WEEK OF
August 27th
Research roundup
- A uniformly smooth placental shape is, if nothing else, a unique contribution to the long list of factors linked to autism. PLOS One
- Maternal opioid use before conception is tied to increased autism odds in children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Melatonin in prolonged-release form shows potential for treating insomnia in children with autism. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology
- Parents of girls with autism worry about their futures, but some seem reluctant to talk about sexual health with their daughters. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments
- ‘Double helix rainbow kids’ is one clinician’s term for autistic youth who are gender-nonconforming. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- What makes the human brain unique? Maybe it’s this newfound ‘rosehip’ neuron. Nature Neuroscience
- When autistic adults live with family, they encounter more obstacles to accessing services and having their needs met. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- In young people with autism, anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty both feed their worry about personal failure. Behavior Therapy
Science and society
- Despite abundant evidence to the contrary, the majority of people in some European countries still think autism and vaccines might be linked. The Conversation
- Meanwhile, Russian ‘trolls’ are busy on U.S. social media pushing the idea that vaccines cause autism. BuzzFeed News
- Shock was the primary reaction to news that Tom Frieden, former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was arrested for groping a woman. CNBC
- The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is working on a policy to revoke AAAS fellow status for members found guilty of harassment. Twitter
- Would a funding model homegrown in Silicon Valley fill in the grant gaps opening up at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)? The Scientist
- The NIH is poking around in the financial affairs of grant recipients, primarily in technology, on the lookout for failure to disclose foreign funding. STAT
- Brexit poses a greater-than-expected threat to British science. BBC News
- The CDC has announced plans to include teenagers in its autism surveillance network, which previously focused only on 8-year-olds. Disability Scoop
- The world of neurotypicals needs to listen to people on the spectrum and stop thinking of them in clichés. Aeon
- U.K. charities that train support dogs for autistic people are overwhelmed with requests. BBC News
- Almost 200 years after his birth, Gregor Mendel’s name becomes a buzzword in clinical trials. MIT Technology Review
Autism and the arts
- Social provocateur Sacha Baron Cohen (‘the other Baron Cohen’ to autism researchers) tried — and failed — to trick NIH director Francis Collins into doing something regrettable for the comedian’s new Showtime special. STAT
- Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks made notes in the margins of books he was reading that reveal some strong opinions. Twitter
- A photographer combines candid stills from her autistic brother’s life with illuminating handwritten commentary from him. The New York Times
Funding news
- U.S. science and engineering is getting a superlatively powerful supercomputer, thanks to a $60 million funding bolus from the National Science Foundation. National Science Foundation
- Not to be outdone, a Chinese billionaire living in the United States has earmarked $1 billion of his personal funds for brain research. The Business Times