Spotted around the web: Week of 22 April 2019

Research roundup

• Autistic children with disruptive behavior have lower connectivity between two brain regions than do children with autism alone. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
• Previous findings suggest that autistic children rarely use the words ‘think’ and ‘know’ when telling stories — but this may not be true for autistic girls. Molecular Autism
• A natural-language-processing program can comb through children’s electronic health records and genetic test results to detect serious genetic conditions. Science Translational Medicine

Science and society

• A new “Sesame Street” video teaches people how to ‘hug’ children with autism who have a sensitivity to touch. Lifehacker
• CRISPR-based enzymes that edit DNA also make unintended changes in RNA. Science
• A new medical device treats attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children by delivering electrical pulses to the brain while they sleep. Gizmodo
• Researchers are trying to develop an autism screen based on the time it takes toddlers to respond when their name is called. The New York Times
• Parents have a hard time adjusting their hopes and expectations when their child gets diagnosed with a rare developmental condition. The Atlantic
• Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s autism has fueled the 16-year-old’s passion for tackling climate change, says columnist Ian Birrell. The Guardian
• Women at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, say a small group of male faculty has a disproportionate amount of power over the allocation of private funding. The New York Times Magazine
• Scientists have found a way to decode brain signals and translate them into speech. NPR
• Efforts to understand how genetic and environmental factors influence human traits have been limited by statistical problems. Quanta Magazine
• The push to create more exotic model organisms using gene-editing tools has revealed how little scientists know about other species. Nature
• Martial arts classes can help children on the spectrum learn social skills. WPRI
• In response to the biggest measles outbreak in the United States in a quarter-century, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar released a statement on the dangers of measles and the importance of getting vaccinated. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Autism and the arts

• Comic-book artists hope a superhero on the spectrum empowers autistic children and raises awareness about the condition. The Salt Lake Tribune