News / Toolbox
New method uses virus-like protein to package, deliver RNA
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A novel gene delivery system taps a protein found in people to encapsulate messenger RNA and transport it into cells.
TOPIC
Genes
Rare or common, inherited or spontaneous, mutations form the core of autism risk.
News
Severe infection may raise odds of autism in some children
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Mock viral infections impair social memory in mice with a mutation tied to autism, and autistic boys are more likely than their non-autistic peers to have had serious infections early in life.
News
Mutations linked to autism may be detectable in men’s sperm
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An advanced DNA-sequencing technique has identified gene-damaging mutations, some with ties to autism, in about 1 in 15 men.
News
X chromosome exerts extra influence on brain development
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The X chromosome holds stronger-than-expected genetic sway over the structure of several brain regions. The genes that may underlie this oversized influence have ties to autism.
September 2021
Features
Fish, frogs, flies and other fauna in scientific firsts
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Over the past century, scientists have used a variety of animal models to advance their understanding of the developing brain and autism.
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Features / Special Reports
Special report: Unusual animal models of autism
In the past two decades, some autism researchers have turned to simple animals, such as roundworms, fruit flies and zebrafish, for their investigations. Others have sought answers from experiments with frogs, birds and even octopuses.
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Features
Tuning into bird songs for clues to autism
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Parallels between how birds learn to sing and how children learn to speak provide a window into the roots of language difficulties in autism.
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Features
Autism research makes the leap to frogs
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Frogs are useful for autism research for a slew of reasons, including the fact that the animals’ initial development occurs outside of the mother’s body in plain view.
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Features / Deep Dive
What studying worms, flies and fish says about autism
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Researchers are increasingly turning to simple animals to learn about autism biology and find leads for new drugs.
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Opinion / Viewpoint
Remembering Steve Warren (1953-2021): A giant in the field of genetics
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Steve Warren co-discovered the genetic mechanism that underpins fragile X syndrome and was a generous, inspiring mentor to many.
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News
Protein inhibitor normalizes neuronal migration in organoid model of autism
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Inhibiting a protein that helps cells move or change shape prevents atypical neuronal migration in 3D clusters of brain cells carrying autism-linked genetic variants.
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August 2021
News
Model mice hint at sodium channel gene’s contribution to autism
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Altered electrical activity in the neurons of mice with a mutated copy of SCN2A may explain the animals’ autism-like social behaviors.
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News
Visual response shows promise as biomarker in autism-linked condition
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Brain responses to visual stimuli are smaller and weaker in children with Phelan-McDermid syndrome, an autism-linked genetic condition, than in non-autistic children.