Q&A

Autism is four times more prevalent among extremely premature babies than in the general population.

Mini-brains grown from stem cells in culture can reveal the effects of both autism and the Zika virus on early development.

Children with autism tend to mix up personal pronouns when their language skills outpace their social awareness.

A mouse model of fragile X syndrome lacks a key feature of the condition, prompting researchers to look for other ways to test treatments.

Partnering with families affected by autism may make research more relevant, fun and likely to succeed.

Small social monkeys called marmosets are well suited for studies on social behaviors and autism.

A brain circuit that wires lone mice to seek out social contact may offer clues about autism.

Autism may stem from faulty feedback loops in the brain, like an air conditioning system gone awry.

Taking a close look at people who have a mutation in a known autism gene may reveal why these people often have vastly different characteristics.

Studying large numbers of fraternal and identical twins may help tease apart genetic and environmental contributors to autism.