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Emerging tools and techniques that may advance autism research.

Two mice touching.

‘Social touch’ responses in mice gauged with unprecedented control

by  /  19 September 2023

A new tool could help decipher the brain circuits underlying aversion to social touch, which is common in people with autism.

Previous articles
August 2023
Close up of blood vessels shows probe sticking to vessel wall.

Brain-surgery-free probes can record single-neuron activity

by  /  15 August 2023

The new devices, which monitor neural activity from within blood vessels, show long-term stability in rats and could one day deliver electrical stimulation.

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Position heatmaps of mice performing a behavioral assay.

New test taps nose pokes as a proxy for social motivation in mice

by  /  10 August 2023

Over one hour, a particularly motivated mouse poked its nose 350 times into a hole in the test chamber in the hopes of meeting a playmate.

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A research image of the fly brain connectome

Full connectome of adult fruit fly completed, with help from citizen scientists

by  /  7 August 2023

The map, by far the largest one of an entire brain to date, contains 130,000 neurons and 53 million synapses.

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Still image from a video of a mouse maneuvering a robot around a maze while imaging tools capture neuronal activity in its cortex.

Robotic headgear records brain activity in moving mice

by  /  3 August 2023

The tool could help researchers study the neurobiology of natural behaviors, scientists say.

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July 2023
Research images of a Fanzor protein.

Compact kin of CRISPR discovered across eukaryotes

by  /  31 July 2023

The newfound DNA-cutting enzyme, called Fanzor, can be programmed to edit the human genome and could prove easier to deliver to cells than current CRISPR tools.

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A multiplexed image of human decidua.

Atlas charts cells of human placenta, uterus across early pregnancy

by  /  27 July 2023

A new resource gives an unparalleled look at how fetal placental cells attach to the uterine wall and remodel maternal blood vessels to access nutrients.

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Repurposed electronics lens spies neurons across entire mouse brain

by  /  14 July 2023

When combined with tissue-inflation methods, the microscope can image axons without the need for tissue slicing, the researchers say.

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June 2023
Research image of brain scans showing connections in the brain in different colors.

Statistical method improves behavioral predictions from fMRI

by  /  29 June 2023

The framework, inspired by the polygenic risk score, considers the cumulative effect of neuronal connections.

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Research image of gene-edited mouse liver cells compared to controls.

Latest ‘prime-editing’ tools tackle delivery, safety issues

by  /  27 June 2023

The gene-editing advances make it easier to target specific tissues in mice and detect off-target effects.

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Research image of rodent brain scans.

CRISPR tool rids rodents of oxytocin receptors

by  /  14 June 2023

The approach provides an “off-the-shelf” way for researchers to compare oxytocin function across species, the team says.

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