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...causes of autism remain largely shrouded in mystery, but there are some types of the disorder that can be traced to specific gene defects. The most common of these - responsible for roughly 5% of autism cases - is a flaw in the X chromosome that causes a condition known as Fragile X Syndrome. Because the defect has been studied on a molecular level, it provides a unique window into understanding autism - and treating it. And that is why a paper published in this week's issue of the journal Neuron is bound to generate excitement, even though the work was done...
Roughly 1 in 3,600 people have Fragile X Syndrome, with boys more severely affected than girls. People with the disorder tend to have elongated faces and prominent ears; about half of them fall somewhere on the autism spectrum and most are mentally retarded or learning disabled as well. Fragile X occurs when the brain fails to produce normal quantities of a chemical known as the Fragile X mental retardation protein, or FMRP. This protein appears to act as a brake on the production of other proteins in the brain, including those associated with learning and memory. Without enough FMRP...
Scientists have suspected that FRMP exerts its braking action by attaching to receptors on the surface of brain cells, known as mGluR5 receptors (the Glu is for glutamate, a key signaling agent in the brain). They reasoned that it would be possible to correct the excesses of Fragile X by blocking these receptors, which act as accelerators of protein production. To test this idea, the researchers produced a special breed of mice that had the Fragile X trait but only half the normal number of mGluR5 receptors. The result, explains Bear: "We were able to correct the excesses [of Fragile...
...characters of “No Child” from almost ten years of experience working as a “teaching artist” in schools across New York City. The play follows Sun as she teaches a 10th grade class at the Bronx’s Malcolm X High School to read, analyze, and ultimately perform Timberlake Wertenbaker’s 1988 play “Our Country’s Good” over the course of a six-week theater workshop. Wertenbaker’s play tells the story of a group of convicts who, themselves...
...Tinseltown Christmas In "Generation X-mas," James Poniewozik described how A Christmas Story has supplanted It's a Wonderful Life as the favorite Christmas movie of 18-to-41-year-olds [Dec. 10]. But he ignored the generation of the moment - the boomers. We too have our own iconic Christmas movie: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Clark Griswold personifies all of our ideals to the extreme. Every year we confront the hassles of "exterior illumination," the perfect tree, the extravagant and costly family gifts, the visiting relatives who wish they were somewhere else, the big dinner, the disorganized cleanup afterward...