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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday March 07 2017, @09:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the gene,jean dept.

A definitive cause for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has remained elusive, although the best picture so far seems to be one of a mix of genetic and environmental factors. This suggests that any genes involved with the condition by necessity are being passed on from generation to generation. A new study now suggests that these genes are being positively selected for.

The study, published in PLOS Genetics[open,DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.1006618][DX], looked at the prevalence of alleles, or gene variants, commonly associated with an increased risk of ASD. The researchers discovered that these variants were found in much larger numbers than would be expected by chance, and they suggest that this may be because they are also linked to other genes implicated in cognitive ability.

The authors write that this positive selection between the genes thought to contribute to autism and those that might promote intelligence may explain why autism is such a prevalent condition, especially when it seems like it would have been selected against during human evolution.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/gene-variants-linked-to-autism-may-have-been-positively-selected-for/


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 07 2017, @08:20PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 07 2017, @08:20PM (#476163)

    Agreed ^

    Simply being around other people does not automatically make something a truly social activity. Also, a lot of "actual" social activity is simply superficial bullshit, circle-jerking into a sense of comfort that gives us some security in this insecure world.