• Autistic adults have higher blood levels of fatty-acid metabolites, on average, than non-autistic adults. Autism Research
• Many autism-linked genes encode immune-system proteins that contribute to neuronal and synaptic plasticity during development, according to a review. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
• The study of animal vocalizations has undermined past views of language as a uniquely human trait. The New York Times
• In mice missing the MECP2 gene — a model of Rett syndrome — loss of the MECP2 protein leads to changes in the proteome of cells throughout the body and appears to converge on lipid metabolism and mitochondrial function. Human Molecular Genetics
• Two people in conversation move in response to each other; the one who leads the movements is more likely to make a positive impression on outside observers, unless the leader is autistic. Scientific Reports
• Autistic children are more likely to have esophagitis than their non-autistic peers or those with a developmental disability are. Journal of Pediatrics
• Among people with fragile X syndrome, those with more severe autism traits have more difficulty with adaptive behavior and higher blood levels of CYFIP1 mRNA than those with less severe traits. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience
• Alpha-Missense is a new artificial-intelligence tool based on AlphaFold that predicts where disease-causing mutations are likely to occur in a protein. Nature
  

  Wide reach: Loss of the gene MECP2 in mice leads to proteomic changes throughout the brain and the rest of the body.

• Autistic people show similar patterns of regional brain activation during tasks designed to assess pragmatic skills and theory of mind, according to a meta-analysis of data from 35 imaging studies. Social Neuroscience
• Harvard University has created a health-care toolkit for caregivers and advocates of autistic adults and an educational course for clinicians. Adult Autism Health Resources
• Auditory processing in autistic adolescents is different from that of their non-autistic peers, and the difference is larger in those with lower IQs. Autism Research
• A new method to investigate infant attention uses naturalistic settings rather than computer-screen stimuli and reports individual differences. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
• Autistic adults have more chronic health issues than non-autistic adults, encompassing many organ systems in the body, according to an online survey of 2,305 people. Molecular Autism
• The prevalence of autism in a cohort of Swedish 12-year-olds is 1.1 percent; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder prevalence is 7.6 percent and is linked to parental obesity. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology
• Autistic people seek friendship and community; researchers have begun documenting how non-autistic people contribute to the so-called double-empathy problem, writes author Steve Silberman. Scientific American

Cite this article: https://doi.org/10.53053/ERXF6571