Rats with a mutation in CACNA1C, a gene linked to autism, make fewer happy squeaks while playing than controls do, and ignore other rats’ requests to play.

Four new techniques expand the repertoire of the gene editor CRISPR.

Mice with a mutation in a top autism gene may have altered levels of certain gut bacteria; feeding the mice one of these bacterial species eases some of their troubles.

People with mutations in SHANK3 have milder features than do those missing a chunk of DNA that includes the gene.

More boys than girls have autism; diagnostic biases and genetic factors may explain the skewed sex ratio.

Mice and people missing a copy of a chromosomal region called 16p11.2 show similar patterns of weak brain connections.

Mice with one inactivated copy of CHD8, a top autism gene, show an unusually high degree of synchrony in neural activity between brain regions.

A new method helps researchers map the patterns of chemical tags in large batches of cells.