Researchers are exploring the iPad and other touch-screen devices for their potential to help people with autism communicate more effectively. Until studies prove their efficacy, however, some experts hesitate to recommend their use.

Mice missing a large protein at the junction between neurons show motor impairments, anxiety and increased social behaviors, according to a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The protein, postsynaptic density-95 or PSD-95, is part of a key molecular bridge connecting other proteins linked to autism.

Drug companies have been curiously reluctant to dive into research on therapies for autism. The chief of Pfizer’s new autism research unit explains why.

Early data suggest that it is possible to identify autism by looking at gene expression in the blood. But it’s going to take more work to prove it.

People with autism may belong to one of four distinct categories based on their medical history, according to a study published in the October Autism Research.

The Simons Simplex Collection (SSC), a database of genetic and clinical information from families that include one child with autism, has gathered data from more than 2,000 different families, researchers report in the October issue of Neuron.

The first genome-wide linkage analysis of more than 1,200 families has identified regions implicated in autism as originating from either the paternal or maternal copies of chromosomes.

Researchers have mapped unique identifiers in the regions around human genes that are at risk for duplication or deletion, allowing precise sequencing of nearly 1,000 genes for the first time, according to a paper published today in Science.

Two new studies use medical records from countries with nationalized health care to link autoimmune disease and obesity in parents to the likelihood of having a child with autism.

A searchable new database will greatly ease the task of comparing results from more than 25 diagnostic tests for autism, by creating clusters of the various symptoms measured.