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Spectrum is the go-to destination for the latest news and analysis about autism research and a springboard for scientists and clinicians to forge collaborations that deepen our understanding of autism.

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I believe thousands of families have gotten the wrong idea about the promise of stem cells for autism — PAUL KNOEPFLER, PROFESSOR OF CELL BIOLOGY AND HUMAN ANATOMY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

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“What really causes autism and what we should do about it”
By SUSAN GILBERT IN THE HASTINGS CENTER FOR BIOETHICS
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Spectrum

The perils of parachute research

Scientists who study autism in lower-income countries are working to end practices that exploit or ignore collaborators and communities on the ground.

By Linda Nordling
6 June 2024 | 11 min read
Research video of a zebrafish larva (zoomed in on the gut) being given glucose.
Spectrum

On the periphery: Thinking ‘outside the brain’ offers new ideas about autism

Neuronal alterations outside the brain may help to explain a host of the condition’s characteristic traits, including sensory changes, gut problems and motor differences.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
13 April 2023 | 20 min read
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Research image of neural progenitor cells derived from people with 16p11.2 duplications and 16p11.2 deletions, which have cilia that are shorter or longer, respectively, than in controls.

Protein interactions important to SYNGAP1-related conditions; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 8 September.

By Jill Adams
9 September 2025 | 2 min read
Research image of auditory processing in people with Phelan-McDermid syndrome.

New findings on Phelan-McDermid syndrome; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 1 September.

By Jill Adams
2 September 2025 | 2 min read
Research image of microglia in organoids.

Microglia nurture young interneurons

The immune cells secrete a growth factor that “sets the supply of GABAergic interneurons in the developing brain.”

By Lauren Schenkman
28 August 2025 | 4 min read
Illustration of an open journal featuring lines of text and small illustrations of eyes and mouths.

Altered excitatory circuits in CHD8-deficient mice; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 25 August.

By Jill Adams
26 August 2025 | 2 min read
Research image of asymmetry in different brain hemispheres.

Structural brain changes in a mouse model of ATR-X syndrome; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 18 August.

By Jill Adams
19 August 2025 | 2 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of human figures holding brightly colored connected dots.

This paper changed my life: Dan Goodman on a paper that reignited the field of spiking neural networks

Friedemann Zenke’s 2019 paper, and its related coding tutorial SpyTorch, made it possible to apply modern machine learning to spiking neural networks. The innovation reinvigorated the field.

By Dan Goodman
17 September 2025 | 5 min read

First nerve-net connectome shows how evolutionarily ancient nervous system coordinates movement

The map of a comb jelly’s aboral nerve net, which helps the animal orient and position itself within the water column, reveals a unique system for sensing the world and coordinating movement.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
16 September 2025 | 0 min watch

Paper by memory institute director garners expression of concern over image integrity

The notice, posted last week in Nature, follows a recent string of corrections to at least three other articles by Li-Huei Tsai’s lab.

By Lauren Schneider
16 September 2025 | 5 min read

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