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Science
COMMUNICATION

In today's world, science is unnecessarily disconnected from society. This may be the result of paywalled scientific journals, jargon-filled publications, and a lack of channels for dialogue with the public. I believe this is not only unnecessary, but that it is unhealthy for science, feeding public distrust and diminishing awareness. To address this gap, I began sharing short educational science videos on TikTok in April of 2020. My goal is to make science more clear and accessible, and I am grateful to have gained an audience of more than one million followers across all platforms. These efforts have been recognized with awards from the National Academies of Science, the Society for Neuroscience, Stanford University, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Vlogbrothers. 

I believe that scientists are the most capable disseminators of their own research, and that communications courses should be standard elements of graduate programs in the sciences. To this end, I have developed and led science communication workshops at universities including Johns Hopkins, Stanford, UT Dallas, and the University of Minnesota.

Paper summaries

In my TikTok videos, I often provide short summaries of research papers. Below is a bibliography of the papers that I've summarized, with links to the corresponding video. Save time reading and enjoy a quick synopsis in 60-90 seconds instead! 😎👌 

Format: Description, authors, year, title, journal, link to paper, link to TikTok. Last updated March 15, 2023.

3D-printed wagyu steaks: Kang et al., 2021, Engineered whole cut meat-like tissue by the assembly of cell fibers using tendon-gel integrated bioprinting, Nature Communications · Paper · TikTok

 

The gut-brain axis in autism spectrum disorder: Sharon et al., 2019, Human Gut Microbiota from Autism Spectrum Disorder Promote Behavioral Symptoms in Mice, Cell · Paper · TikTok

 

Brain cells playing pong in a dish: Kagan et al., 2022, In vitro neurons learn and exhibit sentience when embodied in a simulated game-world, Neuron · Paper · TikTok

 

The brain has a low power mode: Padamsey et al., 2022, Neocortex saves energy by reducing coding precision during food scarcity, Neuron · Paper · TikTok

 

Complete reconstruction of C. elegans brain: Witvliet et al., 2021, Connectomes across development reveal principles of brain maturation, Nature · Paper · TikTok

 

Cooperation behavior in rats: Jian et al., 2021, Evolution and neural representation of mammalian cooperative behavior, Cell Reports · Paper · TikTok

 

Disagreeable traits and career success: Anderson et al., 2020, People with disagreeable personalities (selfish, combative, and manipulative) do not have an advantage in pursuing power at work, PNAS · Paper · TikTok

 

Evidence that dogs love their owners: Nagasawa et al., 2015, Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds, Science · Paper · TikTok

 

New theory of dreaming from David Eagleman: Eagleman and Vaughn, 2021, The Defensive Activation Theory: REM Sleep as a Mechanism to Prevent Takeover of the Visual Cortex, Frontiers in Neuroscience · Paper · TikTok

 

People feel empathy for emojis: Liao et al., 2021, “Emoji, I can feel your pain” – Neural responses to facial and emoji expressions of pain, Biological Psychology · Paper · TikTok

 

Empathy for fair vs unfair people: Singer et al., 2006, Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others, Nature · Paper · TikTok

 

Empathy for pain = pain: Lamm et al., 2011, Meta-analytic evidence for common and distinct neural networks associated with directly experienced pain and empathy for pain, NeuroImage · Paper · TikTok

 

Empathy in prairie voles (consolation behavior): Burkett et al., 2016, Oxytocin-dependent consolation behavior in rodents, Science · Paper · TikTok

 

The social transfer of pain in mice: Smith et al., 2021, Anterior cingulate inputs to nucleus accumbens control the social transfer of pain and analgesia, Science · Paper · TikTok

 

Epstein-Barr Virus and Multiple Sclerosis: Bjornevik et al., 2022, Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis, Science · Paper · TikTok

 

Transferring plasma from exercising mice reduces brain inflammation: Miguel et al., 2021, Exercise plasma boosts memory and dampens brain inflammation via clusterin, Nature · Paper · TikTok

 

Eye watering in dogs: Murata et al., 2022, Increase of tear volume in dogs after reunion with owners is mediated by oxytocin, Current Biology · Paper · TikTok

 

Fish-operated vehicle: Givon et al., 2022, From fish out of water to new insights on navigation mechanisms in animals, Behavioral Brain Research · Paper · TikTok

 

Antioxidants allow flies to live a full life without sleeping: Vaccaro et al., 2020, Sleep Loss Can Cause Death through Accumulation of Reactive Oxygen Species in the Gut, Cell · Paper · TikTok

 

How scientists test sociability in mice: Rein et al., 2020, A standardized social preference protocol for measuring social deficits in mouse models of autism, Nature Protocols · Paper · TikTok

 

Is social media bad for mental health?: Lambert et al., 2020, Taking a One-Week Break from Social Media Improves Well-Being, Depression, and Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking · Paper · TikTok

 

The Jennifer Aniston neuron: Quiroga et al., 2005, Invariant visual representation by single neurons in the human brain, Nature · Paper · TikTok

 

Rollercoaster restores placement of dislocated lens: Bosch et al., 2003, Repositioning of a Dislocated Intraocular Lens during a Roller-Coaster Ride, New England Journal of Medicine · Paper · TikTok

 

Long-term effects of COVID on the brain: Taquet et al., 2021, 6-month neurological and psychiatric outcomes in 236 379 survivors of COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records, The Lancet: Psychiatry · Paper · TikTok

 

Breakthrough in lucid dreaming research: Konkoly et al., 2021, Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep, Current Biology · Paper · TikTok

 

Mice are generous to each other: Scheggia et al., 2022, Reciprocal cortico-amygdala connections regulate prosocial and selfish choices in mice, Nature Neuroscience · Paper · TikTok

 

Music for baby brain development: Lordier et al., 2018, Music in premature infants enhances high-level cognitive brain networks, PNAS · Paper · TikTok

 

My first publication: suicide prevention awareness training on college campuses: Rein et al., 2018, Evaluation of an avatar-based training program to promote suicide prevention awareness in a college setting, Journal of American College Health · Paper · TikTok

 

HDAC5 inhibition in autism spectrum disorder: Rein et al., 2022, Inhibition of histone deacetylase 5 ameliorates abnormalities in 16p11.2 duplication mouse model, Neuropharmacology · Paper · TikTok

 

My PFC review: Yan and Rein, 2022, Mechanisms of Synaptic Transmission Dysregulation in the Prefrontal Cortex: Pathophysiological Implications, Mol Psychiatry · Paper · TikTok

 

Dissociation in the brain: Vesuna et al., 2020, Deep posteromedial cortical rhythm in dissociation, Nature · Paper · TikTok

 

Neuroscience of politics: Zamboni et al., 2009, Individualism, conservatism, and radicalism as criteria for processing political beliefs: A parametric fMRI study, Social Neuroscience · Paper · TikTok

 

Neuroscience of politics part II: Billingsly et al., 2018, Sexual Disgust Trumps Pathogen Disgust in Predicting Voter Behavior During the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, Evolutionary Psychology · Paper · TikTok

 

New technique for full-brain high-resolution imaging: Walsh et al., 2021, Imaging intact human organs with local resolution of cellular structures using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography, Nature Methods · Paper · TikTok

 

Religion and spirituality in the brain: Ferguson et al., 2022, A Neural Circuit for Spirituality and Religiosity Derived From Patients With Brain Lesions, Biological Psychiatry · Paper · TikTok

 

Pain Reprocessing Therapy: Ashar et al., 2022, Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain; A Randomized Clinical Trial, JAMA Psychiatry · Paper · TikTok

 

Painkillers kill empathy for pain: Mischkowski et al., 2016, From painkiller to empathy killer: acetaminophen (paracetamol) reduces empathy for pain, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · Paper · TikTok

 

Placebo painkillers activate opioid signaling: Rütgen et al., 2015, Placebo analgesia and its opioidergic regulation suggest that empathy for pain is grounded in self pain, PNAS · Paper · TikTok

 

Plants can learn: Gagliano et al., 2014, Experience teaches plants to learn faster and forget slower in environments where it matters, Oecologia · Paper · TikTok

 

Progesterone fluctuations change brain volume: Taylor et al., 2020, Progesterone shapes medial temporal lobe volume across the human menstrual cycle, NeuroImage · Paper · TikTok

 

Psilocybin and social exclusion: Preller et al., 2016, Effects of serotonin 2A/1A receptor stimulation on social exclusion processing, PNAS · Paper · TikTok

 

Random noise brain stimulation: Van der Groen et al., 2022, Using noise for the better: The effects of transcranial random noise stimulation on the brain and behavior, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews · Paper · TikTok

 

Reddit DMT study: Lawrence et al., 2022, Phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N‐dimethyltryptamine (N, N‐DMT) experience, Scientific Reports · Paper · TikTok

 

Restoring vision with optogenetics Part 1: Sahel et al., 2021, Partial recovery of visual function in a blind patient after optogenetic therapy, Nature Medicine · Paper · TikTok

 

Restoring vision with optogenetics Part 2: Sahel et al., 2021, Partial recovery of visual function in a blind patient after optogenetic therapy, Nature Medicine · Paper · TikTok

 

Reviving pig brains four hours after death: Vrselja et al., 2019, Restoration of brain circulation and cellular functions hours post-mortem, Nature · Paper · TikTok

 

Social interbrain synchrony: Kingsbury et al., 2019, Correlated Neural Activity and Encoding of Behavior Across Brains of Socially Interacting Individuals, Cell · Paper · TikTok

 

Squirrel parkour: Hunt et al., 2021, Acrobatic squirrels learn to leap and land on tree branches without falling, Science · Paper · TikTok

 

The brain during orgasm: Jern et al., 2022, Endogenous opioid release following orgasm in man: A combined PET-fMRI study, BioRXiv · Paper · TikTok

 

What are 16p11.2 copy number variations?: Rein and Yan, 2020, 16p11.2 Copy Number Variations and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Trends Neurosci. · Paper · TikTok

 

Vascular contributions to autism spectrum disorder: Oullette et al., 2020, Vascular contributions to 16p11.2 deletion autism syndrome modeled in mice, Nature Neuroscience · Paper · TikTok


Transplanting cerebrospinal fluid from young mice into old mice: Iram et al., 2022, Young CSF restores oligodendrogenesis and memory in aged mice via Fgf17, Nature · Paper · TikTok

News articles

Podcasts / shows

Science Communication: CV
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