Two independent teams have identified the genetic culprits of three rare, inherited diseases by sequencing the genomes of several members of the same family. As the cost of whole-genome sequencing plummets, this family-based approach will reveal candidate genes not just for rare diseases but for common, complex disorders such as autism, experts say.

Despite dozens of studies, researchers have not been able to agree on whether people with autism have trouble with planning skills. The inconsistency in results may be because of differences in short-term memory, according to a new study.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism may have more in common than childhood onset and a few similar symptoms. New research suggests the conditions share genetic roots.

Random changes in gene expression can cause genetically identical embryos to develop different traits, according to a study of worms published in Nature. The findings suggest that haphazard movements of molecules could partly explain why autism-associated mutations don’t always cause the same symptoms.

Writing in Science, leading scientists call for a 10-year, $2 billion international scheme that would combine the latest in genetics and animal research to combat psychiatric diseases.

Ethicists ask, should participants of autism genomic studies have access to their own DNA?

Two high-profile autism researchers have been accused of fraud.

This summer will mark ten years since scientists sequenced the human genome. What have we gained from knowing those 3 billion base pairs?

Scientists have created machines to detect distinctive speech patterns in children with autism that go unnoticed by the naked ear.

Moving a drug from the lab bench to the pharmacy’s shelves takes about 10 years. But for one controversial autism treatment, the process might be much quicker.