New work suggests that the skin, a common source for deriving induced pluripotent stem cells, is a genetic mosaic. What does this mean for stem cell research? Are there implications for the human brain?

The study of autism around the globe must account for a variety of behavioural norms in different societies.

Several studies in the past two years have claimed that brain scans can diagnose autism, but this assertion is deeply flawed, says Nicholas Lange.

Some of the genetic variability seen in stem cells derived from skin arises from differences in the skin cells themselves, according to a study published 18 November in Nature. The findings have implications for both stem cell research and our understanding of human biology.

Men with autism struggle with attention to detail and dexterity, according to a study published 17 October in PLoS One. Men and women with the disorder both have trouble with social skills, however.

A survey of health and education professionals finds that about half of them object to the proposed changes in the diagnostic criteria for autism.

We now know that people with autism have a much broader range of language ability than previously thought. How can we measure subtle language deficits in this group?

There’s little rigorous evidence on whether animals help people with autism become more sociable, or which people with the disorder might benefit the most.

We are on the verge of a seismic shift in the definition of autism spectrum disorders, says David Skuse. Under proposed guidelines for autism diagnosis, the canard that most people with the disorder cannot speak, or have such disordered language that they cannot sustain a conversation, has been abandoned.

Most cases of Rett syndrome in China are the result of mutations on the paternal copy of MeCP2, according to a study published 27 August in the European Journal of Medical Genetics.