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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Giorgia Guglielmi

Giorgia Guglielmi is a freelance writer covering the life sciences, biomedicine and science policy. Her stories have appeared in Nature, Science, NOVA Next and other publications.

Giorgia has an M.Sc. in science writing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in biology from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

February 2024
A research image of autism-linked genes.

Autism-linked perturbations converge on cell skeleton and RNA-binding proteins

by  /  29 February 2024

The findings solidify the idea that autism-linked mutations affect brain activity by way of several key shared mechanisms.

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January 2024
A research image of a mouse brain.

Immune-activation model mice escape infantile amnesia, retain early memories

by  /  11 January 2024

Male pups born to mothers treated with immune-stimulating molecules show autism-like behaviors and, unlike wildtype animals, do not lose memories formed during early life.

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December 2023

Autism research hits the road

by  /  8 December 2023

Some scientists are thinking creatively about how to collect data in flexible environments and meet communities where they’re at.

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October 2023
A research image of a mouse hippocampus

Some social issues in DYRK1A model mice stem from faulty inhibitory circuits

by  /  11 October 2023

Alterations in inhibitory circuits and difficulties in social recognition characterize mice missing one copy of DYRK1A, a gene linked to autism.

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September 2023
Research image of presynapses on sensory neurons in fruit flies.

UBE3A’s link to synaptic pruning bolstered by fly study

by  /  28 September 2023

Increasing or reducing the levels of the UBE3A gene, which is associated with autism and autism-related syndromes, results in altered patterns of synaptic pruning — a process that snips away brain cell connections.

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August 2023
A grid of four brain scans showing excess cerebrospinal fluid.

Is excess brain fluid an early marker of autism?

by  /  17 August 2023

Brain scans of hundreds of infants suggest that up to 80 percent of those with autism have unusual amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. Researchers are studying how this might contribute to the condition.

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July 2023
Research image of interneurons in the outer layer of a human brain.

‘Gain-of-function’ mutation spawns autism traits

by  /  24 July 2023

The mutation increases the activity of an autism-linked protein and leads to social difficulties and other behavioral differences in mice.

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June 2023
Image of three developing axons.

Autism’s ties to the cell skeleton

by  /  22 June 2023

Many genes related to the condition play a role in the internal scaffolding of cells, and cytoskeletal disruptions can affect neurodevelopment and behavior.

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May 2023
Illustration of DNA methylation.

‘Polygenic risk scores’ for autism, explained

by  /  23 May 2023

These scores — composite measures of a person’s autism-linked common genetic variants — cannot predict an autism diagnosis but could help researchers better understand the condition’s underlying biology.

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Week of MayMay
8th
2023

Spotted around the web: INSAR; cerebellar gene expression; pangenome

Here is a roundup of news and research for the week of 8 May.

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