In this edition of Null and Noteworthy, researchers upend early interventions and diagnostic boundaries.

Researchers and clinicians were quick to point out the flaws in the study, and a flood of work refuted it.

By imaging and recording synaptic activity in living mouse embryos for the first time, new research reveals previously unknown patterns of development and hints at how those patterns are disrupted in autism.

Scientists on social media this week discussed alternative treatments for aggression and self-injury in children with autism and addressed issues young researchers face when it comes to reimbursement for conference travel.

The mutation prevents certain amino acids from entering neurons, causing the cells to die early in development.

Social-media attention this week centered on two new studies of the brain’s memory hub: One employed virtual reality to probe how people use and update their cognitive maps, and the other tracked individual hippocampal neurons in mice as they learned.

The result raises hopes for an ongoing clinical trial in people — and offers fresh insight into the biology of imprinting and the UBE3A antisense transcript.

Most early-career researchers have to foot the bill for academic conferences and get reimbursed once they return. But not everyone can afford to wait for that payment.

The changes may help explain the link between maternal infection and autism, though more research is needed.

By revealing differences between autistic and non-autistic children, it could help identify autism in babies.