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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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Science & Society

From funding decisions to scientific fraud, a wide range of societal factors shape autism research.

April 2023
Portrait of Cathy Lord.

Diagnosing autism with Catherine Lord

by  /  1 April 2023

In this inaugural episode, Lord discusses her entry into autism research, what the future of the field might look like and how drama club saved her in high school.

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Logo for Spectrum’s Synaptic podcast.

Introducing ‘Synaptic,’ a new podcast from Spectrum

by  /  1 April 2023

Explore the people, the science and the challenges in autism research.

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March 2023
Week of MarchMar
27th
2023

Spotted around the web: GABA interneurons; CDEP4; Black researchers

by , ,  /  31 March 2023

Here is a roundup of news and research for the week of 27 March.

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A toy or abacus with emoji-styled yellow faces instead of beads. The faces show different expressions, with many happy faces that are on the outside of the main framework.

‘Flourishing’ measure may not hold up for autistic children

by  /  29 March 2023

Evidence of measurement bias undermines past claims about autistic children’s lower well-being.

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Computer-generated image of mountains against a black background.

Detecting a signal amid noise in autism early-intervention research

by , ,  /  28 March 2023

Studies of behavioral treatments for autism are complex and can easily be misunderstood. Here we provide some guidance.

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Many mouths making conversation, with speech bubbles in red and blue.

Community Newsletter: Suicide in autism; neural cell isolation; analysis of autism genes

by  /  26 March 2023

Discussion on social media revolved around a meta-analysis of suicidality in autism, a method to purify neural stem and progenitor cells, and autism-linked genes in zebrafish.

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Week of MarchMar
20th
2023

Spotted around the web: Connectome resource; GIGYF1 gene; eLife controversy

by ,  /  24 March 2023

Here is a roundup of news and research for the week of 20 March.

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Overhead picture of a racially diverse group of children playing while lying on a blue carpet.

U.S. autism prevalence continues to rise as race and sex gaps shrink, new stats show

by  /  23 March 2023

About 1 in 36 children in the United States has autism, up almost 20 percent from the previous estimate, reflecting improved identification, particularly among girls and Black, Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander children.

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Three groups of people meet and mix at a crossroads.

Letter to the editor: Researchers must bridge disconnect at ‘autism crossroads’

Two groups of researchers respond to Spectrum’s article about the power struggle among researchers, self-advocates and families, calling on their autistic and non-autistic colleagues to work collaboratively and promote equity in autism research.

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Speech bubble formed by a network of communication

Community Newsletter: Tracing fruit fly, human connectomes

by  /  19 March 2023

Researchers took to Twitter this week to discuss the most complete map of brain structure to date — that of a larval fruit fly — and the largest-yet human brain connectivity resource.

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