Who else wants to invite this talented pooch to their next game night?Source: The Autism Site

The many genes missing in Williams syndrome, a condition related to autism, may all work together to exert their effects on behavior, a new mouse study suggests1. The findings add to mounting evidence that even in conditions that are strongly tied to just one or two genes, multiple genes are in fact…

By Gretchen McIntire In the last couple of days, I have been reflecting on the ways I have worked hard to be brave this year. A lot of my work has been emotional but some of it has involved a lot of unexpected changes. This year there were times when I worried I might run out of ways to be brave onl…

This year’s top papers deepen our understanding of autism’s genetics and reveal mixed results from trials of autism therapies. As we do every year, we asked autism researchers to help us pick the most ‘notable’ papers of the previous 12 months — ones that greatly enhanced our knowledge of autism or …

The end of the year is a time for reflection — and making predictions for the year ahead. As part of our 2019 Year in Review, we asked researchers to ‘fill in the blanks’ and take a playful look at their past, present and future. The result is Spectrum’s ‘Lab Libs’ — a cheeky homage to the infamous …

Spectrum published hundreds of articles this year on a range of topics, from characterization of candidate genes to immune-system connections. We are proud of all of them, but some in particular stand out: They expose harmful therapies such as chiropractic and stem-cell treatments, upend conventiona…

Visual stories by and about people with autism are crucial for raising awareness about the condition. Stock photography, films and television series have started to depict autistic people and characters, but the media landscape remains imbalanced and riddled with damaging stereotypes. New York City-…

The post 2019: Year in review appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

This year, researchers unearthed clues to the causes of autism — and how to treat it —from a variety of sources. Advances in tiny models of the human brain bared new details about the biology of autism and provided possible platforms for testing therapies. Studies of heart rate put a spotlight on th…

A behavioral specialist who works in an autism unit with elementary students teamed up with her special education co-teacher to find an unforgettable way to explain the spread of germs to kids.Source: The Autism Site

Research roundup New tools such as cultured progenitor cells have given researchers insight into placenta formation. Nature Reviews Genetics Researchers studying the evolutionary progression of microglia, the brain’s immune cells, have identified a core group of genes that are turned on in the mic…

A new brain-imaging device comprises magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology mounted within an ordinary bicycle helmet1. It allows researchers to accurately record people’s brain activity as they move around. Traditional scanners require people to keep their heads still to avoid blurring the images.…

Researchers report that using the app for just a month improves children's social responsiveness scores.Source: The Autism Site

A shortage of CUL3, a leading autism gene, impairs social behavior in mice by ramping up protein production in neurons, a new study suggests1. CUL3 helps tag superfluous proteins for destruction. Several studies have tied rare, spontaneous variants in the gene to autism. But little is known about ho…