ASHG 2020

Recent articles

Group of DNA helixes are seen on black

Analysis combining variants, conditions uncovers hundreds of neurodevelopmental genes

The first genetic analysis of multiple types of variants from people with autism or other neurodevelopmental conditions reveals hundreds of genes that may be linked to neurodevelopment.

By Laura Dattaro
2 November 2020 | 4 min read

Reactions from ASHG 2020

Get the inside scoop from the 2020 American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting.

By Laura Dattaro
30 October 2020 | 8 min read
Black mother pushing her child on swing at playground.

First analysis of African autism cohort reveals millions of new variants

Genome sequences from a research cohort of autistic African children and their families have revealed more than 4 million novel variants, some of which occur in genes not previously linked to the condition.

By Laura Dattaro
29 October 2020 | 4 min read
Mature dad and his daughter plays with blocks

Parental age plays small role in large mutations tied to autism

Most of the large, spontaneous genetic mutations tied to autism are passed down from fathers. But, unlike with smaller mutations, a parent's age is unlikely to up the rate at which they occur.

By Laura Dattaro
26 October 2020 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Photograph of the BRIDGE team and students visiting a laboratory.

Sharing Africa’s brain data: Q&A with Amadi Ihunwo

These data are “virtually mandatory” to advance neuroscience, says Ihunwo, a co-investigator of the Brain Research International Data Governance & Exchange (BRIDGE) initiative, which seeks to develop a global framework for sharing, using and protecting neuroscience data.

By Lauren Schenkman
20 May 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of neurite overgrowth in cells grown from people with autism-linked PPP2R5D variants.

Cortical structures in infants linked to future language skills; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 19 May.

By Jill Adams
20 May 2025 | 2 min read
Digitally distorted building blocks.

The BabyLM Challenge: In search of more efficient learning algorithms, researchers look to infants

A competition that trains language models on relatively small datasets of words, closer in size to what a child hears up to age 13, seeks solutions to some of the major challenges of today’s large language models.

By Alona Fyshe
19 May 2025 | 7 min read