Can a drug for a parasitic disease really treat autism?
Reports of a century-old drug that reverses autism-like symptoms in mice raise key questions about the complexity of translating promising research into real treatments.
From funding decisions to scientific fraud, a wide range of societal factors shape autism research.
Reports of a century-old drug that reverses autism-like symptoms in mice raise key questions about the complexity of translating promising research into real treatments.
Reprogrammed stem cells carry remnants of their previous cell states in the form of chemical cues that alter gene expression, reports a paper published 10 July in Nature. An alternative method that creates so-called nuclear transfer embryonic stem cells produces fewer errors.
Autism researchers collaborate a great deal, says Helen Tager-Flusberg, and collaboration has increased over the past five years — most likely reflecting the maturation of the field and the greater opportunities to meet.
Having one child with autism raises the odds of having a second child with the disorder 20-fold, according to one of the largest epidemiological studies so far to address the inheritance of autism risk.
New algorithms can analyze recordings of infants performing tasks that gauge their attention, suggesting a way to automate the detection of autism symptoms.
With the rate of autism now at 1 in 68 people and climbing, the need for solutions that reach the risk population more quickly and effectively has never been more real, say Dennis Wall and Glenn Saxe.
A pair of enzymes improve the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR by providing more precise molecular ‘scissors’ to cut and paste DNA snippets.
A computer game based on face recognition helps children with autism feign expressions more convincingly than before.
A new questionnaire may help assess sensory problems — such as heightened awareness of bright colors or loud noises — in adults with autism.
CHD8, a gene that regulates the structure of DNA, is the closest thing so far to an ‘autism gene,’ suggests a study published today in Cell. People with mutations in this gene all have the same cluster of symptoms, including autism.