"Scientists moved a step closer to understanding the complex causes of autism this week. Although all of the headlines went to US President Donald Trump's poorly evidenced statements that the painkiller acetaminophen is linked to the neurodevelopmental condition, his White House autism event brought welcome and largely overlooked news to scientists: the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is investing US$50 million in an unusual autism-research effort."
"This is where the field needs to be going in searching for the complex causes of autism, says Helen Tager-Flusberg, who studies autism at Boston University, Massachusetts. The funded projects range from studies on environmental exposures during pregnancy to experiments on brain cells. Funding was also awarded to efforts to replicate the projects' results and so ensure that they are robust."
The US National Institutes of Health has allocated US$50 million to the Autism Data Science Initiative to study interacting genetic and environmental causes of autism. Thirteen research groups will receive funding to investigate prenatal environmental exposures, experiments on brain cells and other approaches that integrate genetics and environment. The initiative includes funding for replication efforts to improve robustness and reproducibility of findings. The NIH investment aims to support a more comprehensive, data-driven approach to unraveling autism's complex causes. Public attention on controversial claims about acetaminophen overshadowed the funding announcement.
Read at www.nature.com
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