Spotted around the web: Juneteenth; AI images; brain organoids in space

Fifty-two Black scientists reflect on the meaning of Juneteenth as a U.S. holiday and the remaining structural issues that support racism and discrimination in the sciences. Cell
Autistic children display less neural sensitivity to expressive faces than non-autistic children do, as measured by frequency-tagging electroencephalograms; oxytocin treatment does not alter their responses. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
The typical expansion of neural progenitor cells doesn’t occur in brain organoids containing MECP2 mutations, a model of Rett syndrome. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology
After participating in a social-skills training program, parents of autistic children report feeling supported and understanding their children better. Autism
The journal Nature has prohibited the use of images generated by artificial-intelligence technologies (unless the article is about AI specifically). Nature
Alysson Muotri and his colleagues model aging in brain organoids by sending them into space to develop in very low gravity. Spectrum has previously covered Muotri’s work. The Scientist
Mice prenatally exposed to valproic acid, which are often used as an autism model, display behavioral changes and lower levels of two synaptic proteins, NLGN1 and PSD-95. Brain Research
Zebrafish have advantages over rodents as a model for studying gut-brain interactions in autism, according to a review article. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

Less rosy: Brain organoids with MeCP2 mutations (right) do not form neural rosettes as observed in wild-type organoids (left).
Disentangling stigma from illness — nobody is bad or lesser because they have a disease or condition — may foster increased acceptance of people with autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and get them the support they need, writes psychiatrist Daniel Morehead. Psychiatric Times
The prevalence of co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism (without intellectual disability) varies widely across studies, from 2.6 to 95.5 percent. Journal of Attention Disorders
Three brothers with a deletion in the chromosomal region 16p11.2, inherited from their mother, have dissimilar autism traits and body weights. Journal of Medical Genetics
Combining genomics and transcriptomics, researchers have linked the SOX7 gene, which codes for a transcription factor, to autism, according to a preprint. bioRxiv