Invisible man? Move over for invisible mouse
A combination of chemical cocktails has created mice that are — yes — virtually invisible. And new imaging technology reveals the mice’s underlying nerves and lymphatic system in unprecedented detail.
A combination of chemical cocktails has created mice that are — yes — virtually invisible. And new imaging technology reveals the mice’s underlying nerves and lymphatic system in unprecedented detail.
The largest genetic analysis of postmortem brain tissue to date has yielded maps of when and where genes related to autism are turned on and off throughout life.
Autism is predominantly genetic in origin, but a growing list of prenatal exposures for mother and baby may sway the odds.
A protective molecular tag on neurons can prevent microglia, the brain’s immune cells, from trimming away their connections with other neurons.
Triggering an immune defense in newborn male mice missing a copy of TSC2, a gene linked to autism, impairs the mice’s social memory.
Chronic exposure to inflammation in the womb alters autism gene expression and disrupts social behavior in male mice, but not females.
Autism results from an interplay between genetics and the environment, but it has been tough to nail down the environmental factors involved.
Rats exposed prenatally to a cocktail of ‘autoimmune’ molecules have altered levels of two types of compounds needed for brain development.
A pregnant mouse’s response to infection alters the immune cells in her pups’ brains, and this may contribute to their autism-like behaviors.
In mice exposed to maternal inflammation in the womb, a key chemical messenger never makes the switch from exciting brain signals to inhibiting them.