The findings contradict a previous study, whose design may have been biased to find an effect.

Gene therapies and the factors influencing autism traits top Spectrum’s list of the 10 most notable research findings we covered in 2020.

Women who receive epidural anesthesia during labor have an elevated chance of having a child with autism, a new study has found. But it is too soon for doctors to recommend against epidurals, experts say.

Infants with low levels of the hormone vasopressin in their cerebrospinal fluid may be more likely to later be diagnosed with autism.

An immune molecule produced during a fever improves sociability in three mouse models of autism.

Autism is predominantly genetic in origin, but a growing list of prenatal exposures for mother and baby may sway the odds.

Women who take acetaminophen — commonly marketed as Tylenol in the United States — early in pregnancy may increase their daughters’ risk of language delay.

A gene called TRIO may be a hotbed for autism mutations, an international collaboration focuses on the whole brain and one behavior, and Autism Speaks cuts grant spending.

About 17 percent of children with autism are calmer and more communicative than usual when they have a fever.

Some variants in mitochondrial DNA are more common than others in autism, cognitive therapy reduces anxiety for people on the spectrum, and maternal fever in the third trimester is tied to autism risk.