.social
Happy to read @sydneywyatt.bsky.social’s piece on the recent study by @samkrimmelneuro.bsky.social
@ndosenbach.bsky.social @gordonneuro.bsky.social re: the human red nucleus
I was glad to discuss this great work with Sydney
@thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-imagin...
‘Old’ brainstem structure evolved beyond basic motor control
The human red nucleus may also help coordinate action, reward and motivated behavior, a new study suggests.
www.thetransmitter.org
May 16, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
avaskham.bsky.social
"We know a lot about autism today. To characterize it as a condition about which we’ve learned almost nothing is just completely false." - @htagerf.bsky.social

Q&A with @sydneywyatt.bsky.social for @thetransmitter.bsky.social:

www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/the...
‘These plans are simply not acceptable’: Q&A with Helen Tager-Flusberg
Last week, Tager-Flusberg formed the Coalition of Autism Scientists to push back on the U.S. government’s plans for autism research, as described by Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr.
www.thetransmitter.org
May 1, 2025 at 12:28 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
I had what I found to be an insightful conversation with @htagerf.bsky.social about the newly formed Coalition of Autism Scientists, including why she started the coalition, the work they plan to do, and the strength of the autism research community. Read more below!
May 1, 2025 at 4:43 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
Catch me yapping about journalism ethics every chance I get. Some of the best advice I received in grad school @comatbu.bsky.social was to become an expert at being an outsider. You can’t be an insider in a community you’re not a part of!
thesatirefire.bsky.social The Satire Fire @thesatirefire.bsky.social · Apr 19
Has George Orwell ever heard of ethical journalism?? Our resident journalist, Sydney, says definitely not! Head to wherever good podcasts are found to listen to part 2 of our 1984 series. New episodes are posted every satire Sunday, so get caught up before we finish our time with 1984 this week! 💙📚
April 19, 2025 at 3:48 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
Steven Prescott and Stéphanie Ratté talked with me about the discordance between basic pain neuroscience & clinical trials. It seems there’s a lot to think about & varying perspectives on what the pain field could be doing differently. This Q&A highlights some of what we discussed.

#neuroskyence 🧪
April 19, 2025 at 3:09 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
The first Kurt Vonnegut I ever read & I was hooked 💙📚
April 14, 2025 at 1:11 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
If you were wondering… where are those podcast and book recommendations Sydney promised when she started this account, your wait is over! This Sunday I am recommending (shameless plug) my own podcast! My friend Samuel and I recently launched a podcast all about satirical novels. Give it a listen!
thesatirefire.bsky.social The Satire Fire @thesatirefire.bsky.social · Apr 6
Episode 2 is out! This week we start our 3-part series on 1984 by George Orwell by yapping you through the plot. Head to the link in the thread below to listen. And if you don’t… remember Big Brother is watching 👀
April 6, 2025 at 2:43 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
Yesterday @avaskham.bsky.social and I reported on the layoffs of lab heads & other staff at NINDS. Last night, an email was sent to top administration at the institute listing 30 employees to be reinstated. Most of the 30 had received RIF notices less than two days prior.

#neuroskyence 🧪
April 3, 2025 at 7:15 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
10 lab heads and many other employees at NINDS, one of the largest public funders of neuroscience, were laid off yesterday… but leadership at the institute thinks these terminations might have been a mistake.

@avaskham.bsky.social and I reported for @thetransmitter.bsky.social:

#neuroskyence 🧪
U.S. health agency purge includes 10 lab heads at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The reasons for selecting these researchers—who have led work on neuronal migration, dopamine receptors in neuronal signaling and the structure of ion channels, among other areas—remain unclear.
www.thetransmitter.org
April 3, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
thesatirefire.bsky.social
Announcing…. The Satire Fire, a new podcast!! 🎙️📚

Sydney and Samuel are on a mission to read & discuss every satirical novel ever written, & we want you to come along! Head over to wherever you find your podcasts to listen to our first episode where we discuss A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift.
March 30, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
thesatirefire.bsky.social
When the world is burning, will the books burn too?

#booksky #readingcommunity #satire #politics #bookban
March 29, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
thetransmitter.bsky.social
A new photometry tool tracks fast and slow changes in dopamine levels and offers new insights into how the signals change across the brain.

By @sydneywyatt.bsky.social

www.thetransmitter.org/methods/besp...
Bespoke photometry system captures variety of dopamine signals in mice
The tool tracks the excitation of an engineered protein that senses dopamine’s absolute levels, including fast and slow fluctuations in real time, and offers new insights into how the signals change…
www.thetransmitter.org
March 21, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
thetransmitter.bsky.social
@michellemonje.bsky.social at @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social and Frank Winkler at Heidelberg University have won the 2025 @brainprize.bsky.social from the Lundbeck Foundation for their work in cancer neuroscience.

By @sydneywyatt.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/community/20...
2025 Brain Prize honors pair of cancer neuroscientists
Michelle Monje and Frank Winkler share the $1.4 million award for their discovery of synapses between brain cancer cells and neurons.
www.thetransmitter.org
March 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
sydneywyatt.bsky.social
I’ve worked for weeks on this one, having conversations with 15+ people about changes to U.S. science funding, what actions they’re taking, if protesting is effective, & more. I’m thankful to those individuals & the eight neuroscientists who are featured for sharing their stories.

#neuroskyence 🧪
thetransmitter.bsky.social The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · Mar 4
In the wake of confusing changes to U.S. science funding, a group of scientists is organizing a nationwide Stand Up for Science rally. Eight neuroscientists spoke with @thetransmitter.bsky.social about whether they are attending the rally, and why.

By @sydneywyatt.bsky.social
bit.ly/3F63YEw
Amid funding confusion, some neuroscientists plan to rally
Neuroscientists spoke with The Transmitter about whether they plan to participate in the upcoming Stand Up for Science demonstrations on 7 March.
bit.ly
March 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Reposted by Sydney Wyatt
thetransmitter.bsky.social
A large portion of grants awarded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health cannot be funded for the foreseeable future because of an indefinite hold on submissions to the Federal Register, according to an email reviewed by The Transmitter.

By @avaskham.bsky.social

bit.ly/3X8ngz8
Federal Register hold makes ‘end run’ around court pause on NIH funding freeze
NIH-related updates to the Federal Register, which are required for the scheduling of study sections and advisory councils, are on hold indefinitely, according to an email reviewed by <i>The Transmitt...
www.thetransmitter.org
February 18, 2025 at 11:23 PM