Advances in autism research usually take center stage on Spectrum, but we don’t often talk about what it takes to get there: years training for a faculty job, long hours at the bench, deferred marriage or children, missed vacations, long-distance relationships and, perhaps, complex childcare arrangements.

In this series, we tell four stories about the connections and conflicts between scientists and parents.

There has been a resurgence of interest in monkey models for autism. This special report rounds up the results.

Autism research might best be considered a contact sport — as in, researchers would greatly benefit from stepping away from their lab benches long enough to meet and work with people on the spectrum and their families.

Various lines of evidence converge on a role for the immune system in autism.

Take a look back at 2015’s most notable papers, memorable quotes and lessons from other fields.

One of autism’s most consistent features is the inconsistency with which it affects the two sexes. For every girl with autism, there are roughly four boys with the condition. Autism is not the only condition to show this bias, but what it has come to mean in society is unfortunate: Girls with autism get little […]

Take a look back at 2014’s most notable papers, memorable quotes and lessons from other fields.

Take a look back at the most important developments in autism research in 2013, including notable papers, top techniques and hot topics.

A special report on the release of the DSM-5, the long-awaited new version of American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.