Helen Chao

Science Writer · Boston

Helen Chao writes about neuroscience, sleep science, and animal cognition from Boston. Her long-form reportage appears in Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American, and The Walrus. She holds a PhD in neurobiology from MIT and has received fellowships from the National Association of Science Writers. Her book "The Sleeping City" examined urban sleep patterns through the lens of neuroscience and sociology. She contributes regularly to public radio and teaches science communication at Harvard Extension.

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The Case for Boredom

The most productive cognitive state is the one we've engineered out of existence. Default-mode network research suggests the mind does its best integrative work precisely when it has nothing to do, and we have made sure it never gets the chance.

Helen Chao · July 8, 2026 · 5 min read

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What Octopuses Know About Cities

A den-building, tool-hoarding invertebrate may be the best urban theorist we have. What two accidental octopus settlements off the Australian coast reveal about density, conflict, and the limits of solitary intelligence.

Helen Chao · June 21, 2026 · 6 min read

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Sleep Is a Public Good

We treat exhaustion as a private failing. The data says it's infrastructure.

Helen Chao · February 22, 2026 · 5 min read

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The Half-Life of Facts, Revisited

Half of what you know will be wrong in a decade. The trick is knowing which half to hold loosely.

Helen Chao · January 25, 2026 · 5 min read