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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.

March 2023
Week of MarchMar
13th
2023

Spotted around the web: Brain imaging replicability; CRISPR-edited neurons; sex-based variability in mice

by , ,  /  17 March 2023

Here is a roundup of news and research for the week of 13 March.

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Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Registered reports; motor measurements; viral DNA

by  /  16 March 2023

In this edition of Null and Noteworthy, Spectrum talks with a Nature editor about the journal’s move to publish more null results.

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Drop of liquid medicine with air bubbles is dripping from a pipette on a light pink background.

FDA approval of trofinetide may spur further drug development for Rett

by  /  16 March 2023

The drug, welcomed by patients, might be just the first of many.

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

Community Newsletter: Two new mouse brain atlases, plus female mouse behavior

by  /  12 March 2023

Three murine studies — two of cell types in the mouse brain plus a look at behavioral sex differences — dominated researchers’ attention on Twitter this week.

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A group of doctors sit and talk in a hospital lounge.

Doctors with autism speak out against stigma

by ,  /  9 March 2023

Autistic clinicians have long hid their diagnosis from colleagues, but some are beginning to share their stories to ignite change.

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A hand holds a compass against a blue background.

Spectrum Launch: How early-career researchers can use ChatGPT to boost productivity

by  /  9 March 2023

The new tool may pose challenges for the scientific community, but used wisely, it can help researchers save time and resources.

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Images of Marie-Eve Lefebvre and Punit Shah sitting at their laptops.

New journals seek to fill neurodiversity gap

by  /  8 March 2023

The two journals, although differing in initial support, both realized the need for a publication focused exclusively on the neurodiverse experience.

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Illustration of a person holding the end of a thread that has trapped them within concentric circles while another person picks up the other end of the thread and begins to follow it.

People who need people: Leveraging desire for connection to address suicide in autism

by  /  7 March 2023

There are a variety of suicide interventions designed to improve social connection that could be adapted for autistic people, but first the field must work to dismantle the damaging and inaccurate notion that autistic people are uninterested in social interaction.

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Speech bubble formed by a network of communication

Community Newsletter: Registered reports; cerebellum genome; octopus brain waves

by  /  5 March 2023

The research community was abuzz this week with chatter about Nature’s new policy on registered reports, a 3D genome atlas of the cerebellum, and a study that measured brain activity in freely moving octopuses.

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Week of FebruaryFeb
27th
2023

Spotted around the web: Synaptic vesicle recycling; telehealth diagnoses; registered reports

by , ,  /  3 March 2023

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

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