FMRP

Recent articles

Autism research hits the road

Some scientists are thinking creatively about how to collect data in flexible environments and meet communities where they’re at.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
8 December 2023 | 0 min watch
Research image of neurons in mice.

Skewed signaling in striatum may spawn repetitive behaviors

Synaptic changes in the brain region could drive a core trait of fragile X syndrome, a new mouse study suggests.

By Holly Barker
6 September 2023 | 3 min read
Research images of protein synthesis in mice.

Neuronal deafness to stress may add to protein surplus in fragile X

A protective pathway that pauses protein synthesis is muted in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, according to a new study.

By Holly Barker
29 August 2023 | 3 min read
Illustration of a fragile X syndrome chromosome.

New gene-editing method flags fragile X mutation for repair

The approach prompts cultured cells to correct the genetic mutation in fragile X syndrome using their own DNA repair system, but it still needs to be tested further.

By Angie Voyles Askham
5 July 2023 | 5 min read
an image of a neuron

Neurons struggle to spike without fragile X gene

FMR1 loss impairs sodium channels, hindering mouse neurons from generating the electrical signals needed to transmit information.

By Laura Dattaro
17 February 2023 | 3 min read
Research image showing neuronal activity in mice exposed to high-frequency sounds.

Missing mechanism helps solve fragile X protein mystery

Cells from people with fragile X syndrome overproduce — but don’t accumulate — proteins. New work suggests that excessive protein breakdown may account for this discrepancy, and explain some of the syndrome’s traits.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
24 January 2023 | 4 min read
Brain slice of a mouse brain showing cells carrying the fragile X mutation.

Fragile X neurons develop atypically in chimeric mice

After a brain transplant of reprogrammed human cells, the animals can for the first time recapitulate some neuronal changes seen in people with fragile X syndrome.

By Emma Yasinski
29 September 2022 | 4 min read
Illustration of a binocular microscope with an X Chromosome in one eyepiece and cancer cells in the other.

The cloudy connection between fragile X and cancer

People with the autism-linked syndrome lack a protein implicated in several cancers, but it’s unclear whether — or how — they are protected from malignancies.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
28 September 2022 | 8 min read
A brown lab mouse perches on a researcher's hand.

Largest-yet fragile X mutation in mice confirms model’s shortcomings

A 341-repeat mutation from a person with fragile X does not lead to the syndrome’s traits or function the same way in mice, highlighting a need for different animal models.

By Peter Hess
14 September 2022 | 3 min read

Plethora of protein-making machines in neurons may underlie fragile X

An overabundance of ribosomes drives an imbalance of proteins produced from long and short genetic transcripts in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome.

By Chloe Williams
21 July 2022 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Mice playing, engaged in learning and memory: some of their brains are yellow, and some are red, matching a red and yellow legend that runs through the image to underscore both memory and learning.

This paper changed my life: A technical breakthrough for memory studies

In a 2007 Science paper, Mark Mayford and his colleagues found that some neurons activated during learning are also recruited during memory retrieval. Noelia Weisstaub shares how this study and others drove an era of great progress in tool development.

By Noelia Weisstaub
14 August 2026 | 5 min read

Early experience reshapes zebrafish retinal cells, alters behavior

The cells undergo a classic form of plasticity previously thought to occur only in downstream visual circuits.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
13 August 2026 | 0 min watch
Research image of expression of MEIS2 in PV interneurons.

Loss of interneuron plasticity may be shared hallmark of neurodevelopmental conditions

Restoring an experience-dependent interneuron plasticity gene in adulthood improves memory and cuts seizures in CNTNAP2 knockout mice, a new study shows.

By Claudia López Lloreda
12 August 2026 | 5 min read