N euroDev launched in 2018, with the goal of gathering information from more than 5,000 participants in South Africa and Kenya, including 1,800 children with developmental differences. The preprint shares data on the first wave of participants, which includes 521 children with neurodevelopmental conditions, along with 739 of their parents and 255 unrelated, neurotypical children. […]
Growing awareness: This week, we highlight two papers from the Infant Brain Imaging Study, a U.S.-based collaboration to describe developmental trajectories in infants, particularly those with an autistic sibling, who have elevated odds of being diagnosed with autism, referred to as high-likelihood infants. One paper found that executive function measures stayed the same from 12 […]
A new type of progenitor cell found deep in the developing human brain spawns a steady supply of inhibitory interneurons and glia, according to a new study. The findings point to a potential origin of the inhibitory imbalance linked to autism and other conditions. The study is a “tour de force” and “adds an important […]
A new method for delivering genes to the primate brain in utero enables researchers to adapt existing genetic tools to monkeys for the first time, according to a new study. The approach could be particularly useful for studying development, says Cory Miller, professor of psychology at the University of California, San Diego, who was not […]
A reanalysis of data published in a 2024 Nature paper spotlights the tension between curiosity and caution when searching for gene candidates. The 2024 study, led by Stephen Quake, professor of bioengineering and applied physics at Stanford University, claimed to reveal changes in gene expression associated with a mouse’s memory of a foot shock. Quake […]
Illustration by Laurenne Boglio Welcome to the first monthly edition of Null and Noteworthy. We’ve doubled the newsletter’s frequency to deliver more notable null results and replications direct to your inbox. Thanks, as always, for your feedback, and please continue to send your thoughts, ideas, interesting studies and cat photos to laura@spectrumnews.org. Let’s dive in. […]
Pop-up: A medical alert system notifies physicians when patients are eligible to enroll in a research study for autism. Lorenzo Capunata/Getty Images An algorithm that scans electronic health records and alerts doctors to a patient’s eligibility for SPARK, a large genetic study of autism, led to a fourfold increase in enrollment in the project, according […]
Kristin Sainani Associate teaching professorStanford University A study published last month in the British Journal of Psychiatry claimed that people who die by suicide have an elevated likelihood of being autistic or having undiagnosed autism, based on an analysis of coroner records and family interviews. Spectrum asked statistics expertKristin Sainani for her thoughts on the […]
Kristin Sainani Associate Teaching Professor, University of Stanford A study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics prompted headlines such as “Boys who watch television for at least two hours a day are 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism by age three, a study found.” spectrum asked statistics expert Kristin Sainani, Associate Teaching Professor […]
Population prospects: Large mutations in six chromosomal regions confer a lower likelihood of autism and other diagnoses than previously thought, according to a study of people born in Denmark. Alexander Spatari/Getty Images Some rare mutations linked to autism may boost a person’s chances of having the condition less than prior work suggests, according to a […]
The authors of a 2013 study that appeared to uncover a mechanism by which the immune system influences synapse development have retracted the paper after discovering errors and failing to replicate their findings. The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, showed how astrocytes secrete an immune protein called transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) that kicks off a […]
Citation inflation: Autism studies, among others, appear in the reference lists of unrelated articles, possibly in an attempt to artificially improve authors’ metrics. Half Dark/Getty Images One contribution deals with the aesthetic beauty of plant landscapes. Another reviews the use of anesthetics in cancer patients. A third aims to optimize the efficient operation of buses […]
