Untangling genetic results, and extra
Unraveled ties: Researchers used a novel method to disentangle some of the multitude of maternal factors—genetic and environmental—that influence autism likelihood in children. In their preprint, investigators analyzed maternal cousin pairs in a Danish national birth registry. Direct genetic effects, such as epilepsy and personality disorders, were shared with the mother’s siblings of either sex, but indirect genetic effects, such as obstetric factors and affective disorders in mothers, were shared with sisters only, suggesting they were “operating through the prenatal environment,” the authors write.
Autism research spotted this week:
- “A human specific CCG repeat in the RBFOX1 promoter is implicated in speech and autism” bioRxiv
- “Autism sensory profiles predict stimulus-evoked insula connectivity” medRxiv
