A rare condition marked by a sudden and profound loss of skills is biologically distinct from other forms of autism.

Assessing social ability in adults with autism requires controlled tests involving real-time social interactions. Virtual reality makes this possible.

The reasons some people with autism don’t make eye contact may differ between childhood and adulthood.

Studies of social-brain function are moving out of scanners and into realistic settings.

Autism researchers reflect on the unusual episodes that spawned significant scientific projects.

Adult monkeys that spend most of their time alone struggled as infants to recognize faces.

Toddlers with autism are oblivious to the social information in the eyes, but don’t actively avoid meeting another person’s gaze.

Scientists test CRISPR as a cancer treatment, an app could help parents pick up on hints of autism, and a Dutch science academy tries to tilt its ranks toward women.

People with autism show atypical patterns of gaze even when they are explicitly asked to look at another person’s eyes.

Children with autism may be so consumed by their interests that they don’t pay attention to social information.