A Powerful New Tool

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The first findings from the world's largest autism research project give hope to families and scientists.
Preliminary results from the largest-ever autism genome study, published today in the online edition of Nature Genetics, offer promising new avenues of research into autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which affects 1 in 150 children in the United States. The findings, based on an analysis of genetic data from 1,200 families, are significant because they come from the Autism Genome Project (AGP), a consortium of over 120 scientists from 19 countries who joined forces in 2002. The unprecedented collaboration dramatically increased the pool of genetic samples from families with autism, giving researchers a better shot at teasing out possible underlying causes of the disorder. NEWSWEEK's Julie Scelfo spoke with UCLA's Dr. Dan Geschwind, a professor of neurology, psychiatry and human genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine, who heads the school's chapter of the Autism Genetic Research Exchange (AGRE). Excerpts:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17202866/site/newsweek/