About 1 in 500 children referred to genetic testing for undefined developmental delay, intellectual disability, or autism have duplications of the 15q11-13 chromosomal region, according to a new analysis. That makes the region the second most common large genetic alteration linked to autism.

For nearly two decades, scientists have debated the relationship between language problems, seen in about half of children with autism, and another disorder called specific language impairment. Three papers published in the past several months attempt to resolve this debate, but their findings suggest that it is far from settled.

Charles Nelson, who famously showed that social deprivation damages the developing brain, is analyzing brain waves in babies to study how different genetic risk factors might lead to autism.

Two new studies of the brain’s electrical activity bring the autism field one step closer to a physiological measure that can detect the disorder and predict who will go on to develop it.

A girl with autism has a spontaneous deletion in CMIP, a gene associated with specific language impairment, providing another genetic link between the two disorders. The case study was published 11 June in Autism Research.

Calibrated severity score, a test based on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, provides a measure of autism symptoms that is independent of age and language ability, according to a study published 24 May in Autism Research.

The duplication of a chromosomal region missing in people with Williams syndrome is associated with separation anxiety, according to a study published 8 June in The American Journal of Human Genetics.

The absence of a chemical alteration called methylation on some stretches of DNA makes them especially prone to mutations, according to a paper published in PLoS Genetics in May.

An untreated fever during pregnancy more than doubles the risk that the child will develop autism, according to a study published 5 May in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Researchers have found deletions and duplications of a small piece of chromosome 2 in individuals with autism, developmental delay, epilepsy or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.