A cellular pathway that initiates protein synthesis may be overactive in individuals with fragile X syndrome, according a study published 23 January in Genes, Brain and Behavior.

A commonly used flame retardant may lead to deficits in sociability, learning and memory in healthy female mice and those that model Rett syndrome, according to a study published 15 February in Human Molecular Genetics. The effects are different in Rett syndrome models compared with healthy mice, suggesting gene-environment interactions.

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.

Researchers have identified a new mechanism that may underlie a runaway cell signaling pathway in fragile X syndrome. The results were published 22 January in Nature Neuroscience.  

Researchers have charted patterns of DNA methylation — a chemical alteration to DNA that modifies gene expression — in the planning center of the brain from before birth to old age. The results were published 10 February in The American Journal of Human Genetics.

Simulating neuronal development in culture with cells derived from human brain tissue offers a new way to study the function of autism-linked genes, according to research published in the February issue of Molecular Psychiatry.

A new study reveals the three-dimensional structure of fruit fly chromosomes, which groups together active and inactive genes. The results were published 3 February in Cell.

Two genes may be responsible for autism symptoms in mice with extra copies of the Rett syndrome gene, according to a study published 8 January in Nature Genetics.

What makes humans so different from our primate cousins? The answer may lie in unique patterns of gene expression soon after birth, primarily in genes required to form the junctions between neurons.

Mice engineered to carry a Rett syndrome mutation only in neurons are prone to an irregular heartbeat that can lead to sudden death, according to a study published 14 December in Science Translational Medicine.