Sex bias: This week, new preprints highlight the influence of sex on the occurrence of de novo variants in autism and on the specific neural pathways that show altered connectivity in the condition. Sex bias also showed up in another study, which found that prenatal exposure to COVID-19 infection is associated with an increased likelihood […]
Adolescent girls and boys are diagnosed with autism at nearly equal rates even though, earlier in childhood, boys are about three times as likely to receive this diagnosis, according to a new study. The results add to mounting evidence that autistic girls tend to be diagnosed later in life than autistic boys. This disparity could […]
Male and female human fetuses show distinct patterns of gene activity and DNA regulation in the cerebral cortex, according to a new analysis of thousands of individual brain cells. The study offers one of the most detailed maps to date of how such activity differs between boys and girls’ brains during the second trimester. It […]
Note: This article discusses rape and abuse. I remember the shock when I realized that my ex had raped me. And that it had taken me nearly two years to the day to realize that what had transpired that evening had been rape. I had always been uncomfortable about what had happened. But it’s not […]
You want to feel close. You want to be present during sex. But instead, your brain won’t stop buzzing. You’re thinking about your to-do list, or that weird sound the fan is making, or how your bra strap suddenly feels like a vice grip. Your brain might obsessively loop on whether you’re “doing it right” […]
Autism comes with a stereotype: shy, awkward, obsessed with tech, decidedly male. It’s an image that erases the many girls and women who are autistic, but it also reflects the reality that far more boys than girls have a diagnosis. Several studies put that sex ratio at about 3 to 1; among psychiatric conditions, only […]
The Verge recently wrote about the dangers of misinformation on one of TikTok’s most popular topics: sex education – or how the app would censor it as “Seggs Education.” The advent of 15-second videos on everything from sexual wellbeing to kinks has given teens a perspective on sex that is rare in traditional sex education […]
Imbalanced Characteristics: Animals with mutated ADNP have motor difficulties that are more pronounced in female mice. Photography by Rick Dahms Mice with a mutation in an autism-related gene called ADNP show gender-specific changes in gene expression, behavior, and other traits, a new study shows. The mice can mimic some of the traits seen in humans […]
The third season of Netflix’s “Sex Education” starts off as you’d expect from the title: Lots of people have sex. This more graphic opener sets the tone for a season about sex positivity with a characteristically slippery humor that leaves the audience pleasantly surprised by the tumultuous season ahead. While Sex Education lives up to […]
Sex Education is back with a bang. Several, in fact. The Netflix hit’s third series starts with an epic sex montage. There’s sex in a car; in a living room; in a variety of teenage bedrooms. There are casual encounters, committed relationships, sex together, alone, virtually, playing the drums and with a sci-fi theme. It […]
Gender balance: The relationship between autism and various concurrent conditions such as anxiety or ADHD is stronger in women, according to a new study. Rawpixel.com / Adobe Stock The likelihood that an autistic person will have another condition correlates strongly with the age at which they were diagnosed with autism. Also, according to a new […]
