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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Nicholette Zeliadt

Managing Editor

Nicholette Zeliadt manages Spectrum’s staff writers and interns, and she commissions and edits news and opinion articles. She joined Spectrum as news writer in 2014. Before that, she was a freelance writer and editor. Her work has appeared in The New York TimesScientific AmericanNature MedicineScience and The Scientist.Nicholette has a Ph.D. in environmental health from the University of Minnesota
and a B.A. in biochemistry from the University of Iowa.

Contact Info

[email protected]

July 2019

Ultrasensitive blood test may detect autism mutations in utero

by  /  18 July 2019

A blood test can accurately detect whether a fetus carries large mutations of the kind linked to autism, according to pilot-study results.

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Family groups, researchers join forces to solve mysteries of autism gene

by  /  10 July 2019

Families of children with mutations in a gene called SYNGAP1 have spurred research into the effects of the mutations on people — and how to treat them.

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June 2019
Micrograph of fecal bacteria

Study of microbiome’s importance in autism triggers swift backlash

by  /  27 June 2019

Many scientists have pointed out possible errors of analysis and interpretation in a high-profile study that suggested microbes can ease autism-like behaviors in mice.

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May 2019

Gut microbes from autistic children may alter behavior in mice

by  /  30 May 2019

Mice colonized with gut microbes from some autistic boys show behaviors like those of the boys.

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Female doctor with young patient and his mother

Autistic children may improve simply by participating in research

by  /  29 May 2019

Autistic infants who are enrolled in long-term studies may go on to have milder autism traits and better life skills than other children with the condition.

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Brown and black mice in a cage, socializing

Drug may deliver ‘ecstasy’ of social interactions to autistic people

by  /  23 May 2019

The ability to learn from social experiences wanes by adulthood, at least in mice — but the recreational drug ecstasy may bring it back.

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neurons in mice brains

Inflammation may wield sex-specific effects on developing brain

by  /  8 May 2019

Exposure to inflammation in the womb may affect the brain and behavior of males and females differently.

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Child in sad posture, seen from through a textured glass window

Many autistic children contemplate suicide, screens suggest

by  /  4 May 2019

About 10 percent of autistic children have suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

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A depressed young woman in a tunnel

History of self-harm adds to suicide risk in autistic people

by  /  4 May 2019

People with autism who harm themselves are more than 30 times as likely as the general population to commit suicide. The risk is especially pronounced among girls and women on the spectrum.

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Child in magnetoencephalograph (MEG) scanner

Brains of minimally verbal autistic children respond slowly to sound

by  /  4 May 2019

Several of the brain’s responses to sound are sluggish in autistic children who speak few or no words, compared with those who are verbal.

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