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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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Genes

Rare or common, inherited or spontaneous, mutations form the core of autism risk.

November 2022
Helen Willsey in her lab at the University of California, San Francisco.

How Helen Willsey broke new ground, frogs in hand

by  /  29 November 2022

A young researcher faces down the skeptics.

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A pattern in the style of genetic sequencing forms into the shape of the African continent.

Africa’s genomic role: Q&A with Conrad Iyegbe and Niran Okewole

by  /  28 November 2022

Psychiatric genomics promises to shed light on the genetic basis of autism, but it’s vital to include Africa in this research, Iyegbe and Okewole say.

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Light micrograph of microglia cells stained with Rio Hortega’s silver carbonate method.

Autism’s sex bias tied to glial, immune cell gene expression

by  /  22 November 2022

The function of microglia and astrocytes in the brain may mediate the intersection of sex-differential biology and autism biology.

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Grid of nine mri scans of mouse brains.

Shared brain structure, connectivity hint at autism subgroups

by  /  21 November 2022

Using imaging methods to sort mouse models of autism may help identify subtypes of autistic people with similar underlying biology.

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Still image from video of zebrafish swimming in small enclosures.

Zebrafish social behavior swims into mainstream

by  /  17 November 2022

New studies bolster the idea that zebrafish models can say something meaningful about social behavior in autism.

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Ellen Hoffman sits in a chair and smiles.

Screening zebrafish autism models: A quick take at SfN with Ellen Hoffman

by  /  16 November 2022

Zebrafish with mutations in 10 different autism-linked genes show a range of unique and shared phenotypes.

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A white mouse sits on a nest against a blue background.

Mouse models help sniff out olfactory differences in autism

by  /  16 November 2022

A range of presentations at Neuroscience 2022 tie atypical social behavior to trouble discriminating between odors in the animals.

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Tuan Chao speaks about her research.

Tying PPFIA3 to autism: A quick take at SfN with Tuan Chao and Maimuna Paul

by  /  15 November 2022

Work in fruit flies has helped Paul decode a neurodevelopmental syndrome in children caused by rare de novo variants in the gene PPFIA3.

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Illustration of multipolar neurons.

Consistent, convergent pathways link two forms of autism

by  /  15 November 2022

People with dup15q syndrome and those with idiopathic autism have similar patterns of altered gene expression in early brain development and later in life.

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A grid of clocks placed over a colorful gene sequence.

Autism-linked genes clock daily oscillations

by  /  14 November 2022

Rhythmic variations in the genes’ brain expression levels may help explain the sleep problems that often accompany the condition.

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