Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Study unveils surprising mechanism that controls brain formation

A study from The Scripps Research Institute has unveiled a surprising mechanism that controls brain formation. The findings have implications for understanding a host of diseases, including some forms of mental retardation, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and autism.

10 Feb 2011

Scientists generate beating heart cells from skin cells of young patients with severe genetic heart defect

Using skin cells from young patients who have a severe genetic heart defect, Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have generated beating heart cells that carry the same genetic mutation. The newly created human heart cells - cardiomyocytes - allowed the researchers for the first time to examine and characterize the disorder at the cellular level.

10 Feb 2011

Johns Hopkins funds 12 research groups to launch new BSi program on cognitive disorders

The Johns Hopkins Brain Sciences Institute has funded a total of $5 million to 12 different research groups at Hopkins to launch the new Synapses, Circuits and Cognitive Disorders Program. The new BSi program aims to understand the fundamentals of brain function by focusing on the synapse — the point of contact between two nerve cells — to better understand cognitive disorders.

9 Feb 2011

New study: Testosterone administration leads to significant reduction in mind reading

A new study from Utrecht and Cambridge Universities has for the first time found that an administration of testosterone under the tongue in volunteers negatively affects a person's ability to 'mind read', an indication of empathy. The findings are published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

9 Feb 2011

No effort for ensuring continuity of supports and services as ASD children age into adulthood: Study

What happens to young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) once they graduate high school and are no longer entitled to services?

9 Feb 2011

Service disengagement rates are high in youths with autism spectrum disorder after high school

Use of medical, mental health and case management services for young adults with an autism spectrum disorder appears to decline after high school, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Feb 2011

State Roundup: Setting up health insurance exchanges; Community-based clinics cuts; Autism legislation; End-of-life care

The board of the Health Benefit Exchange is going to be small and mighty. ... This exchange will concentrate the health insurance buying power of millions of Californians, and will be the central force in implementing national health care reform in California (Gorn, 2/4).

7 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: (Still) Debating health law's constitutionality; Food labels; Lawmakers' abortion divide

For state governments, the bill presents huge new costs, as we are required to enroll 15 million to 20 million more people in our Medicaid systems. ... Perhaps worse, the law expects to conscript the states as its agents in its takeover of health care. It assumes that we will set up and operate its new insurance "exchanges" for it (Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, 2/7).

7 Feb 2011

First Edition: February 7, 2011

Today's headlines focus on how states face major budget challenges -- with health policy at the heart of the issue.

7 Feb 2011

Researchers find RIPs remain active, continue to produce new insertions in human genome

An ambitious hunt by Johns Hopkins scientists for actively "jumping genes" in humans has yielded compelling new evidence that the genome, anything but static, contains numerous pesky mobile elements that may help to explain why people have such a variety of physical traits and disease risks.

5 Feb 2011

Virginia Autism Project applauds House for historic bill requiring insurers to cover autism for children

Parents of autistic children throughout Virginia cleared a major hurdle today when the House of Delegates voted 74-24 to require insurers to provide autism coverage for children ages 2-6. The Virginia Autism Project applauds the House for its historic vote, which may signal then end of a more than decade-long fight for autism coverage in the commonwealth.

3 Feb 2011

International scientist team identifies gene mutation strongly linked to schizophrenia

In a major advance for schizophrenia research, an international team of scientists, led by Jonathan Sebat, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and cellular and molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a gene mutation strongly linked to the brain disorder - and a signaling pathway that may be treatable with existing compounds.

3 Feb 2011

Connectome remains dynamic during development, says Scripps Research

Connected highways of nerve cells carry information to and from different areas of the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Scientists are trying to draw a complete atlas of these connections-sometimes referred to as the "connectome"-to gain a better understanding of how the brain functions in health and disease.

28 Jan 2011

Rethink Autism to offer free web-based program for parents and teachers

An estimated 637,000 children ages 3-17 in the U.S. had a current Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis in 2007 according to a widely accepted study published in Pediatrics. That represents a 67% increase from a previous estimate by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, which reported autism rates of 66 per 10,000 children in 2002.

27 Jan 2011

Scientists discover new mechanism neurons use to fine-tune electrical output

Scientists in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, have discovered a new mechanism that nerve cells (neurons) use to fine-tune their electrical output. The exciting discovery, published this week in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience, provides new insights about how the activity of the nervous system is regulated at the cellular level.

27 Jan 2011

NGOs, IAOMT urge to ban mercury-containing products, including dental amalgam

Mercury, the main ingredient in "silver" or amalgam fillings, will be the subject of a United Nations conference to be held in Chiba, Japan on January 24-28. Members of various non-governmental organizations, as well as dentists and scientists from groups such as the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, will be attending and urging a ban on products containing mercury, including dental amalgam.

21 Jan 2011

Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network adds 17 sites in Canada and the U.S

Autism Speaks and Autism Speaks Canada who together form North America's largest autism science and advocacy organization, is pleased to announce the expansion of its Autism Treatment Network to include 17 leading children's hospitals and academic medical centers in the Canada and the U.S.

20 Jan 2011

Children's Hospital Los Angeles becomes only Autism Treatment Network site in California

Following a competitive application process, Michele D. Kipke, PhD, Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, was awarded a $420,000 grant which will allow the hospital to become part of the Autism Treatment Network (ATN) as an ATN Center of Clinical Excellence.

20 Jan 2011

Autism Speaks, CDC and NIH collaborate to investigate higher prevalence of ASD in Minneapolis' Somali population

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today announced a collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in the Somali population located in Minneapolis, Minn. Autism Speaks is contributing funding to this project to be initiated in early 2011.

19 Jan 2011

Eating less during early pregnancy impairs fetal brain development: Study

Eating less during early pregnancy impaired fetal brain development in a nonhuman primate model, researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio reported today.

18 Jan 2011

Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Study unveils surprising mechanism that controls brain formation

Scientists generate beating heart cells from skin cells of young patients with severe genetic heart defect

Johns Hopkins funds 12 research groups to launch new BSi program on cognitive disorders

New study: Testosterone administration leads to significant reduction in mind reading

No effort for ensuring continuity of supports and services as ASD children age into adulthood: Study

Service disengagement rates are high in youths with autism spectrum disorder after high school

State Roundup: Setting up health insurance exchanges; Community-based clinics cuts; Autism legislation; End-of-life care

Viewpoints: (Still) Debating health law's constitutionality; Food labels; Lawmakers' abortion divide

First Edition: February 7, 2011

Researchers find RIPs remain active, continue to produce new insertions in human genome

Virginia Autism Project applauds House for historic bill requiring insurers to cover autism for children

International scientist team identifies gene mutation strongly linked to schizophrenia

Connectome remains dynamic during development, says Scripps Research

Rethink Autism to offer free web-based program for parents and teachers

Scientists discover new mechanism neurons use to fine-tune electrical output

NGOs, IAOMT urge to ban mercury-containing products, including dental amalgam

Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network adds 17 sites in Canada and the U.S

Children's Hospital Los Angeles becomes only Autism Treatment Network site in California

Autism Speaks, CDC and NIH collaborate to investigate higher prevalence of ASD in Minneapolis' Somali population

Eating less during early pregnancy impairs fetal brain development: Study

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

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