A new algorithm accurately detects large DNA insertions and deletions in the protein-coding regions of the genome.

People with autism tend to carry mutations that duplicate or delete several genes at once, according to a large study published 1 May in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Mutations in a gene associated with DNA packaging may lead to autism and intellectual disability, suggests a study published 16 February in Nature Genetics.

It takes more mutations to trigger autism in women than in men, which may explain why men are four times more likely to have the disorder, according to a study published 26 February in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

In families with a history of autism, the affected children are seven times more likely to also have epilepsy than their unaffected siblings, according to a study published 1 December in Molecular Autism. The results suggest that epilepsy and autism share some risk factors.

Variants in a language gene linked to autism are only modestly associated with the disorder in a large sample, according to a study published 17 October in PLoS One.

Mutations in a gene that plays a role in producing cholesterol in the body increase the risk for autism, suggesting therapies for some people with the disorder, according to research presented in a poster Tuesday at the Autism Consortium’s 2013 Research Symposium.

Individuals who have childhood-onset schizophrenia carry more DNA deletions and duplications associated with other disorders, such as autism, than their unaffected siblings do. The unpublished research was presented 16 January at the Salk Institute, Fondation IPSEN and Nature Symposium on Biological Complexity in La Jolla, California.

Members of families that have multiple children with autism have more features of the disorder than do those from families that have only one child with autism, according to a study published 2 November in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Individually, common genetic variants confer little risk for autism. But taken together, they may contribute significantly, predicts a statistical analysis published 15 October in Molecular Autism.