Luca Santarelli, head of neuroscience at Roche, explains why he is optimistic that pharmaceutical companies can overcome the obstacles in autism drug development.

As the use of induced pluripotent stem cells grows, researchers are searching for ways to make them behave more predictably. 

Researchers have generated neurons from the blood cells of individuals with autism, according to a study published 7 March in Neuroscience Letters.

Researchers have uncovered cellular abnormalities in Timothy syndrome by regenerating neurons from individuals with the rare autism-related disorder, according to a study published 27 November in Nature Medicine.

A large scientific research company debuted seven new rat models of autism Tuesday evening in Washington, D.C. Two of the models, one lacking FMR1 and the other lacking NLGN3, show some unexpected new characteristics.

By focusing on recessive mutations inherited from both parents, researchers have identified 50 new candidate genes for intellectual disability.

Researchers have created the first mouse model of Timothy syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes heart defects and autism. The findings appeared 30 August in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The ever-curious and energetic Ricardo Dolmetsch is taking skin cells from individuals with various types of autism and turning them into neurons in the lab. The approach could reveal the cellular basis of the disorder and point to new treatments.

Researchers have taken skin cells from individuals with schizophrenia, bathed them in chemical cocktails and coaxed them to develop into neurons, according to a paper published 13 April in Nature.

Rare mutations with strong effects play a key role in autism and schizophrenia, according to a study published in February in PLoS Genetics. The study identifies rare harmful mutations in three candidate genes that are more common in individuals with one of the disorders than in controls.