The mutation that causes Rett syndrome may spark uncontrolled inflammation throughout the body and brain, suggests a study published last week. The findings may explain the syndrome’s wide range of symptoms, from seizures to gut problems.

Monkeys whose mothers are infected with a mock virus while pregnant show abnormal branching of certain brain cells. The findings may help explain why infection during a woman’s pregnancy ups the risk of autism in her children.

Newt Gingrich wants to double spending on medical research, and Chinese researchers highlight the hazards of editing human genomes.

Newly developed microscopic beads give cells unique barcodes based on the cells’ gene expression patterns. This faster and cheaper system could help researchers study autism in cultured cells.

In a feat that unites findings from 2,800 experiments in more than 100 types of cells, researchers have mapped the human epigenome — the many layers of code that turn genes on or off.

Researchers increasingly use mice to investigate the role of gut microbes in autism and other conditions, but there are significant anatomical and other differences between mice and men, cautions a new review.

An analysis of genes expressed in the postmortem brains of people with autism has identified three molecular pathways linked to the disorder. The findings, published 10 December in Nature Communications, add to mounting evidence that the myriad causes of autism converge on common biological processes.

A new study points to a possible link between inflammation in the womb, brain overgrowth and the behavioral impairments seen in autism.
 

Loss of MeCP2, the Rett syndrome gene, depletes immune cells throughout the bodies of mice, researchers reported yesterday at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Mice born via cesarean section show subtle social deficits and increased immune and stress responses, suggesting a link between microbe exposure during birth and behavior. Researchers presented the unpublished work today at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.