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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Emily Harris

Emily is a former editorial intern at Spectrum and a graduate student in New York University’s Science, Health & Environmental Reporting Program. Previously, Emily worked on aging research in Boston, Massachusetts. She has a B.A. in chemistry from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

July 2023
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Prenatal exposures; Angelman trial suspension; autistic adult well-being

by  /  17 July 2023

This month’s issue of the Null and Noteworthy newsletter breaks down some negative results involving prenatal exposures, an experimental treatment for Angelman syndrome, and the role that age at autism diagnosis plays in subsequent outcomes, and more.

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June 2023
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Modified MRI; father findings

by  /  22 June 2023

This month’s newsletter tackles null findings from an attempted replication of a “revolutionary” MRI approach and an analysis of family genetics.

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December 2022
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Reinforcing rigor; medication medley

by  /  14 December 2022

This month’s newsletter highlights findings on the use of three medication types during pregnancy.

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November 2022
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: COVID-19 conclusions; diagnosis duplication; oxytocin again

by  /  10 November 2022

This month’s newsletter explores the pandemic’s effects on autism rates, trends in co-occurring mental health conditions, and the impact of intranasal oxytocin.

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October 2022
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Medication timing; oxytocin amounts; sensory sameness

by  /  13 October 2022

Parents’ health, treatment dosages and sensory perception feature in this month’s crop of null and replicated results.

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September 2022
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Brain aging, oxytocin pathways, biomarker back-up

by  /  15 September 2022

Null and replicated results in this month’s newsletter tackle aging, a purported pathway for oxytocin’s effects on autistic people, and a possible autism biomarker.

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August 2022
Illustration of screenlight projecting shadows on the wall of distracted parents: one is on their phone and the other is leaving the room.

Studies investigating link between screen time and autism must improve

by  /  29 August 2022

Showing an association is not enough to determine causation.

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Researcher on path in space that leads to open, shared data network.

Open science in autism research: A chat with Amy Pearson and Daniel Poole

by  /  26 August 2022

The two psychologists share tips to help autism researchers adopt established methods and make their work more transparent and reproducible.

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Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Mind reading, specialist shortage, sleep problems source

by  /  23 August 2022

This month, a commonly used emotion-recognition test doesn’t perform as expected — nor does a survey of past efforts to train autism specialists or a hunt for the sources of the sleep problems that often accompany the condition.

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Portrait of Judy Van De Water at her home in Fort Bragg, CA, with her paintings.

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Judy Van de Water

by  /  12 August 2022

When Van de Water isn’t busy mentoring “the next generation of scientists” in her lab, she finds time to paint, watch HGTV and hang out with her horse, Hank.

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