A drug called arbaclofen has matriculated to a phase III clinical trial, the last and most difficult step on the long road to regulatory approval.

Early interventions for preschoolers who have autism are effective when included alongside standard curricula in mainstream settings, according to two studies published in April.

Video surveillance combined with computer algorithms could provide an objective method to monitor the success of autism interventions, according to a study published 3 May in the Journal of Medical Systems.

Three new studies analyzing genetic data from families in which just one child has autism have found the strongest evidence yet that rare new mutations contribute to the disorder.

Children with autism have fewer DNA modifications that regulate gene expression compared with healthy siblings and controls, and show evidence of DNA damage, according to a study published 26 April in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

A review article published earlier this year in Progress in Brain Research suggests that scientists may have been too quick to explain away the results of eye-tracking studies.

Deletions on a segment of chromosome 11 are associated with autism, attention problems and obesity, according to a study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A.

What’s known about the genetics of autism supports the ‘snowflake’ hypothesis — that the molecular underpinnings of disease are essentially unique from individual to individual — says human geneticist Brett Abrahams.

People with autism are highly adept at detecting symmetry in patterns, according to a study published 29 April in PLoS ONE.

Sensory sensitivity is one of the most understudied aspects of autism. That’s a serious problem, because it underlies much of the distress experienced by people with the disorder, says best-selling author and animal scientist Temple Grandin.