Viewpoint

A new law’s increased protections on privacy are likely to make research projects involving big data less efficient, more complex and more difficult to reproduce.

The annual meeting of International Society for Autism Research has aligned its offerings with the priorities of people with autism and their families.

A diagnosis of social communication disorder only keeps people from a community and resources they desperately want and need.

We must diversify databases of reference DNA to improve our ability to interpret the consequences of genetic variation.

A large dataset that catalogs the features of many brain conditions could transform the quest for biomarkers of autism.

Some individuals who have autism mutations show no signs of the condition; understanding why may lead to treatments.

Researchers can convert the distinct genetic backgrounds of lab mice from a problem to an advantage, exploiting the differences to advance our understanding of autism.

Researchers have developed behavioral measures that can accurately diagnose autism in people; these lessons can and should be applied to mice.

A mouse model based on exposure to an epilepsy drug offers a useful window into the brain circuits altered in autism.

Integrating human-specific genetic elements into mice may provide a permissive, ‘humanized’ environment for studying autism.