Fever

Recent articles

Illustration of a conveyor belt spilling pills over a green cliff face.

Acetaminophen use during pregnancy does not increase child’s chance of having autism, study finds

The link reported in prior studies likely reflects confounding factors, which sibling-matched controls in the new work address.

By Calli McMurray
9 April 2024 | 7 min read
A woman stands by a window while talking on the phone and holding a pill bottle.

Evidence linking acetaminophen to autism, ADHD under debate again

As acetaminophen lawsuits make their way through the U.S. court system, researchers reevaluate the quality of the evidence linking in-utero exposure to the painkiller to neurodevelopmental issues in children.

By Teresa Carr, Undark
12 July 2023 | 18 min read
Child in dark room with thermometer showing 100.8.

Fever doesn’t ease challenging traits in most autistic children

The findings contradict a previous study, whose design may have been biased to find an effect.

By Angie Voyles Askham
17 May 2022 | 3 min read
White lab mouse sitting in a gloved hand.

Notable papers in autism research, 2020

Gene therapies and the factors influencing autism traits top Spectrum’s list of the 10 most notable research findings we covered in 2020.

By Spectrum
23 December 2020 | 4 min read
Young woman during birth.

Epidurals linked to slightly higher autism odds, but connection is unclear

Women who receive epidural anesthesia during labor have an elevated chance of having a child with autism, a new study has found. But it is too soon for doctors to recommend against epidurals, experts say.

By Peter Hess
13 October 2020 | 6 min read
baby grasping an adult hand

Hormone level in infants may predict autism diagnosis

Infants with low levels of the hormone vasopressin in their cerebrospinal fluid may be more likely to later be diagnosed with autism.

By Peter Hess
11 May 2020 | 4 min read
Small child with fever has his temperature checked

Fever’s immune effect on brain may ease autism traits

An immune molecule produced during a fever improves sociability in three mouse models of autism.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
8 January 2020 | 4 min read
Siblings, a baby and a toddler, play together at home.

How pregnancy may shape a child’s autism

Autism is predominantly genetic in origin, but a growing list of prenatal exposures for mother and baby may sway the odds.

By Melinda Wenner Moyer
5 December 2018 | 17 min read
asian child and mother together in a park

Study linking acetaminophen use to language delay is preliminary, experts say

Women who take acetaminophen — commonly marketed as Tylenol in the United States — early in pregnancy may increase their daughters’ risk of language delay.

By Bahar Gholipour
14 February 2018 | 5 min read

Genetic hotspot; big brain collaboration; funding fall and more

A gene called TRIO may be a hotbed for autism mutations, an international collaboration focuses on the whole brain and one behavior, and Autism Speaks cuts grant spending.

By Emily Willingham
22 September 2017 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Exclusive: Harvard University lays off fly database team

The layoffs jeopardize this resource, which has served more than 4,000 labs for about three decades.

By Claudia López Lloreda
13 August 2025 | 5 min listen

Chris Rozell explains how brain stimulation and AI are helping to treat mental disorders

Rozell and his colleagues, using deep brain stimulation and explainable artificial intelligence, have developed tools to help people with treatment-resistant depression.

By Paul Middlebrooks
13 August 2025 | 1 min read
Illustration of a musical staff with notes represented by neurons.

This paper changed my life: Abigail Person on birdsong, feed-forward circuits and convergent computations

By isolating specific neuron types involved in zebra finch birdsong, this 2002 Nature paper from Michael Fee and colleagues revealed elegant neural mechanisms controlling the timing of natural learned behavior.

By Abigail Person
12 August 2025 | 6 min listen