Lowering the levels of a protein called tau, best known for its involvement in Alzheimer’s disease, improves behavior in two mouse models of autism.

Rare mutations in a gene called BAZ2B are associated with various conditions of brain development, including autism.

Deletions and duplications of long stretches of DNA may increase the likelihood of autism in people who have a mutation in a gene called PTEN.

A new technique detects rare mutations that occur in only a subset of the body’s cells.

Older men and women are more likely than young ones to have a child with autism, but this connection is not straightforward.

The number of top autism genes has risen from 65 to 102, based on an analysis of more than 35,000 sequences. And researchers are seeing the first hints of autism risk variants in the regions between genes.

Researchers have monitored the active genome in brain organoids over the course of nearly two years — and may find clues to autism’s roots.

People with autism have more brain-related health problems, such as headaches and epilepsy, than typical people do.

Some men who have an autistic child carry mutations linked to the condition only in their sperm.

Some of the inherited variants implicated in autism also increase the odds of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.