Autism Science Foundation Weekly Science Report

Autism Science Foundation
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The week in autism research discoveries

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    Lost in translation: SPARK NS helps scientists with a good idea turn it into therapies for families

    SPARK – neuroscience, known to autism researchers as the other “SPARK”, is a project based out of Stanford University. This project does not collect genetics on hundreds of thousands of people, instead, they that provide funding, advice, support, mentorship, coaching and project management to scientists who have some evidence of a target in the brain relevant to autism. They help these scientists turn it into a potential drug or therapeutic that can help families. This is known as “translational research” and part of the “Valley of Death” where so many good drugs fail. This is a high-risk/high-reward endeavor. They are currently focused on therapeutics that target the functioning of the brain in autism and Parkinson’s Disease. Today’s guest is Dr. Opher Kornfeld, managing director of SPARK NS and neuroscientist. He explains how SPARK NS started, what they do, and how they have been successful helping scientists develop an idea into a potential product. https://sparkns.org

    40 min

  2. 4 MAY

    Somebody’s got to do it….it should someone from the autism community.

    In November, there will be many Congressional seats open. Wouldn’t it be great if it was someone with firsthand knowledge of the experiences of autism families and understood what they were facing? In NJ, that is happening. Dr. Samuel Wang, autism researcher and autism sibling, is running for Congress. Today’s podcast interviews Dr. Wang, why he decided to run, what he will do when elected and what he hopes to accomplish as a Congressmember. You can read more about him at www.samfornj.org

  3. 19 APR

    Why is paramecetol safety so perplexing?

    Another study on acetaminophen (known as paramecetol in Denmark) on probability of having a child with autism, this one with over 1.5 million pregnant women, 31k who were exposed to acetaminophen. The HHS Secretary is calling it “garbage in and garbage out” because it showed no link, but in fact, it is a strong study that examined multiple confounding variables and addressed questions that had been unanswered previously. This podcast is short and so is the message: Tylenol, also known as acetaminophen or paramecetol, taken during pregnancy, does not cause autism. Period. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41973453

  4. 6 APR

    The Mitochondria in a Minute

    The word “mitochondrial deficits” gets thrown around a lot as a cause of autism, but what does this really mean? This week we interview Dr. Carisa Sirois from the University of Wisconsin, who recently published a review of how the mitochondria are involved in neurodevelopmental disorders. The ways mitochondria are involved in ASD are not simple, there are many different ways in which they affect cellular function, including genetic variations leading to impaired functioning, which then leads to brain level changes. We also discuss how the mitochondria are involved in a process called oxidative stress, which has been informally proposed to be a core process in autism. Download the publication here: s41583-026-01031-7Download

    33 min

  5. 22 MAR

    Updates from I-ACC, late prematurity and language development

    What is the Independent Autism Coordinating Committee and why did it meet? This week’s podcast discusses the need and the agenda of Thursday’s meeting. In addition, more research showing that epidemiologists should consider different features of autism together with prevalence numbers because they may differ across the spectrum. Finally, different types of language development are seen in those with autism, so interventions should address these differences. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41786477 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41789365 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41849261

    14 min

  6. 8 MAR

    Rare Disease Week, the FDA, mortality in autism, trajectories and subcategories

    This week’s podcast summarizes some highlights in scientific research and includes a recognition of Rare Disease Week and actions taken by the FDA to ease the criteria for evaluating genetic therapies for rare genetic disorders, the best study to date on the mortality in autism, genetic prediction of outcome in individuals with a diagnosis, and Uta Frith’s commentary on the concept of “spectrum”. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41773580 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41651809 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41661606 https://archive.ph/fPscR

    18 min

  7. 23 FEB

    Health Care for Autistic Individuals During Transition Age

    This week we talk to Dr. Emily Hotez from UCLA, (and a sibling to an autistic adult) who has focused her research on reducing stigma and marginalization, which will ultimately improve research participation to increase scientifically valid options for families. She also works on a nationwide project to improve health outcomes in autistic individuals, from birth through adulthood. Her new project focuses on chronic stress on physical health in adolescents with autism. She explains the focus of her research, the study and why it is important, and other work she is doing to improve health care in those with a diagnosis and their family members. You can read more about her study here: https://uclasharelab.org/

    40 min

  8. 9 FEB

    Genetic pathways leading to autism

    A landmark study that uses brain organoids from different people with different genes associated with autism showed that the different genes act as roads that go on different journeys to the same destination. This will be an enormously important discovery for identifying targets to treat different autism symptoms across different genetic causes of autism and understand the diversity of symptoms. Also, the new Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee was announced and there is not much breadth of perspectives. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-10047-5

    14 min
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