Skip to main content

Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Sarah DeWeerdt

Contributing Writer, Spectrum

Sarah DeWeerdt is a Seattle-based freelance science writer specializing in biology, medicine and the environment. Her work has appeared in publications including Nature, Newsweek, Conservation and Nautilus. She has been a regular contributor to Spectrum since 2010, writing conference reports, news and Deep Dive articles.

Contact Info

[email protected]

March 2020
Illustration showing the human brain with neurons made out of flower shapes and the cerebellum highlighted in gold and yellow.

Brain’s motor hub plays unsung role in social skills, cognition

by  /  9 March 2020

Long known as the director of movement, the cerebellum may also coordinate social and cognitive abilities, including those central to autism.

Comments
January 2020
two layers of hands in motion overlap in red and blue

Repetitive behaviors and ‘stimming’ in autism, explained

by  /  31 January 2020

Restricted interests and repetitive behaviors constitute one of two criteria that define autism in the diagnostic manual for psychiatry.

Comments
stork flying with an alarm clock, dice and a crescent moon

The link between parental age and autism, explained

by  /  28 January 2020

Older men and women are more likely than young ones to have a child with autism, but this connection is not straightforward.

Comments

In brain imaging studies of autism, location may alter results

by  /  27 January 2020

A new analysis hints at the source of the rampant inconsistency among brain imaging studies in autism: significant differences among study sites.

Comments
Micrograph of brain organoid in green and red

Spheres of brain cells may offer crystal ball for autism’s origins

by  /  24 January 2020

Researchers have monitored the active genome in brain organoids over the course of nearly two years — and may find clues to autism’s roots.

Comments
October 2019
Group of four organoid images

Mass-produced organoids hint at diversity of autism

by  /  23 October 2019

Researchers have analyzed thousands of brain organoids derived from six autistic people, gaining the potential to rapidly screen drugs.

Comments
Two male finches sitting on roost in cage.

Protein linked to autism may help birds learn songs from elders

by  /  23 October 2019

Turning down the expression of a gene linked to autism leaves zebra finches singing disorganized songs.

Comments
Two pairs of neurons shown in red.

Gene editing rids mice of DNA segment linked to autism

by  /  23 October 2019

Researchers have used a new gene-editing technique to delete a segment of DNA associated with autism and schizophrenia from mouse brain cells.

Comments

Mouse study hints at why fragile X drugs fail in trials

by  /  22 October 2019

Drug after drug has failed in clinical trials for fragile X syndrome. A new study provides an explanation — a decrease in the drugs’ effectiveness over time — and points to a new strategy that could circumvent this problem.

Comments
linked hands in a pattern intertwined with DNA showing some broken parts, symbolizing mutations

Rett syndrome’s link to autism, explained

by  /  21 October 2019

Studies of Rett syndrome hint at genes, cells and brain circuits that may be involved in autism — and may pave the way to treatments for both conditions.

Comments