Women scientists did much of the important early work in the field of autism, but they still struggle with lower salaries, more teaching responsibilities in their institutions and fewer opportunities to head up large, multi-center collaborations.

New Jersey has the highest rates of autism in the U.S., but prevalence is highest in neighborhoods where annual incomes exceed $90,000.

Screening for metabolic disorders in children with autism is not cost-effective, according to a study published 7 July in PLoS One. The researchers argue instead for careful individual clinical analysis.

Some of the same genetic risk factors may underlie both autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a study published 10 August in Science Translational Medicine.

New studies of restricted and repetitive behaviors link autism to other disorders and may lead to more effective treatments.

Including more females in autism research studies will aid the search for genetic and environmental susceptibility factors for the disorder, says genetic psychiatrist Lauren Weiss.

Children who have more than one older sibling with autism have a one in three chance of developing the disorder themselves, according to a study published today in Pediatrics. The risk is higher for boys: Even if they have only one older sibling with autism, they are almost three times more likely than girls with the same family history to develop the disorder.

Autism studies tend to focus on one part of the spectrum, often excluding those who also have other conditions such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder or intellectual disability. The result, some experts say, is piecemeal findings that don’t fit together to generate a whole picture.

A new technique allows researchers to make stable modifications to neurons by incorporating modified amino acids into the proteins of stem cells. The method permits researchers to investigate neuronal function in live, intact cells.

The first study to sequence more than 100 genes on the X chromosome in people with autism or schizophrenia has turned up some promising leads.