Rachel E. Gross

Science journalist • author of VAGINA OBSCURA: An Anatomical Voyage for @WWNorton • previously @KSJatMIT, @SmithsonianMag, @Slate, @WIRED, @nytimes. She/her 🌈

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

🚨EXCITING NEWS🚨 This column is the first in an ongoing series I'll be writing for @nytscience, called BODY LANGUAGE!

Every month, we'll put a new piece of medical terminology under the🔬, and ask how it affects patients, doctors, and society 🧠🩺💊

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

The question is both about who we honor, and why we name: Is it right to glorify individuals as "discoverers"? Or does that perpetuate the misconception that medicine moves forward thanks to a few brilliant minds, rather than collaboration and cooperation?

MUCH TO UNPACK 🧐

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

@judysquirrels I never imagined this song could be sung so sexily, love 2 learn

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

@viajoshhunt oh I can't wait to read this Josh

[W. W. Norton & Company @wwnorton]

Listen to the podcast episode with author of THE VAGINA OBSCURA, Rachel Gross, to learn what singing Shakira on stage has to do with reaching for a cup of coffee — and how the surprising relationship between the two is making us rethink thinking.
https://t.co/TmZjDLTDpO

[Radiolab @Radiolab]

The bad news: At 35, Rachel E. Gross found out she had a stroke. The good news: the stroke was in her cerebellum, a part of the brain that doctors assured her was "redundant."
But after Rachel had surgery in her cerebellum, she didn't feel like herself. https://t.co/99FNoS1g6N

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

@sciencegirl Thank you so much for this great write-up, @sciencegirl!

You may be interested in my @Radiolab episode, the Song of the Cerebellum, on the cerebellar revolution in neuroscience:

https://t.co/HqLECPd41c

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

@Jacob_Brogan @Radiolab thank you, Jacob 🥹

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

In 2024, I had a bleed in my cerebellum, a fist-sized part of my brain surgeons told me was "redundant" & mainly concerned with motor control.

So why, after months of recovery, did I no longer feel like myself?

I went to @Radiolab to find out.

https://t.co/HqLECPd41c #karaoke

[Schmahmann Lab @SchmahmannLab]

This just out. Broadcast on NPR last night. Real world impact of dysmetria of thought and the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome. ⁦@NAF_Ataxia⁩ ⁦@anpadirect⁩ ⁦@harvardneuromds⁩ ⁦@MGBResearchNews⁩ https://t.co/NL95t7IzLY

[Anila D'Mello @aniladmello]

The most valuable insights a cerebellar scientist can get are first hand accounts from people like @rachelegross who so beautifully/generously/eloquently share their experiences post cerebellar damage. Great listen from @Radiolab.

https://t.co/2zsTpUArCz

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

Thank you to @SchmahmannLab @drahilger @COmotorspeech @davideagleman @howbrainsevolve @MSHSMusicMed @aniladmello for their time, expertise & generosity.

And thank you to @SorenWheeler, @2sindhu and @Radiolab for taking this project on.

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

It is a love letter to the cerebellum — a part of the brain that helps our bodies & thoughts unspool effortlessly across time & space — and a plea to researchers to shine a light on this crucial part of all of us.

More on that here: https://t.co/V8VzibI4uG

#cerebellum #brain

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

It is a love letter to the cerebellum — a part of the brain that helps our bodies & thoughts unspool effortlessly across time & space — and a plea to researchers to shine a light on this crucial part of all of us.

More on that here: https://t.co/V8VzibI4uG

#cerebellum #brain

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

This is the story of how I tumbled down into the brain’s dusty basement, and came out with a changed understanding of how the brain works.

It’s also a story about bombing at karaoke. 🧠🎤

(cc @kicklikeagirl1)

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

This is the story of how I tumbled down into the brain’s dusty basement, and came out with a changed understanding of how the brain works.

It’s also a story about bombing at karaoke. 🧠🎤

(cc @kicklikeagirl1)

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

In 2024, I had a bleed in my cerebellum, a fist-sized part of my brain surgeons told me was "redundant" & mainly concerned with motor control.

So why, after months of recovery, did I no longer feel like myself?

I went to @Radiolab to find out.

https://t.co/HqLECPd41c #karaoke

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

@judysquirrels Angela Bassett should bring you flowers, because her legacy is in great hands with you 💕

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

📷 It's not a nub, it's a bird! Thrilled to be a guest on @longestshortesttime dispelling myths about the cl!t & neighboring organs. Such a fun, nerdy convo with the fabulous Hillary Frank.

📷 LISTEN: "A Very Vaginal Voyage with Rachel Gross": https://t.co/rrCgrduAat

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

The outdated idea of estrogen as merely the 'female sex hormone' may have stifled research into its myriad effects on the brain. No longer:

https://t.co/Qn0EzxVU1w via @nytimes @NYTScience

[Jaime Lowe @kicklikeagirl1]

AS ALWAYS @rachelegross WITH AN EXCELLENT READ - LIFE GUIDING INFORMATION THAT IS ESSENTIAL AND PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN https://t.co/Jti1L1uNc0

[Uri Goldberg, MD @HarmonyPall]

Agree: updating disease names for scientific reasons makes sense, ("heart failure" anyone?). But let's ensure we're doing so for the right reasons, not just to avoid scaring patients.

Compassionate communication > renaming everything.
🙌 @rachelegross

https://t.co/roDrfMxvmw

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

@judysquirrels @lurabardley @cpblahrad @thomasmannfacts @xoxogossipgita @FGC_Jesus @madisontayt_ @justbrizigs @not_a_heather @FateSailor @parasocialyte @MarkAschParody @woahitsjuanito Adore you and grateful to have you here 💜

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

@writingblock @nytimes Thank you so much Jennifer! What I heard was that, in the past, the ovaries were definitely understood as endocrine organs - however, their effect was thought to be mainly on other 'reproductive' organs rather than the whole body. But I'd love to know if you've heard differently!

[Rachel E. Gross @rachelegross]

All surgeries require informed consent. No exceptions.

Yet when it comes to hysterectomies, an alarming number of patients say they don't know exactly what organs the surgery includes — or which ones remain afterward. Why?

I investigate for @nytimes:

https://t.co/FuErDUILv9

[The New York Times @nytimes]

Hysterectomies, aside from C-sections, are still the most common surgical procedure among women. But patients often are in the dark about which organs remain and which were removed — particularly the ovaries, which profoundly influence lifelong health.
https://t.co/UUEIrLYNC7