The largest set of exome sequencing studies of children with autism and their families to date has identified a handful of genes that may increase risk of the disorder, according to research published in Nature.

Researchers have mapped networks of genes expressed at the same time and place in the brain and shown that rare and common autism-linked mutations are likely to function in the same pathways. The results were published 8 March in PLoS Genetics.

The genetic risk factors for autism may also increase a person’s risk of developing ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis of the spine, and decrease the risk of multiple sclerosis, according to a study published 13 December in Translational Psychiatry.

More than 250 genes in the human genome — about one percent of our genes — can be eliminated without serious health effects, according to research published last week in Science.

The genome-wide association study has been the favorite whipping post among some geneticists, but three new reviews come to its defense.

A new online database provides searchable information for nearly 10,000 genes, variants and chromosomal regions linked to autism. Researchers describe the resource, dubbed AutismKB, in the January issue of Nucleic Acids Research.

TBL1X, a gene located on the X chromosome, is associated with autism in males but not in females, according to a study published 3 November in Molecular Autism.

Three variants of DISC1, a gene implicated in schizophrenia and autism, may disrupt the formation of new neurons in the brain, according to a study published 17 November in Neuron.

Individuals with autism-linked variants of a language gene use regions in the brain’s right hemisphere, rather than the left, to process language, according to a study published 10 October in The American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B.

Oxytocin, the so-called ‘love hormone,’ plays a key role in monogamy in rodents, but its association with human relationships is subtle at best.