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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.

January 2012
A family on a walk.

Clinical research: Autism threshold higher in girls than boys

by  /  11 January 2012

Girls may have a higher threshold for the genetic abnormalities that lead to autism than boys do, according to a new study in the January issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B.  

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Autism’s cost

by  /  10 January 2012

New numbers are shedding light on just how much it costs to care for children with autism — and, importantly, what is driving those costs.

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Genetics: Large variants linked to intellectual disability

by  /  10 January 2012

Intellectual disability is more likely to be associated with multiple, large or non-inherited duplications and deletions of DNA than is autism, according to a study published 7 November in PLoS Genetics.

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Funding fears prevent researchers from sharing their mice

by  /  9 January 2012

Despite funders’ requirements to share mouse models after publication, many researchers hoard the animals for the good of their labs — and that could have an adverse effect on the field as a whole.

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Screen time

by  /  6 January 2012

Children with autism are twice as likely as controls to spend most of their free time watching television or videos.

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To make big data available to all, reach for the clouds

by  /  5 January 2012

As the amount of genomics and other data rapidly grows, researchers are turning to cloud computing; commercial services for remote data storage and processing that allow even those with little infrastructure to handle big data.

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Brain atlas maps gene expression across development

by  /  4 January 2012

Researchers have charted the expression of more than 15,000 brain genes across 15 stages of development, spanning from 4 weeks post-conception to more than 60 years of age, they reported 27 October in Nature.

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December 2011

Rhode Island plans statewide registry for autism research

by  /  22 December 2011

A consortium of autism researchers, advocates and educators in Rhode Island are aiming to harness the advantages of the state’s small size and tight-knit autism community to build the most comprehensive registry for the disorder yet.

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Quick test for fragile X may be ideal for developing nations

by  /  21 December 2011

Dried spots of blood taken from infants at birth can help clinicians screen for fragile X syndrome in countries with limited resources, according to a study published 11 October in Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers.

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Adult decisions

by  /  20 December 2011

A new report outlines priorities for studying adults with autism, ranging from designing diagnostic tests to the most effective models of long-term care.

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