Brain study suggests autism develops differently in girls than boys

Autism appears to develop differently in girls and boys, so the findings of research conducted mainly with boys might not apply to girls, a new study suggests. Autism spectrum disorder is four times more common in boys, which may help explain why there's far less research about autism in girls. "This new study provides us with a roadmap for understanding how to better match current and future evidenced-based interventions to underlying brain and genetic profiles, so that we can get the right treatment to the right individual," said lead investigator Kevin Pelphrey. He is an autism expert at the University of Virginia's School of Medicine and Brain Institute. "This advances our understanding of autism broadly by revealing that there may well be different causes for boys versus girls," Pelphrey added in a university news release.

For the study, the researchers combined brain imaging with genetic investigation to learn more about autism in girls. Functional MRI was used to examine brain activity during social interactions. It showed that girls with autism use different sections of their brains than girls without autism. The difference between girls with and without autism was not the same as the difference between boys with and without autism, meaning that brain mechanisms involved in autism vary depending on gender, according to the study authors. The investigators also found that girls with autism had much larger numbers of rare variants of genes active during early development of a brain region called the striatum. A section of the striatum is believed to be involved in interpreting social interaction and language. The findings were published recently in the journal Brain. Ultimately, Pelphrey said, the team hopes to use the findings to generate new autism treatment strategies tailored to girls.

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/04/22/brain-study-autism-girls-boys/9671619099685/

First human-monkey embryos create small step toward huge ethical problem

Scientists have created the world's first monkey embryos containing human cells in an attempt to investigate how the two types of cell develop alongside each other. The embryos, which were derived from a macaque and then injected with human stem cells in the lab, were allowed to grow for 20 days before being destroyed. We have a term for this type of life form: a chimera, named after the fire-breathing monster of Greek mythology that was part lion, part goat and part snake. It's hoped that part-human chimeras essentially animal bodies with some human organs or other characteristics might one day offer clues to help us treat human diseases, as well as providing organs to transplant to humans. But for these purposes, part-human chimeras will first have to be born, and this research takes us one step closer to that eventuality.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Voices/2021/04/22/britain-human-monkey-embryos-chimeras-ethics/5091619092935/

This certainly is not a good thing, the potential for bad things to come if it's allowed.

>>13489628

House Democrats vote to make DC 51st state, but Senate passage highly unlikely

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/house-democrats-vote-dc-statehood-senate-passage-highly-unlikely

This will be nothing moar than smoke and mirrors…don't see how the senate passes this.

>>13489681

Concur!

>>13489758

The report doesn't say how much, but it does reveal who funded it…

This work was supported by a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Autism Center of Excellence Network Award (R01 MH100028; PI: K.A.P.), a grant from the Simons Foundation/SFARI (Award #: 95489; PI: K.A.P.) and an NIMH Institutional Research Training Grant (T32 MH018268; PI: K.A.P.) fellowship to trainee A.J.

https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awab064/6226831#235452608

>>13489847

>Identify as? or physically?

physically..

>>13490083

Good times anon, remember this moving around the board, frequently at one time, kek!