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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: twins

February 2013

Twin study suggests girls are protected from autism risk

by  /  28 February 2013

A comparison of autism-like behaviors in nearly 10,000 pairs of fraternal twins suggests that girls are somehow protected from the disorder. The findings, published 19 February in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may partly explain why autism is four times more common in boys than girls.

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Clinical research: Attention deficit forecasts autism traits

by  /  5 February 2013

Children with attention difficulties may later show signs of autism, such as trouble holding a conversation, according to a study published 14 November in Psychological Medicine.

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January 2013

Why crowdsourcing is not just for Wikipedia

by ,  /  22 January 2013

Crowdsourcing allows volunteers to become citizen scientists, archivists and journalists. Ventures such as the Interactive Autism Network can harness their power to advance autism research, say Paul Law and Cheryl Cohen.

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December 2012

Genetics: Searching for answers

by  /  6 December 2012

Solving the riddle of autism genetics will require looking beyond the growing list of candidate genes to epigenetics and personalized medicine.

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July 2012

Twin differences

by  /  31 July 2012

Identical twins are born with significant differences in the chemical modifications to their DNA, suggesting that the uterine environment can profoundly influence development and risk for disease.

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March 2012

Genetics: Autism risk higher in full than in half siblings

by  /  23 March 2012

Full siblings are twice as likely as half siblings to share a diagnosis of autism, according to a short report published 28 February in Molecular Psychiatry. The results suggest that genetic factors play an important role in the risk of developing autism, the researchers say.

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February 2012

Genetics: Different mutations lead to autism in same family

by  /  24 February 2012

Twin brothers who have autism carry a non-inherited duplication that overlaps with 16p11.2, a chromosomal region that has been associated with autism. Their brother, who also has autism, has a nearby deletion within 16p11.2, according to a study published 11 January in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

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Insights for autism from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

by  /  7 February 2012

Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder show genetic and neurobiological overlap, which may provide clues to the origin of both disorders, says Joel Nigg.

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January 2012

The value of blood cells in autism research

by  /  10 January 2012

Blood from individuals with autism could help researchers identify biomarkers to diagnose the disorder and learn more about related symptoms, such as gastrointestinal complaints, says molecular biologist Valerie Hu.

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Clinical research: Twin study links low birth weight to autism

by  /  6 January 2012

When twins differ in their diagnosis of autism, the twin with the lower birth weight is about three times more likely to develop the disorder than his or her sibling, according to a study published in the December issue of Psychological Medicine.

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