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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Emily Willingham

Science writer, Spectrum

Emily writes frequently about autism and related issues, and her work has appeared in print or online at Discover, New York Times, Slate, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and others. Emily has a B.A. in English with minors in German and History and a Ph.D. in biological sciences, both from The University of Texas at Austin. She also completed postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Francisco and has taught graduate and undergraduate biology for many years.

June 2018
Week of JuneJun
18th
2018

New health handbook; evidence imbalance; social motivation and more

by  /  22 June 2018

The latest manual of international disease codes is out, a franchise claims to have an autism cure, and two reports diverge on the validity of the social-motivation hypothesis.

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Week of JuneJun
11th
2018

Drug dangers; allergy risk; science #MeToo and more

by  /  15 June 2018

A prospective study shows that antipsychotics mess up metabolism, autism is tied to a doubled risk for food allergies, and a report reveals pervasive sexual harassment in science.

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Week of JuneJun
4th
2018

Oversold diets; big brains explained; tracking CRISPR and more

by  /  8 June 2018

Benefits of diets for autism features remain unproven, variants of the same DNA region make brains big or small, and STAT announces a new CRISPR tracker.

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Week of MayMay
28th
2018

Cooperating brains; data confusion; homeopathy claims and more

by  /  1 June 2018

Cooperative problem-solving may have kept human brains small, researchers puzzle over new European online privacy rules, and Canadian officials counter unfounded claims of a cure for autism.

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May 2018
Week of MayMay
21st
2018

Organoid assortment; transgenerational effect; baby translator and more

by  /  25 May 2018

Researchers can enjoy a complete collection of organoid-related publications, transgenerational effects on the brain are tied to a powerful estrogen, and an app that translates infant cries might aid autism research.

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Week of MayMay
14th
2018

Cerebral palsy connection; misleading expressions; multiple maladies and more

by  /  18 May 2018

New evidence links autism and cerebral palsy at the genetic level, facial expressions tend to mislead, and many health conditions accompany autism.

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Week of MayMay
7th
2018

Dividing autism; novel messengers; million-dollar mark and more

by  /  11 May 2018

A researcher proposes splitting autism into subtypes, mitochondria make neurotransmitters, and highly successful grantees may face a funding cap.

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Week of AprilApr
30th
2018

Predictive brain waves; spotting liars; pet peeve and more

by  /  4 May 2018

Brain waves in infancy forecast autism, people with more autism features have trouble detecting lies, and veterinarians battle claims that vaccines cause autism in dogs.

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April 2018
Week of AprilApr
23rd
2018

New journal; organoid ethics; acetaminophen association and more

by  /  27 April 2018

A journal covering autism in adulthood makes its debut, researchers call for an ethical framework for human organoid studies, and the association between acetaminophen and autism risk comes under scrutiny.

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Week of AprilApr
16th
2018

Randomized trial repository; Beijing brain center; global science march and more

by  /  20 April 2018

Scientists release a list of all randomized controlled trials of autism treatments, China establishes a brain center for an ambitious new project, and people around the world march for science again.

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