In autism, gene findings may help explain biology, guide drug discovery

(Medical Xpress) -- Autism and related disorders that profoundly affect behavior and development are diagnosed more often today than ever before.

In Autism, Gene Findings May Help Explain Biology and Guide Drug Discovery

UCSF gene hunter Lauren Weiss is homing in on a network of genes – linked to a protein suspect identified earlier – that may hold clues to autism and lead to new ways to identify those at risk and new ideas about prevention and treatment.

Gene regulator in brain's executive hub tracked across lifespan

Scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub. Genes implicated in schizophrenia and autism are among those in which regulatory activity peaks during an environmentally-sensitive critical period in development. The mechanism, called DNA methylation, abruptly switches from ...

Seth Mnookin: Autism Roundtable: Cross-Disability Solidarity, Goals for the Future, and What it Means to "Fit in"

I asked some of the people who've influenced my thinking about autism to collaborate on a virtual roundtable. This conversation, which took place before the Times story on the DSM, is open-ended and free-ranging. The participants, in alphabetical order:

Mental illness suspect genes are among the most environmentally responsive regulatory mechanisms

For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub.