IMFAR 2010

Recent articles

Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Gene expression pattern could pinpoint autism

Researchers can reliably identify individuals with autism by looking at the expression pattern of a set of genes in cultured blood cells, according to a poster presented Friday at the IMFAR 2010 conference in Philadelphia.

By Virginia Hughes
25 May 2010 | 4 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Children with autism and siblings share brain ‘signature’

Children who have autism and their healthy siblings share patterns of brain activity that are different than those seen in children with no family history of the disorder, according to unpublished research presented at the IMFAR 2010 conference in Philadelphia.

By Virginia Hughes
24 May 2010 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Language specialization skewed in children with autism

Brain imaging reveals distinct signatures in the language circuits of young toddlers with autism while they sleep, according to unpublished data presented yesterday at the IMFAR 2010 meeting in Philadelphia.

By Virginia Hughes
21 May 2010 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

People with autism misjudge quality of visual signals

Adolescents with autism can gauge the direction of moving objects just as well as healthy controls can, but their confidence in their visual ability is sometimes misplaced, according to unpublished data presented yesterday at the IMFAR 2010 conference in Philadelphia.

By Virginia Hughes
21 May 2010 | 2 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Blinking could detect autism, group says

How interested a child with autism is in a social scene can be determined in the blink of an eye, according to research presented yesterday at IMFAR 2010.

By Virginia Hughes
21 May 2010 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Geometric gaze

Some children with autism prefer to look at geometric patterns rather than at 'social' images of other children — and this tendency is obvious as early as 14 months of age, according to a poster presented today at IMFAR 2010 in Philadelphia.

By Apoorva Mandavilli
20 May 2010 | 2 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

A group of researchers reading while institutions crumble in the background, and giant mice appear on the horizon.

Fear and loathing on study section: Reviewing grant proposals while the system is burning

As grants are canceled, delayed and subject to general uncertainty, participating in study sections can feel futile. But it’s more important than ever.

By John Tuthill
14 July 2025 | 8 min read

ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release

The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.

By Calli McMurray
11 July 2025 | 4 min read
Leafcutter ants carrying leaves.

Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants

The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.

By Shaena Montanari
11 July 2025 | 7 min listen