Study identifies 'many more' autism genes

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I just came across this article saying researchers found that up to 300 genes might be related to autism:

Here's the link to the BBC News article:
BBC News - Study identifies 'many more' autism genes

Very interesting. It's sort of what I figured, but my opinion was based on nothing more than the wide variation among folks on the spectrum. Thanks for posting.

On a side note, I find that I've become more sensitive to the language used in announcements of this sort. Researchers "identified faults..." I'm not particularly PC, but would it have been so hard to write "identified variations"? Oh well, I suppose it would be hard to argue that some of the variations are *not* faults, if the results can be described as "symptoms".

JSB

I only can speculate as to what will happen if scientists use this information to develop blood or prenatal tests for autism.

It looks like our future generations will be wiped out, through the act of selective abortion, and to me, that's a bad thing.

I feel lucky, that I was conceived in Early 1974, and not last night.

Oh...that unborn baby looks like Mick Avory...abort it! It's autistic! That's how 39% of people with autism look. Get rid of it! (Sarcasim):roll:

Dreaming of genes topic

Some genes may not be 'turned on" in different brain cells, and some just might be "tuned off." It is possible a mosaic situation might exist, as it happens with other syndromes.

What worries me is that if these situations are discovered at birth, and there is the ability for a cure or a gene switch to be turned on/off, then some of the positive characteristics of these genes contributing to autism will not be realized.

I think that's still quite far off - if they're talking 300+ different genes, and I strongly suspect they're also going to find it's not exactly the SAME 300 in every Autistic, determining whether and how mildly or severely a fetus might be affected would be a very tricky and complex process. I'm not sure you could ever tell for sure until after a child is at least a year old. But as we've seen with the Colorado woman who just murdered her baby because she thought it might be Autistic, a lot of people won't care whether they're looking at potentially severe LFA or just a quirky Aspie, they'll abort their babies at the very mention of the word Autism.

My apologies. I tend to go on tangents about this type of subject matter. I'm sorry if I've offended you. It's not you, it's me.

That murderer is going to have to answer to God, one day.

If this ever happens, today's richest countries (the first ones that would use this screening) would implode in a generation or two, as they exterminate all their future scientists and engineers, they would be at the mercy of those countries still able to produce continually better products (and weapons.)

Don't worry about that bogus scenario. These kind of studies seem incapable of producing any predictive test. Identifying regions of DNA isn't necessarily identifying genes, and there's not necessarily an indication that all of the variations they spot are relevant to etiology or aren't due to inconsequential variations. I doubt they will get anything close to 300 genes. This isn't the first time I have heard of some huge gene study. It's already been known that neurological genes may be involved in some autism cases. Even if that many genes are identified, I doubt they will go after deep understanding of the functions of some of the genes and their variations, and make sense of that to discern how variations in specific genes in those on the spectrum set them apart from others on the spectrum with different gene variations. I doubt there will be any serious investments into such a shaky and unreliable "test", as would come from such disorganized information.

Why would someone administer a genetic modification that would stop positive characteristics? I think, and don't think I'm alone in thinking this, that those gene variations that enrich a small group on the spectrum with such positive characteristics of ability, shouldn't be vested in their strata alone, but should be spread out to those on the rest of the spectrum through genetic cures, instead of letting just those few benefit from the same uncontrolled system of genetic inheritance that burdens the lower functioning with the other gene variations that deprive rather than enrich. The deleterious genetic variations should be identified eventually and then cured so nobody has to suffer from them. And let's not pretend that things are going great due to the current conduct of those with the intellectual capacity to be scientists/engineers.

The same God who sent his Son to be killed so cruelly?

ruveyn