Future of autism genetics should learn from its past
To optimize the search for autism genes, researchers should collect large numbers of sequences — but the sequences need to be of the right kind, says Michael Ronemus.
To optimize the search for autism genes, researchers should collect large numbers of sequences — but the sequences need to be of the right kind, says Michael Ronemus.
Each child with autism is different from the next. One approach rapidly gaining momentum makes sense of this diversity by grouping children together based on their genetics, then looking for patterns in their symptoms. The long-term aim: personalized treatments for each subtype of autism.
A rare form of autism linked to a duplication of the 15q11-13 chromosomal region shares a molecular signature with more common forms of the disorder, suggests unpublished research presented yesterday at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
A new database bridges the gap between candidate genes identified by sequencing studies and mouse models that can help reveal the genes’ role in various disorders. Researchers presented the tool today at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Analyzing the sequences of more than 20,000 people, researchers have unearthed the largest and most robust list of autism genes so far, they reported today in Nature.
Researchers have analyzed more than 90,000 exomes — the protein-coding regions of the genome — the largest such set yet, they announced Monday at the American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting in San Diego. The resource gives scientists an invaluable tool to probe the significance of specific mutations.
Researchers have sequenced the whole genomes of 1,000 people with autism and their parents, they announced yesterday at the American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting in San Diego. These sequences, and another 1,000 that are on the way, will eventually be freely available online.
Much of the genetic risk for autism may reside in regulatory regions of the genome, hidden from traditional methods of sequence analysis. That’s the upshot of preliminary results from three studies presented yesterday at the American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting in San Diego.
Many of the genes that have emerged as the strongest autism candidates have turned out to regulate the expression of hundreds, if not thousands, of other genes. Within these networks, scientists are homing in on pathways that underlie autism.