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.

Giving GLYX-13, a drug that targets an autism-associated brain pathway, to rats bred to be less social increases how much they communicate while playing.

A new analysis of children with autism and their unaffected parents provides the best evidence to date that mutations in multiple genes may work together to cause autism and related disorders.

Rare mutations with strong effects play a key role in autism and schizophrenia, according to a study published in February in PLoS Genetics. The study identifies rare harmful mutations in three candidate genes that are more common in individuals with one of the disorders than in controls.