Its been 10 years sinceMichael Wiglerhad a breakthrough revelation in autism geneticsone that arguably launched the field as we know it.
In April 2007, Wigler and his then colleague,Jonathan Sebat, reported that de novo mutationsthose that arise spontaneously instead of being inheritedoccur more often in people with autism than in typical people. The mutations they noted were in the form of copy number variants (CNVs), deletions or duplications of long stretches of DNA. CNVs crop up frequently in cancer, an earlier focus of Wiglers work. But his find that they are also involved in autism came as a surprise to those in the field. Genetics was striking out with other efforts based on transmission and inheritance, Wigler says. In that vacuum, the new idea was quickly embraced.
The discovery fast led to further advances. Focusing primarily onde novomutations, three teams of scientists, including one led by Wigler, began hunting for genes that contribute to autism. Their approach was efficient: Rather than looking at the entire genome, they scoured the 2 percent that encodes proteins, called theexome. And they looked specifically at simplex families, which have a single child with autism and unaffected parents and siblings. The premise was that comparing the exomes of the family members might exposede novomutations in the child with autism. The approachyielded a bumper crop: Based on data from more than 600 families, the teams together predicted that there are hundreds of autism genes. They identified six as leading candidates. Some of the genes identified at the time CHD8,DYRK1A,SCN2A quickly became hot areas of research.
In 2014, the number of strong candidates jumped higher. In two massive studies analyzing the sequences of more than 20,000 people, researchers linked 50 genes to autism with high confidence. Wiglers team looked at simplex families and found rarede novomutations in 27 genes. In the second study, researchers screened for both inherited andde novomutations and implicated 33 genes. The two studies identified 10 genes in common.
Two years ago, the tally of autism gene candidates shot up again. Deploying statistical wizardry to combine the data onde novoand inherited mutations, along with CNV data from theAutism Genome Project, researchers pinpointed 65 genes and six CNVsas being key to autism. They also identified 28 genes that they could say with near certainty are autism genes.
For so long, weve been saying if we could just find these genes, wed be able to really make some headway, saysStephan Sanders, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, who co-led the study. Suddenly, youve got this list of 65-plus genes, which we know have a causative role in autism, and as a foundation for going forward, its amazing.
These advances establish beyond doubt that autism is firmly rooted in biology. More and more, we are erasing this idea of autism being a stigmatizing psychiatric disorder, and I think this is true for the whole of psychiatry, Sanders says. These are genetic disorders; this is a consequence of biology, which can be understood, and where traction can be made.
This is just the start, however. As scientists enter the next chapter of autism genetics, they are figuring out how to build on what they have learned, using better sequencing tools and statistics, bigger datasets and more robust models. For example, they are looking for common variantswhich are found in more than 1 percent of the population but may contribute to autism when inherited en masse. And they are also starting to look beyond the exome to the remaining 98 percent of the genome they have largely neglected thus far.
Most of the genetic advances fall into a category of large-effect-sizede novovariants, which is only one piece of the puzzle, saysDaniel Geschwind, professor of human genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles. Its an important piece, but one that still cannot explain why autism clusters in families, for instance, or why close relatives of people with autism often share some of the conditions traits.
So how much of autisms genetic architecture have scientists uncovered? Current estimates suggest that rare mutations, whetherde novoor inherited, contribute to the condition somewhere between 10 and 30 percent of the time. Before the recent spate of discoveries, the proportion of individuals whose autism had a known genetic cause was only 2 to 3 percentmuch of that from rare related genetic syndromes, such asfragile X syndromeand tuberous sclerosis complex, which stem from mutations in a single known gene. These syndromes often involve some core features of autism, along with their own set of characteristic traits, and intellectual disability.
Two generations ago, at least 75 percent of the time autism was comorbid with severe intellectual disability and other neurodevelopmental abnormalities, saysMark Daly, associate professor of medicine at Harvard University. It was also a much rarer diagnosis.
The large increase in diagnoses in recent decades overwhelmingly reflects cases at the mild end of the spectrum, Daly says, creating a new challenge. The genetics of autism has us wrestling with the fact that rare mutations, and especially these spontaneously arising ones, are the strongest risk factors, he says. But at the same time, theres a majority of cases now that dont have any of those high-impact risk factors.
Instead, much of the risk in these instances likely comes from common variants, which have small effects on their own, but can add up to increase overall risk. Researchers have tried to identify those relevant to autism using genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which compare the genomes of people with and without a condition to find differences in single-letter swaps of DNA called single nucleotide polymorphisms.
Because common variants have small effects individually, they are difficult to find, but multiple studies suggest that theyplay a major rolein autism risk. In a 2014 study, for instance, researchers used statistical tools to estimate the heritability of autism from the amount of common variation shared by unrelated people with autism. They applied the method to data from more than 3,000 people in Swedens national health registry. Their calculations indicated thatcommon variants account for 49 percentof the risk for autism in the general population; rare variants, equal partsde novoand inherited, explain 6 percent. Some scientists dispute these figures, but its clear that common variants, rare inherited variants and spontaneous mutations all play a part in autism.
Wigler says he is skeptical of using GWAS studies for autism precisely because they focus on common variants. Most of the disorders that will cause pain and suffering and require expensive treatments, if theyre genetic, are caused by rare variants that are not going to stay around in the population, he says.
Common variants may turn out to be more relevant at the milder end of the spectrum than in those who are severely affected. The people who havede novomutations, en masse, tend to have lower intelligence quotients and more cognitive problems, Sanders says.
Researchers are grappling with how to fit these pieces together: Finding and diagnosing rare variants linked to severe outcomes is important, but so is unraveling how the core traits of autism relate to other psychiatric conditions and manifest in the general population. Both goals are important, and they shouldnt be seen as at odds with each other, Daly says. In fact, a study published in May reported thatrare and common variants can combineto increase an individuals risk.
The landscape of autism genetics becomes even more complex when considering the sheer number of genes that could be involvedsome researchers estimate up to a thousandand the fact that many high-confidence autism genes are also associated with other conditions, ranging from intellectual disability andepilepsyto schizophrenia and congenital heart disease.
This many-to-one and one-to-many relationship is not surprising, Sanders says. But it does mean there are probably no unique autism genes per se. But I could flip that round and say weve not found anything which is a pure intellectual disability or schizophrenia gene [either]; on a fundamental level, these disorders seem to be related, he says. If I was to say, Can we find something which contributes more to autism than other disorders? then I think the answers yes. The genes that seem particularly tied to autism could offer important clues about the conditions biology.
The genes identified so far have hinted at a handful of underlying mechanisms that contribute to autism. Most of them seem to be involved in three broad categories of tasks: maintaining the function ofsynapses, or the connections between neurons; controlling the expression of genes; and modifying chromatin, structures of DNA wound around protein spools called histones. Chromatin determines which stretches of DNA can be read and so influences gene expression.
The idea of a brain condition originating with atypical neuronal connections made logical sense from the start. There had been a lot of interest in the synapse, Sanders says. But the candidates that control gene expression only emerged in the genetic studies. Two genes that consistently top the high-confidence listsCHD8 and SCN2Awere both somewhat of a surprise. CHD8 encodes a chromatin regulator that controls the expression of thousands of other genes. SCN2A codes for a sodium channel and had primarily been associated with infantile seizures.
Using gene expression maps, such as theBrainSpan Atlas, researchers have traced when and where autism genes are active in the brain. They have found that many of the genes, CHD8 and SCN2A included, are expressed in parts of the cortex during mid- to late fetal developmentwhich happens to be the peak period when neurons are forming. We dont really understand it yet, but theyre more likely than not to disrupt fetal brain development in mid-gestation, Geschwind says. That timing suggests they interfere with processes that are critical to setting up the cortex, including which types of cells form and where in the brain they migrate. If the cortex isnt set up right, he says, you create ongoing problems with how neurons communicate, among other important functions. Within the next few years, he says, researchers will have a refined understanding of the neurons and circuits affected.
Work in animal and cell models reveals similar problems with the genesis, structure and fate of new neurons and the connections between them. In some cell and animal models of syndromic forms of autism, scientists have managed to at least partially correct some of these problems with drugs. The unrealized promise of these findings is that some traits of autism may ultimately prove reversible, even in adults.
The idea that theres something plastic here, not set in stone at birth, is very important, saysMatthew State, chair of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and lead investigator on many of the big autism genetics studies.
In the meantime, genetic discoveries have delivered some immediate benefits for people with the condition. If you go into a clinic today, theres about a 10 percent chance of you getting a genetic diagnosis, and I would expect to find evidence which was suggestive in about another 5 to 10 percent, Sanders says. We cant then turn round and say, Heres your cure, but what we can do, at least, is put people in touch with other people with that same mutation. Becoming part of such a group gives people a better idea about what the future holds for them and provides them with support and understanding.
Advocacy groups can lobby researchers and funding bodies, contribute to research on their condition and help find participants for clinical trialswhich, by grouping people according to their underlying genetics, would then have a greater chance of success. It becomes very empowering, saysJoseph Buxbaum, director of the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment in New York.
Genetic diagnoses can also help families make decisions about family planning and treatment options. For example, deletion of a region on chromosome 17, called 17q12, is associated with autism and schizophrenia, but treating someone who has this CNV with certain mood stabilizers or antipsychotics could be dangerous: It is also associated with renal failure and adult-onset diabetes, which the drugs would exacerbate. Whats more, certain mutations increase therisk for some types of cancer. Knowing those mutations can be very helpful in those cases, not just in treating autism, but in treating the patient more broadly, Geschwind says.
Debates abound on how best to move the field forward, but one thing most researchers agree on is the need to identify more mutations linked to autism. Theres great benefit now in just doing more exome sequencing, Sanders says. Theres more genes to be found: Those will hopefully help patients; theyll also give us more of an understanding of what autism is.
Much of the variation that predisposes someone to autism, however, may lie in noncoding regions. If half of the variants are outside of the coding region, we need to know how to interpret them, Wigler says. For that reason alone, we have to study that region. Plus, were going to learn an enormous amount of biology in the process.
Noncoding regions make up the dark genome, which is about 98 percent of the whole. Because of the cost and effort involved in sequencing the whole genome, most autism researchers have stayed focused on exomes, until recently. Several teams are now sequencing whole genomes of people with autism, with the aim of identifying risk variants in these noncoding regions. Whole-genome sequencing inevitably will overtake exome sequencing, Sanders says. Its just a question economically of whether its moment is now, or in two years, or five years. Right now, thats a hard question to answer.
In March, researchers in Canada reported results from the largest set of whole genomes of people with autism to date. They sequenced the whole genomes of more than 5,000 individuals, about half of whom have autism. Among the61 variants the researchers identified, 18 had not beenfirmly linked to autismbefore. The team found that many of the CNVs in people with autism rest in noncoding regions.
Some teams are applying other resources, such as gene co-expression maps and protein-protein interaction networks, to understanding the underlying biology of the condition. These networks are only likely to become more powerful as researchers uncover more risk genes for autism. The question is how to integrate all that genetic data with other -omics data, and network-type approaches are probably going to be critical there, Geschwind says.
Most autism research arising from gene discovery is focused on repercussions at the molecular and cellular levels, but theres an important gap from there to whole circuits and behavior. Ultimately, the value of genetics is very likely to play out through an improved understanding of circuit-level function and anatomy, State says.
Stem cells and emerging technologies such as brain organoidsso called mini-brains in a dishcould afford researchers a prime opportunity to study the effects of genetic variation in human neurons. Faced with the limitations of mouse models in studying a condition characterized by behavioral problems, some teams are alsoturning to monkeys, which enable them to study more complex social interactions. Something we should be doing for the future is taking the precise mutations we find in humans and making those in primates, Wigler says.
These days, Wigler is on to another big idea: risk modifiers. Rare variants strongly associated with autism also occur in people without autismespecially women. Researchers know that mutations can contribute to autism by amplifying or attenuating the effects of other genes, so its feasible that two mutations could cancel each other out. But few teams have looked into these combinations as yet. People talk about autism as being an additive disorder, Wigler says, but nobodys really looking at additivity.
This idea brings him to a possible experiment: Take two mutations that individually have damaging effects, and introduce them both into mouse or monkey. Having the combination would be predicted to be worse than having either mutation alone. But what if the net result is correction? Wigler asks. Then we know modifiers exist. Theres not much of that kind of scientific exploration happening now.
A finding of that nature would herald a whole new wave of advances. It might also help to explain why the mutations identified so far vary in their effector what geneticists call penetranceonly sometimes resulting in autism. And it might help researchers develop therapies. If we ever saw a self-correcting defect in two mutations in autism, Wigler says, I would stand up and cheer.
This story wasoriginally publishedonSpectrum.
See more here:
Using Big Data to Hack Autism - Scientific American
- Multiple neurodevelopmental disorders have a common molecular cause [Last Updated On: October 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 9th, 2014]
- Human Longevity, Inc. Hires Industry Experts Barry Merriman, Ph.D., and Paul Mola, M.S. to Lead New Global Solutions ... [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2014]
- Scientists create artificial human eggs and sperm [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2014] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2014]
- What if the severity of our seasonal influenza were related to our genetic background? [Last Updated On: March 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 27th, 2015]
- UCLA Human Genetics [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2015]
- Human Genetics - Estrella Mountain Community College [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2015]
- Human genetics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: October 29th, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 29th, 2015]
- Human genetics - An Introduction to Genetic Analysis ... [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2015] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2015]
- Home Institute for Human Genetics at UCSF [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2015]
- National Human Genome Research Institute [Last Updated On: August 8th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 8th, 2016]
- Genetics - Smithsonian's Human Origins Program [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Toddler's Hair Stands Up Like Troll Doll Thanks To Rare Genetic Condition - HuffPost [Last Updated On: July 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 4th, 2017]
- Can genetics play a role in education and well-being? - USC News [Last Updated On: July 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 4th, 2017]
- Genetic variant linked to osteoarthritis favored in cold climates - Scope (blog) [Last Updated On: July 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 4th, 2017]
- Human Evolution: Africa Exodus Made Homo Sapiens Shorter and Gave Them Arthritis - Newsweek [Last Updated On: July 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 4th, 2017]
- Dispute Over British Baby's Fate Draws In Pope and US President - New York Times [Last Updated On: July 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 4th, 2017]
- Human mitochondrial genetics - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: July 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 4th, 2017]
- This Study Could Help Extend the Human Lifespan - Futurism [Last Updated On: July 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 7th, 2017]
- Evolution and war: The 'deep roots' theory of human violence - Genetic Literacy Project [Last Updated On: July 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 7th, 2017]
- Human Genetics | Pitt Public Health | University of Pittsburgh [Last Updated On: July 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 7th, 2017]
- human genetics | biology | Britannica.com [Last Updated On: July 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 7th, 2017]
- The Era of Human Gene Editing Is HereWhat Happens Next Is Critical - Singularity Hub [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- In US first, scientists edit genes of human embryos - Indiana Gazette [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- A protein involved in Alzheimer's disease may also be implicated in cognitive abilities in children - Medical Xpress [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- Genome Sequencing Shows Spiders, Scorpions Share Ancestor - R & D Magazine [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- Mindful of eugenics' dark history, researchers are reexamining the genetics of social mobility - Quartz [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- Shrinking Bat DNA and Elastic Genomes - Quanta Magazine [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- Bacteria May Rig Their DNA to Speed Up Evolution - WIRED [Last Updated On: August 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 19th, 2017]
- Will Gene Editing Allow Us to Rid the World of Diseases? - Healthline [Last Updated On: August 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 19th, 2017]
- Genes causing intellectual disabilities identified - The Indian Express [Last Updated On: September 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: September 3rd, 2017]
- Split-brain fruit fly research gives insight into autism - Nevada Today [Last Updated On: September 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: September 3rd, 2017]
- Human Genetics - McGill University [Last Updated On: August 18th, 2018] [Originally Added On: August 18th, 2018]
- Human Genetics - medschool.ucla.edu [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2018] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2018]
- Department of Human Genetics | The University of Chicago [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2018] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2018]
- Human genetic clustering - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2018] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2018]
- Mitochondrial Eve - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: November 18th, 2018] [Originally Added On: November 18th, 2018]
- Human Genetics - McGraw-Hill Education [Last Updated On: November 18th, 2018] [Originally Added On: November 18th, 2018]
- Human Genetics | Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program [Last Updated On: December 1st, 2018] [Originally Added On: December 1st, 2018]
- Human Genetics | Michigan Medicine | University of Michigan [Last Updated On: December 24th, 2018] [Originally Added On: December 24th, 2018]
- Human behaviour genetics - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2019] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2019]
- Human Genetics and Embryology - Open Access Journals [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2019] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2019]
- Marshfield Clinic Research Institute - Welcome to The ... [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2019] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2019]
- Human Genetic Modification | Center for Genetics and Society [Last Updated On: April 25th, 2019] [Originally Added On: April 25th, 2019]
- Humanized Liver Mice Model Market Emerging Niche Segments and Regional Markets - Commerce Gazette [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Short Sleeper Syndrome: When You Can Get By on Just a Few Hours of Sleep - The Crux - Discover Magazine [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Ceremony honors 2019 GASD hall inductees - The Recorder [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Genes, the social environment and adolescent smoking - Princeton University [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- LSU researcher looking at 'miracle drug' metformin as potential weapon against breast cancer - NOLA.com [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- The next omics? Tracking a lifetime of exposures to better understand disease - Knowable Magazine [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- 'Rejuvenation treatment can delay onset of heart diseases, cancer' - Down To Earth Magazine [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Global Human Genetics Market Report, History and Forecast 2014-2025, Breakdown Data by Companies, Key Regions, Types and Application - Market Industry... [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- DNA Found in 70000-Year-Old Pinky Bone Gives 1st Glimpse of Ancient Human Relative - Inside Edition [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Scientists release genetically altered mosquitoes to fight malaria - Global News [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Scientists Release Sterile Mosquitoes in Burkina to Fight Malaria - News18 [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Genes implicated in bipolar disorder identified - The Hindu [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Genetics and Justice: DNA Identification Technologies in Post-Dictatorial Argentina - KCPW [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- When Did Humans Reach North America? The Question Keeps Growing More Complex - The Crux - Discover Magazine [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Early postnatal overnutrition sets the body on a fast-track to aging - Baylor College of Medicine News [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Oxford Nanopore signs CRISPR licence - Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Medical student with rare disease finds possible cure from studying his own blood samples - Fox News [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Study Gives the Green Light to the Fruit Fly's Color Preference - Nature World News [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Genetics CRISPR enters its first human trials - Science News for Students [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Lakin Named Finalist In Global Science Video Contest - My veronanj [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- The Genetic Origins of Sex Differences in Disease - Yale News [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- Human Genetics Market 2019 Growing with Major Key Player QIAGEN, Agilent Technologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Illumina, Promega, LabCorp, GE, etc -... [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2019]
- The Complicated Truth About That Controversial 'Gay Gene' Study - Out Magazine [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2019]
- Government launches 'UMMID' initiative to tackle inherited genetic diseases of new born ba - 5 Dariya News [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2019]
- 1400-year-old Pictish Remains Finally Unearthed in Scotland - Ancient Origins [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2019]
- GSK and AstraZeneca's PARP Inhibitors Will Flex Their Muscles at ESMO - BioSpace [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2019]
- What Do Dairy Cows' Y Chromosomes Have to Do with Young Earth Creationism? Plenty. - Patheos [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- New books explore why dogs and humans have such a special bond - Science News [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- We need to understand the culture of whales so we can save them - Dal News [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- New Research on Climate Change and the Brain, the Relationship Between Stroke and Dementia, Advances in Epilepsy and MS Among the Brain Health... [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- This is Why Gene Editing of Plants and Animals Needs to be Regulated - In These Times [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- What's Behind Rise Of STDS Among Young People?: Epidemic Alarms Health Officials As Prevention Funding Drops - Kaiser Health News [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- Opinion: The Nature of Social Inequalities in Great Britain - The Scientist [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- Hacking Darwin: How the coming genetics revolution will play out - New Atlas [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- New research on climate change and the brain among the brain health initiatives unveiled at 24th World Congress of Neurology - WFN News [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- Overthinking Can Shorten Your Life, Says New Study - International Business Times [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]
- DNA research holds the keys to human history but it's being weaponized by politicians - Haaretz [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2019]