Meredith Wadman
Freelance writer
Simons Foundation
From this contributor
Ready or not, here come genetic tests for autism
Late in June, an announcement appeared on the website of GeneDx, a genetic testing company based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was highlighted in red with a single word: “new”.

Ready or not, here come genetic tests for autism
The case for copy number variations in autism
Following a series of papers in the past two years, what seems irrefutable is that copy number variations ― in which a particular stretch of DNA is either deleted or duplicated ― are important in autism.

The case for copy number variations in autism
Mouse models for autism debut
Two research groups have achieved an elusive goal: producing mouse models that show distinct social and behavioral abnormalities reminiscent of autism.
MEG imaging simplifies mapping of autistic brains
Imagine being confined for at least half an hour to a dark, claustrophobic tunnel, in a machine so obnoxiously loud that it sounds like you're in an oil drum with a jackhammer pounding on the outside. Thatʼs whatʼs involved in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): an experience enough to make even the bravest among us flinch.

MEG imaging simplifies mapping of autistic brains
Changes in chromosome 16 firmly linked to autism
In a paper published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have identified a segment containing 25 genes on chromosome 16 that was deleted or duplicated in roughly one percent of children with autism.

Changes in chromosome 16 firmly linked to autism
Explore more from The Transmitter
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

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.