Neuroscientists illuminate role of autism-linked gene

Neuroscientists have found that loss of the autism-linked Shank gene prevents brain synapses from maturing, in a study of fruit flies. Many genetic variants have been linked to autism, but only a handful are potent enough to induce the disorder on their own. Among these variants, mutations in a gene called Shank3 are among the most common, occurring in about 0.5 percent of people with autism.