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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: intellectual disability

February 2018
Newly flagged genes for developmental conditions (triangles) cluster in networks with previously identified risk factors (circles).

New software mines data for autism risk genes

by  /  16 February 2018

An algorithm combs through genetic data to identify variants involved in autism and four other brain conditions.

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January 2018
illustration of DNA strand

Variant analysis may vastly underestimate heritability of autism behaviors

by  /  29 January 2018

Existing genome scans do not detect many of the DNA variants that underlie behavioral problems.

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Week of JanuaryJan
22nd
2018

Pollutant surprise; monkey clones; researchers rattled and more

by  /  26 January 2018

Researchers find a surprising link between certain pollutants and reduced autism risk, the world welcomes — and fears — the first primate clones, and new U.S. clinical trial rules reverberate globally.

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November 2017
Week of NovemberNov
6th
2017

Ethnicity influence; human-brained rodents; graduate drain and more

by  /  10 November 2017

Black parents are less likely than white parents to report concerns about autism features in their children, human brain organoids in rodent bodies raise ethical concerns, and science graduate programs in the United States have few American students.

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Week of OctoberOct
30th
2017

Gene-editing gadgetry; intelligence trajectories; research reset and more

by  /  3 November 2017

Two new gadgets join the gene-editing toolbox, many children with autism get smarter with age, and a survey points to a research reset for Autism Speaks.

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October 2017
Mother and daughter practicing writing.

Rare autism mutations linked to low intelligence

by  /  20 October 2017

People with autism who have rare, damaging mutations tend to have low scores on intelligence tests.

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Photo: A mother and child sitting on the floor reading a book.

Why children with ‘severe autism’ are overlooked by science

by  /  18 October 2017

Children with ‘severe autism’ are the most in need of help, yet the most overlooked in research. A new initiative is making them the primary focus.

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Grid of 8 portraits of children with characteristic facial features

Small head, speech delay characterize mutations in autism gene

by  /  16 October 2017

Children with mutations in a gene called DYRK1A, a leading autism candidate, have a distinct set of features, including intellectual disability, speech delay, motor problems and a small head.

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Room full of filing folders on shelves

Repository ties mutations to traits in Phelan-McDermid syndrome

by  /  13 October 2017

A new database details the genetic mutations associated with Phelan-McDermid syndrome, along with the behavioral outcomes of people with those mutations.

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Week of OctoberOct
9th
2017

Maternal multivitamins; vaccine retraction; simultaneous schizophrenia and more

by  /  13 October 2017

Taking prenatal multivitamins may reduce the risk of having a child who has autism with intellectual disability, another vaccine-autism link study is being retracted, and schizophrenia sometimes accompanies autism.

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