by Virginia Hughes

Imagine you walked down the street and asked random people what autism is. What would they say? My guess: They’d talk about social skills, and the rising prevalence, and probably the vaccine nonsense. And they’d almost certainly mention that it happens to boys.

By Shaun Heasley, October 9, 2013

One of three recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is a neuroscientist whose research is shedding light on autism.

Thomas Südhof of Stanford University will share this year’s prize with fellow-American scientists James Rothman and Randy Schekman. The trio are being honored “for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells,” the Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute said this week.

Several media outlets report the publication of research that examines a number of children who "recovered" from autism. The research is published at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.12037/pdf

The researchers say that the data clearly support the existence of a cohort who had clear autism at a young age and no longer demonstrated any significant autistic impairments.

UN text on Addressing Socioeconomic Dimensions of Autism, ...

... the Assembly addressed the socio-economic needs related to autism and developmental disorders by adopting a relevant resolution without a vote. By the text, the Assembly called on all States to enable persons with autism, developmental disorders and associated disabilities to learn life and social development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in education and as members of the community.

Media reporting of research often has its challenges. An research article¹ says:

Autism-Associated Mutations in ProSAP2/Shank3 Impair Synaptic Transmission and Neurexin-Neuroligin-Mediated Transsynaptic Signaling.

Arons MH, Thynne CJ, Grabrucker AM, Li D, Schoen M, Cheyne JE, Boeckers TM, Montgomery JM, Garner CC.

Abstract

TrackingCentral Pty. Ltd, a Brisbane based company supplies a miniature GPS Personal Location device called CareTracker which is used by carers or family members to locate a loved one in the event they wander off or become lost.

The CareTracker is the size of a match box and can be carried in a pocket or backpack or else securely attached to the wrist / ankle or clothing. The CareTracker has a battery life of up to 20 days.

About 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability, of whom 2-4% experience significant difficulties in functioning. The global disability prevalence is higher than previous WHO estimates, which date from the 1970s and suggested a figure of around 10%. This global estimate for disability is on the rise due to population ageing and the rapid spread of chronic diseases, as well as improvements in the methodologies used to measure disability.