Skip to main content

Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Robin Lloyd

Locum News Editor, Spectrum

Robin Lloyd is a freelance writer, editor and educator, as well as a contributing editor for Scientific American and an adjunct professor at New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She has a Ph.D. and M.A. in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a B.A. from Smith College. She completed a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the 1998-1999 academic year.

Contact Info

[email protected]

September 2016
Week of SeptemberSep
5th
2016

Sounding out ultrasounds; name game; geek gathering

by  /  9 September 2016

A tie between first-trimester ultrasounds and autism severity is tenuous at best, misnamed genes litter the literature, and neuroscientists enjoy their version of summer camp.

Comments
July 2016
Week of JulyJul
25th
2016

Calming remedies; labor lessons; women wanted

by  /  29 July 2016

New drugs target the brain’s calming chemical, inducing labor does not boost autism risk, and the start is imminent for a project to develop personalized treatments.

Comments
Week of JulyJul
18th
2016

Fake facilitation; third strike; Pokémon passion

by  /  22 July 2016

An autism researcher retracts her third paper in as many years, scientists write fraudulent reviews of their own papers, and Pokémon Go boosts social skills in children with autism.

Comments
Week of JulyJul
11th
2016

Brexit break-ups; little impact; micro medicine

by  /  15 July 2016

Scientists are excluding U.K. colleagues from studies; a life sciences publisher abandons the ‘impact factor;’ and a new open-access journal makes its debut.

Comments
June 2016
Week of JuneJun
20th
2016

CRISPR medicine; inclusive experiments; autism in Egypt

by  /  24 June 2016

Scientists target human cancer with CRISPR, device trials may become more diverse, and autism awareness grows in Egypt.

Comments
Week of JuneJun
13th
2016

Probing parenting; connectome conference; women at the bench

by  /  17 June 2016

A grant extends a study on parenting children with fragile X syndrome, the Human Connectome Project progresses, and women scientists play the role of experimenter in published work.

Comments
Week of JuneJun
6th
2016

Antidepressant test; federally funded flop; budget boost

by  /  10 June 2016

A new blood test could personalize depression treatment, a journalist dissects the demise of a large children’s study, and the National Institutes of Health budget may grow by $2 billion.

Comments
Week of MayMay
30th
2016

Care co-op; biased psychotherapists; funding failure

by  /  3 June 2016

A training program leads physicians to screen more children for autism, psychotherapists may discriminate against the working class, and a lack of federal funding leaves children with autism underserved.

Comments
May 2016
Week of MayMay
23rd
2016

Tissue tussle; adult inattention; printed hand

by  /  27 May 2016

Proposed changes to federal ethics rules spark concerns among researchers, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may be different in adults, and an artist plans to print a three-dimensional hand using stem cells.

Comments
Week of MayMay
16th
2016

Folate flap; pay gap; blood privacy

by  /  20 May 2016

The media offers clarity on prenatal folate levels and autism, early-career women scientists make less than their male counterparts, and states grapple with what to do with babies’ blood.

Comments