Subscription Center
Jun 26, 2009 | 3
Scientists in Japan have tweaked the chromosomes of mice to make the animals act autistically. The engineered rodents display genetic impairments and behavior that mirror those of some humans with the disorder.
The work, published in Cell, provides direct evidence linking chromosome abnormalities (believed to be responsible for approximately 10% of autism cases) and autism. In some people with autism, a specific region of human chromosome 15 is doubled.
Dec 11, 2008 | 8
Patients with type 1 diabetes have been known to be more prone to another autoimmune disorder, celiac disease, in which gluten in wheat, rye and barley triggers an immune response that damages the small intestine or gut. Now there’s evidence that the two diseases have a genetic link: they share at least seven chromosome regions.
The discovery, published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, indicates that both diseases may be triggered by similar genetic and environmental mechanisms, such as certain foods, that cause patients' immune systems to become overactive and destroy healthy instead of infected tissue. Previous research has found that celiac disease is five to 10 times more common in people with type 1 diabetes than in the general population, an editorial accompanying the study notes.
See what we're tweeting about
docfreeride Plus side of commencement: I leave so early no one expects me to prepare breakfast before I depart. When I return, however ... #LateLunch docfreeride Ah, commencement: the Saturday when I get to leave extra-early, to sit on a stadium-lawn in the sartorial equivalent of a solar panel.
sciam Early Land Animals Lacked Good Bites http://t.co/repD1Nc3Y9
Deadline: Jul 30 2013
Reward: $100,000 USD
The Seeker desires a method for producing pseudoephedrine products in such a way that it will be extremely difficult for clandestine che
Deadline: Jun 30 2013
Reward: $1,000,000 USD
This is a Reduction-to-Practice Challenge that requires written documentation and&
Powered By: 
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
