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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Hannah Furfaro

Hannah Furfaro was a news writer at Spectrum from 2017 to 2019. Before that, Hannah was an investigative reporting fellow at Columbia University. She previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Fresno Bee and the Associated Press. Her work has also appeared in The Guardian and Audubon Magazine.

Hannah has an M.A. in science and health journalism from Columbia University.
February 2020
An illustration with warm colors shows a pill bottle on its side with dice, rather than pills, spilling out of it.

How aripiprazole’s promise for treating autism fell short

by  /  19 February 2020

Aripiprazole, marketed as Abilify, is widely thought to be safer than risperidone, the only other drug approved for use in autistic children. A decade’s worth of data suggests that is not true.

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Illustration shows child's head, with an EEG background, and a sleeping figure floating in the clouds above his head.

Sleep problems in autism, explained

by  /  6 February 2020

Many people with autism have difficulty falling and staying asleep, but there may be ways to help them.

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September 2019
Woman inside MRI machine with clinicians or doctors looking on with clipboards

Autistic girls’ brains show distinct anatomical features

by  /  16 September 2019

Nerve fiber tracts in the brains of autistic girls appear more fragmented than those of typical girls’. Autistic boys’ brains, meanwhile, look like those of typical boys.

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Scientist Annie Ciernia runs in the forest, wearing lab coat and carrying a stack of papers that are also flying along behind her

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Annie Ciernia

by  /  10 September 2019

Annie Ciernia describes the greenhouse origins of her scientific career and why a unicorn makes a good lab mascot.

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fetus surrounded by genes and nanoparticles and clusters

Small sponge may sop up maternal antibody tied to autism

by  /  9 September 2019

Researchers have created a microscopic particle that traps immune molecules found in a woman that are linked to autism in her child.

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August 2019

Brain organoids show realistic neuronal firing rhythms

by  /  29 August 2019

Brain organoids made from typical human stem cells begin to show synchronized neuronal firing patterns after growing in a dish for at least four months.

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Heatmap of the United States

New autism map points to diagnostic deserts in United States

by  /  28 August 2019

Most regions in the United States do not have an autism diagnostic center or specialist.

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Portrait of scientist Alysson Muotri

Autism researcher Alysson Muotri’s audacious plans for brain organoids

by  /  12 August 2019

Alysson Muotri aims to build a ‘thinking’ brain as a model for autism — even if his colleagues consider that work controversial.

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young woman or girl sits alone on a window sill, in a sad posture.

Autistic women twice as likely as autistic men to attempt suicide

by  /  7 August 2019

People on the spectrum, and girls and women in particular, are at high risk of suicide; siblings of autistic people are also at heightened risk.

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July 2019

Experts question rationale for stem cell trial for autism

by  /  25 July 2019

Results from a new trial suggest that it’s safe to treat autistic children with umbilical cord stem cells. But parents must pay for the pricey infusions, and no one knows how or if the cells work.

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