A screening technique tests how inactivated genes affect spheres of cultured brain cells; it could shed light on autism-linked mutations.

Some people with autism have an unusually large head. What causes the enlargement? And does it have any bearing on outcome?

Individuals with mutations in an autism gene called TRIO may have a range of conditions, including intellectual disability and anomalous head size.

A cellular pathway that helps neurons grow and move during fetal development may drive the changes in head size in some autistic people.

Benefits of diets for autism features remain unproven, variants of the same DNA region make brains big or small, and STAT announces a new CRISPR tracker.

Boys with autism have smaller heads, are shorter and weigh less at birth than typical children do — but all that changes by age 3.

Neurons derived from people with mutations linked to autism display diverse abnormalities that may help explain the origins of these individuals’ features.

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.

A cannabis gel may ease features of fragile X syndrome, omega fatty acids show promise for autism in two trials, and oxytocin reinforces social behaviors through the brain’s reward pathway.

The evidence linking autism and maternal infections grows, special neuron recipes are in development, a CRISPR pioneer envisions unicorns, and 23andMe delivers empathy data.