A small genetic clue to why autism is more common in boys

Autism is diagnosed far more often in boys, and a Baylor College of Medicine study offers a careful new clue as to why. Screening the control regions of the MECP2 gene — a gene whose activity must sit in a narrow healthy range — researchers found variants, passed from unaffected mothers to autistic sons, that lowered the gene's activity by about 30% in human neurons: enough, the evidence suggests, to matter, without causing the severe conditions linked to bigger changes. It is one contributor among many, not a full explanation — and it gives scientists a new place to look.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being