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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: SNPs

February 2011

Cognition and behavior: Anxiety in speech linked to autism

by  /  2 February 2011

A rare childhood speech disorder related to social anxiety is associated with a gene linked to autism, according to a study published in December in Biological Psychiatry. The results suggest that the two disorders share a common mechanism.

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January 2011

Genetics: Including gender improves autism genetics research

by  /  24 January 2011

Accounting for gender increases the power of family-wide studies linking genetic mutations with autism, according to a study published in December in Molecular Psychiatry. The researchers use this approach to identify two candidate genes for the disorder.

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Genetics: Spontaneous mutations lead to mental retardation

by  /  3 January 2011

Spontaneous mutations that change a single DNA base account for a large proportion of cases of unexplained mental retardation, according to a study published in the December Nature Genetics.

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December 2010

Genetics: Gene interaction map reveals disease response

by  /  21 December 2010

The pattern of interactions among different genes in yeast cells changes in response to disease-like conditions, in this case a DNA-damaging agent, according to a study published 3 December in Science. Mapping epistasis — how various cellular factors work together — is key to understanding complex disorders, such as autism.

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Genetics: Gene that controls methylation linked to autism

by  /  17 December 2010

A gene involved in epigenetics — regulation of gene expression by modifying DNA, but without altering the sequence — is associated with autism in families that have only one child with the disorder, according to a study published in November.

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November 2010

Autism drug’s usefulness depends on genetic profile

by  /  8 November 2010

An antipsychotic drug often prescribed to treat irritability in children with autism may be more helpful — and cause fewer side effects — depending on an individual’s genetic make-up.

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Genetics: Gene family linked to language and autism

by  /  5 November 2010

Loss of activity of FOXP1, a member of a family of genes that regulate gene expression, leads to general behavioral defects, including delays in language, according to a study published in November in The American Journal of Human Genetics.

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October 2010

Linkage study reveals parent-of-origin effects in autism

by  /  29 October 2010

The first genome-wide linkage analysis of more than 1,200 families has identified regions implicated in autism as originating from either the paternal or maternal copies of chromosomes.

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Storing structure

by  /  28 October 2010

The National Institutes of Health on 30 September launched a public database to catalog a particularly important type of genomic data: so-called ‘structural variations’ — large deletions, duplications and rearrangements of DNA.

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New technique maps mutation-rich regions

by  /  28 October 2010

Researchers have mapped unique identifiers in the regions around human genes that are at risk for duplication or deletion, allowing precise sequencing of nearly 1,000 genes for the first time, according to a paper published today in Science.

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