Scientists from the University of Washington discovered that people with a mutation of the CHD8 gene have a ‘very strong’ likelihood of having autism

Scientists have taken a breakthrough step towards understanding exactly what causes autism.

Researchers from 13 institutions around the world have discovered that people with a mutation of the CHD8 gene have a ‘very strong’ likelihood of having autism.

The new study found the gene mutation was marked by common characteristics, including gastrointestinal disorders, a larger head and wide set eyes.

It is the first time researchers have linked a definitive cause of autism to a genetic mutation, the team claim.

Associate professor at the University of Washington, and lead author of the new research, Raphael Bernier, said: ‘We finally got a clear cut case of an autism specific gene.’

In the study, published in Cell magazine, 6,176 children with autism spectrum disorder were anaylsed.

Researchers found 15 had a CHD8 mutation and all of these children had similar characteristics in appearance.

The 15 children also shared sleep disturbance and gastrointestinal problems.

Professor Bernier and his team worked with scientists at Duke University who specialise in zebra fish modelling.

The Duke team disrupted the CHD8 gene in the fish, and noted they developed large heads and wide set eyes.

They then fed the fish fluorescent pellets and found that the fish had problems discarding food waste and were constipated.

Professor Bernier said this is the first time that researchers have linked a definitive cause of autism to a genetic mutation.

Although just 0.5 per cent of all children have the kind of autism related to the CHD8 mutation, he said that there are lots of implications from the study.

‘This will be a game changer in the way scientists are researching autism,’ Professor Bernier said.

The results could pave the way for a ‘genetics-first approach’ that could uncover hundreds more genetic mutations and lead to genetic testing, he explained.

Genetic testing could be offered to families as a way of guiding them on what to expect and how to care for their child.

Currently autism is diagnosed by doctors examining and assessing a child’s behaviour.

In the short term, Professor Bernier said that clinicians can pay attention to the small population with this CHD8 mutation and provide targeted treatment.

Autism has already been linked to different types of genetic events. The most commonly researched genetic events associated with autism are chromosomal re-arrangements, called ‘copy number variations,’ in which a chunk of chromosome is copied or deleted.

But no one rearrangement affects more than one per cent of all autism cases and there is no definitive link between the rearrangement and autism.

The CHD8 gene mutation is the first gene mutation to show a ‘very strong penetrance’ – or link – to a certain subtype of autism.

by Education News
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via Have scientists found the autism GENE? | Mail Online.

Fellow students said she had a history of alienating large groups of students with her racially charged comments and photos on social media websites

The former black student body president at a pricey New Jersey prep school was forced to resign from her leadership position earlier this year after she posted a series of photos on the Internet, in which she is seen dressed as what she describes to be the typical male, white student at the school.

In the photos, former Lawrenceville School Student Body President Maya Peterson is seen wearing L.L. Bean duck boots, a Yale University sweatshirt and is holding a hockey stick, which she says is representative of the typical ‘Lawrenceville boi.’

In addition to the photos, she added hashtags like ‘#romney2016,’ ‘#confederate,’ and ‘#peakedinhighschool.’

In a lengthy article on the Buzzfeed website, Peterson explains that the photos were meant as a joke in response to complaints made by students about her senior photos, in which she and 10 friends – all of whom were black – are seen raising their fists in a ‘Black Power’ salute.

‘I understand why I hurt people’s feelings, but I didn’t become president to make sure rich white guys had more representation on campus,’ she told the website. ‘Let’s be honest. They’re not the ones that feel uncomfortable here.’

Some of Peterson’s classmates, however, didn’t see the humor in her ‘racist’ photos.

‘You’re the student body president, and you’re mocking and blatantly insulting a large group of the school’s male population,’ one student commented on the photo.

Peterson’s response to the comment only made things worse.

Prep: Lawrenceville School in New Jersey is the most expensive high school in America

‘Yes, I am making a mockery of the right-wing, confederate-flag hanging, openly misogynistic Lawrentians,’ Peterson responded. ‘If that’s a large portion of the school’s male population, then I think the issue is not with my bringing attention to it in a lighthearted way, but rather why no one has brought attention to it before…’

In March, about three weeks after posting the photos on social media websites, administrators at the $53,000 per year school – the most expensive high school in the country – told her that she would face disciplinary action if she did not resign from her position as student body president.

Both students and faculty members felt the images were offensive, and that ‘it was not fitting of a student leader to make comments mocking members of the community,’ Dean of Students Nancy Thomas told the Lawrenceville student paper.

Peterson’s take on race has irritated her classmates in the past, as well.

In 2012, following the re-election of President Barack Obama, Peterson wrote on Facebook about how proud she was that an African-American was president – and threw in a sarcastic jab at white people.

‘As a black and Latino, gay woman in the United States of America, today is a momentous day,’ she wrote. ‘I’m sorry to all the rich white men who have failed to elect a president that endorses their greed.’

Some of her classmates felt the Facebook post was racist.

‘I’m gonna have to assume from your political beliefs and what you’ve said that you do not pay for your Lawrenceville tuition in its entirety,’ one student wrote. ‘But do you know who pays for that? Yeah, that would be all those greedy white men who actually worked for their fortune, not relied on the government to support them. Just saying.’

Peterson’s family paid full tuition at the school.

Peterson’s getting elected student body president worried many of her classmates, as they believed she was alienating a large portion of the student body with her controversial comments about white classmates.

Shortly after her election, an anonymous student sent photos of Peterson smoking marijuana to school officials. The school received several other complaints about Peterson, including charges that she posted racist comments on Twitter about a fellow student who was a Sikh.

One former student said Peterson’s photos – and overall attitude, ‘violated the spirit of the Lawrenceville community.’

‘It was hateful. It wasn’t inclusive,’ the student, identified only as David, said. ‘When I think of Maya Peterson, I don’t think of someone who is an avid proponent of progress or of inclusiveness. I think of someone who is hateful. She had a hateful spirit.’

by Education News
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via Maya Peterson forced to resign as Lawrenceville School’s first black student-president | Mail Online.

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