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Sequencing the entire exome — the protein-coding parts of the genome —

Notable papers of 2011

by  /  23 December 2011

The past year saw the publication of many groundbreaking papers on autism, making our task of picking just ten a particularly arduous one. Below is a chronological list of just some of the papers, selected by SFARI staff. In his essay, SFARI scientific director Gerald Fischbach describes his thoughts on the list. 1. Study finds high […]

Top tools and techniques of 2011

by  /  23 December 2011

<< Previous Next >> Brain bursts Optogenetics allows scientists to precisely control the activity in subsets of neurons using light. When researchers used the technique in mice to increase the activity of excitatory neurons (shown here in the lower image) in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region involved in social behavior, the animals stopped interacting […]

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Year of the rodent

by  /  23 December 2011

According to the Chinese calendar, 2011 is the year of the rabbit. But in autism research, it proved resoundingly to be the year of the rodent. In the timeline below are 17 of the mouse and rat models that debuted over the past year. Moving the vertical bar on the left side of the timeline […]

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Most-viewed articles of 2011

by  /  23 December 2011

  In 2011, we published just under 500 articles, on topics ranging from complex neuroimaging techniques to the interest some children with autism show in comic books. We tackled these topics in all different formats: full-length news reports with quotes from experts to add context, brief research highlights and provocative, playful blog posts. Likewise, some […]

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Predictions for 2012

by  /  23 December 2011

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a crystal ball and see what 2012 has in store for autism research? We may not have one of those, but we have the next best thing: access to some of the brightest minds in the field. Here’s what they foresee happening next year.

The year in review

by  /  23 December 2011

The ten notable papers picked by SFARI staff describe superb contributions that span the breadth of autism research from molecules to behavior. But we recognize that ten other articles might have been selected without loss of enthusiasm or excitement.

TAGS:   autism