Babies at high risk for developing autism are more likely than controls to have delays in acquiring motor skills, according to two long-term studies published in the past few months.

Mutations in SYNGAP1, which are associated with severe intellectual disability and an increased risk of autism, do damage by speeding up the rate at which neuronal connections mature, according to a mouse study published 9 November in Cell.

Postmortem brains from individuals with autism have astrocytes that are smaller but denser than in control brains, according to a study published 21 September in the Journal of Neuroinflammation. The researchers found similar alterations in a mouse that lacks the autism-linked gene NLGN3.

The study of autism around the globe must account for a variety of behavioural norms in different societies.

Researchers are digging into the myriad causes of autism to refine its definition and find elusive biological signatures.

After years of making do with drugs developed for other conditions, doctors and scientists are eagerly pursuing drugs that target the social symptoms of autism.

Draft diagnostic guidelines are raising concerns that mild forms of the disorder may no longer be recognized.

We know little about autism past adolescence, but a well-studied generation of children with autism will change that.

Because infants born into families with autism are more likely to develop the condition, studying them might lead to ways to diagnose people in the general population earlier.

Solving the riddle of autism genetics will require looking beyond the growing list of candidate genes to epigenetics and personalized medicine.