In autism, genes drive early eye gaze abnormalities

New research has uncovered compelling evidence that genetics plays a major role in how children look at the world and whether they have a preference for gazing at people’s eyes and faces or at objects.The discovery by researchers at the School of Medicine and Emory University adds new detail to understanding the causes of autism spectrum disorder.

Sleep, Alzheimer’s link explained

woman sleeping
Research from Washington University School of Medicine, Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, and Stanford University shows that disrupting just one night of sleep in healthy, middle-aged adults causes an increase in a brain protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Type 1 diabetes risk linked to intestinal viruses

Herbert Virgin speaks with researcher Dale Balce
A new study led by the School of Medicine has found that viruses in the intestines may affect a person’s chance of developing Type 1 diabetes. Children who carried a specific virus belonging to the Circoviridae family were less likely to head down the path toward diabetes.

Malaria drug protects fetuses from Zika infection

Human placental cells (blue) infected with Zika virus (green)
Studying pregnant mice, researchers at the School of Medicine found that Zika virus manipulates the body’s normal barrier to infection. They also found that a malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, interferes with this process, protecting the fetus from viral infection.