Rare variation: A new study describes a specific two-hit genetic variation in a cohort of autistic families, in which a gene deletion on one allele and a genetic variant on the other allele may combine. Called “deletion compound heterozygosity,” the phenomenon is difficult to pinpoint with conventional genetic analysis even as it may contribute to […]
Your browser does not support the video tag. Break Using a new line of mice that express a synaptic membrane receptor with a fluorescent tag, researchers have followed changes in the strength of the synapses in the brain over several days. The method could provide information about the altered synaptic function in people with autism […]
Your browser does not support the video tag. Break A new imaging technique detects neurons that fire almost simultaneously across large parts of the brain tissue in living mice. The method could help researchers understand how extensive networks of neurons communicate and how these patterns differ between wild-type mice and mouse models of autism. According […]
Cre load: Similar to viral vectors (center), protein capsules deliver mRNA that codes for the Cre protein to cells, which causes them to glow green (left), unless the mRNA lacks flanking sequences that the protein recognizes (right) . A new gene delivery system attacks a protein found in humans in order to encapsulate messenger RNA […]
Mapping of neurons: BARseq2 can track neuronal pathways and at the same time measure gene expression within cells. In this mouse brain slice, each point represents the location of a unique mRNA molecule and each color represents a different gene. Courtesy of Xiaoyin Chen A new method can map the pathways of thousands of neurons […]
