Children with epilepsy are up to 10 times more likely than others to also have autism, according to research that exposes the scale of the association between the two conditions.
The findings, in more than 30,000 children, stress the importance of screening for developmental concerns among those with epilepsy, so support can be delivered as early as possible.
Higher rates of intellectual disability were also seen in children with autism who additionally had epilepsy, and they were also diagnosed with the neurodiversity at an earlier age.
“Our findings emphasize the importance of screening for autism in this population to support earlier diagnosis and timely intervention, both of which are key to improving long-term outcomes,” said senior investigator Elaine Wirrell, MD, from the Mayo Clinic.
ASD and epilepsy are complex disorders of neuronal connectivity that frequently co-occur because of shared molecular and biological mechanisms.
While the increased risk of ASD in children with epilepsy is well documented, there are gaps in knowledge around its incidence and prevalence, and risk factors for their co-occurrence.
To investigate further, Wirrell and team studied the medical records of 30,490 children in Olmsted County, Minnesota, of whom 257 (0.84%) were diagnosed with epilepsy before the age of 19 years.
They found that children with epilepsy were more likely have ASD across all three research and clinical definitions compared with other children, with this likelihood increased between six and 10-fold.
The prevalence was a corresponding 21.4% versus 3.2% using broad research criteria, 14.0% versus 1.6% across stricter research criteria, and 7.9% versus 0.7% for a clinical diagnosis.
Among children with autism, those also with epilepsy were more likely to have a lower IQ on standardized testing than those in whom epilepsy was absent (56.5% versus 15.4%). Specifically, an IQ of less than 70 was observed in 57.4% of children with co-occurring epilepsy and autism compared with only 15.4% autism alone.
Those with autism and epilepsy were also more often female than those with autism alone (38.2% versus 25.8%), and were identified with autism at a younger age, at a mean of seven years and five months versus eight years and eight months).
“These insights underscore the critical need for comprehensive and early screening protocols to better address and manage the intersection of autism and epilepsy, ensuring timely interventions and tailored support for affected individuals,” the researchers concluded.
The largest study to date to examine immune differences between sexes at single-cell resolution has identified over 1,000 genetic switches that operate in distinct ways when comparing immune cells from men and women. Published today in The American Journal of Human Genetics, these findings could explain why women are much more likely to be affected by autoimmune conditions than men.
“Our findings show that the immune system needs to be studied with sex in mind,” says Seyhan Yazar, PhD, group leader of the precision immunology program at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia. “Even though we know men’s and women’s immune systems differ, many studies still overlook these differences, which can limit how well we understand disease, and in turn bias treatment options.”
Yazar’s team analyzed single-cell RNA sequencing data from over 1.25 million circulating immune cells from nearly 1,000 healthy individuals who participated in the OneK1K cohort. This Australian research program maps how individual immune cells respond to disease and pathogens to determine why some individuals respond to treatment but others don’t.
Results revealed distinct genetic and cellular profiles between both sexes. While men were found to have a higher proportion of monocytes, women showed higher levels of B cells and regulatory T cells. In men, genetic activity seemed to focus on basic cellular maintenance processes, but in women genetic activity heavily skewed towards the activation of inflammatory pathways.
“While this highly reactive immune profile gives females an advantage in fighting viral infections, it comes with a biological trade-off: a greater predisposition to autoimmune diseases,” says Sara Ballouz, PhD, senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). “On the other hand, male immune cells are less primed for inflammation, making men generally more susceptible to infections and non-reproductive cancers.”
Interestingly, most of the genetic switches found to be active in individuals of one sex but not the other were not found to be located in sex chromosomes. More than 1,000 sex-specific genetic switches were identified on autosomes, with many of them being directly linked to autoimmune conditions.
“This is the first time we have shown that these differences occur at the genetic control level, providing a new layer of insight into human immunity,” Ballouz says. “Having shown that female-biased genes are heavily enriched in inflammatory pathways, we now have another biological rationale for why the immune system can more easily mistakenly attack the body’s own tissues in women.”
The analysis found female-specific genetic variants that affected the expression of two genes linked to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune condition that is nine times more likely to affect women than men. Although conditions like SLE are multifactorial, uncovering the contribution of genetic variants to their development is an important step forward towards better understanding disease susceptibility between sexes.
“Our findings add strong evidence that female and male autoimmune diseases may not be the same, and the way we should treat them may not necessarily be the same,” says Yazar. “Currently, clinicians rely on a one-size-fits-all management approach for most autoimmune diseases—a more inclusive approach is needed.”
Currently, autoimmune conditions are often treated with broad immunosuppressants that reduce the activity of the entire immune system. Research is striving to move towards treatments that more precisely target each person’s unique needs, which is only possible through the identification of distinct genetic pathways driving autoimmune disease.
“If we want to realize the potential of precision medicine, we have to understand these fundamental biological variables,” says Joseph E. Powell, PhD, director of the translational genomics program at the Garvan Institute. “Treatments need to be tailored not just to the disease, but to how a patient’s immune system operates at a baseline genetic level.”
On this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD,” we chat with Seaport Therapeutics CEO Daphne Zohar, fresh off the biotech’s successful IPO. Plus, Elaine, Allison, and Adam chat about this week’s notable news, including the obesity pill battle between Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, a Phase 3 study win for Cytokinetics, and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s White House troubles.
Oh, by the way, this is the 400th episode of your favorite biotech podcast.
Physicist Albert Einstein, widely regarded as one of the most prolific scientists of the past century, conducted much of his transformative work at the beginning of his career, before spending years defending his theories against the burgeoning field of quantum mechanics.
A new study shows that Einstein is not alone, and that most researchers begin their careers conducting their more disruptive work — overturning conventional wisdom and forging paths of their own — but as they age, they tend to abandon that groundbreaking energy. Instead, many become adept at connecting previously unlinked ideas. The paper, published Thursday in Science, helps offer an explanation of a trend that has increasingly worried scholars of science policy and innovation: that the pace of discovery has slowed in recent years.
Last month, the AGBT Agricultural Meeting was held in Phoenix, Arizona. The conference is focused on agricultural genomics—plant and animal genetics. During the meeting, the recipients of the 2026 Next Gen Leadership Awards were announced.
These awards recognize outstanding early-career scientists and graduate students whose work and potential are shaping the future of agricultural genomics, including advances in plant and animal genomics. Award recipients receive financial support to attend and present their research at the AGBT Agricultural Meeting, with opportunities to engage with leaders in the field and build connections across the genomics community.
“These awardees reflect the strength and diversity of emerging talent in agricultural genomics,” said Sarah Hearne, PhD, chief science and innovation officer at CIMMYT and co-chair of the AGBT Agriculture Scientific Organizing Committee. “AGBT Agriculture plays an important role in bringing these scientists into conversation with leaders across the field, helping accelerate the translation of genomics into practice.”
The awardees represent rising leaders in agricultural genomics, advancing research across genomic variability, genetic analysis, molecular diagnostics, pathogen surveillance, and quantitative trait genomics to improve crop performance, strengthen food safety, and advance sustainable agriculture.
“This award represents a transformative opportunity to grow as a scientist and contribute more effectively to innovation in animal breeding,” said Larissa Bordin Temp, a 2026 Next Gen Leadership Award recipient.
The 2026 AGBT Agricultural Meeting Next Gen Leadership awardees were:
Boris ME Alladassi, PhD: postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research focus: Connecting the evolutionary and statistical views of epistasis in quantitative trait genomics
Mythri Bikkasani: graduate student at Punjab Agricultural University, India
Research focus: Connecting the dots: from high-throughput feed phenotyping to genomic dissection of heterosis in maize
Larissa Bordin Temp: graduate student at São Paulo State University, Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
Research focus: Genomic evaluation of rump fat–adjusted residual feed intake in zebu cattle: implications for selection strategies
Lauren Johnson: graduate student at Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky
Research focus: Functional introgression within the horse mhc genes
Mehak Kapoor: graduate assistant at Iowa State University
Research focus: Cell-type resolved gene expression signatures to identify and predict persistent PRRSV infection
Pedro Nuñez Romano, PhD: postdoctoral researcher at Universitat Politècnica de València
Research focus: Integrating technology to refine the estimation of social genetic effects in pigs
Viona Osei: graduate student at Tuskegee University
Research focus: Exploiting genomic variability in Listeria for the development of molecular diagnostic markers
Kyungyong Seong, PhD: postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Davis
Research focus: Resurrection of the plant immune receptor Sr50 to overcome pathogen immune evasion
Jade van Wijk: graduate student at Earlham Institute
Research focus: Using airborne DNA sequencing to monitor sporulation, infection and relative abundance of cereal rust fungi
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
What’s next for IVF
IVF has brought millions of babies into the world over the last four decades. But the process can still be slow, painful, and expensive—and far from guaranteed to work. Now, a wave of new technologies aims to change that.
Researchers are using AI to identify promising sperm and embryos, developing robotic systems that could automate parts of the IVF process, and even exploring controversial genetic editing techniques designed to prevent inherited disease.
The technologies could make IVF more effective and accessible. But they’re also raising difficult ethical questions about how far reproductive medicine should go.
This story is from MIT Technology Review’s What’s Next series, which looks across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here.
The balcony solar boom is coming to the US
Dozens of US states are considering legislation to allow people to install plug-in solar systems, often called balcony solar. These small arrays require little to no setup and could help cut emissions and power bills.
Proponents say the systems could make solar power more accessible, but some experts caution that there are safety concerns.
This article is from The Spark, our weekly climate newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.
Resistance: 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now
Resistance against AI’s proliferation is growing. People from all walks of life are speaking out against rising electricity bills from data centers, disappearing jobs, chatbots’ impact on teen mental health, the military’s use of AI, and copyright infringement—among other concerns.
People want to have a say in how the technology transforms their future. And they’re starting to create small cracks in AI labs’ vision for the future. Find out how.
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 After years of insults, Anthropic and SpaceX have teamed up Anthropic will tap SpaceX’s GPUs to meet surging demand. (Axios) + While SpaceX gets a marquee customer for its AI ambitions. (Wired $) + Anthropic says the deal will double Claude Code’s rate limits. (Ars Technica) +It’s also exploring building compute capacity in space. (CNBC) + Musk previously called Anthropic “evil” and “misanthropic.” (Gizmodo)
2 Ex-OpenAI leaders say Sam Altman sowed “chaos” and distrust Former CTO Mira Murati said she couldn’t trust his words. (The Verge) + He also bypassed OpenAI’s safety board before a model release. (Gizmodo) + And pitted leaders against one another. (Forbes) + But Elon Musk still tried to recruit Altman to lead a Tesla AI lab. (FT $) + Here’s why Musk and Altman are in court. (MIT Technology Review)
3 China’s humanoid robots are fueling its next export boom Morgan Stanley says Beijing has taken an early lead in the sector. (Bloomberg $) + Gig workers are training humanoids at home. (MIT Technology Review)
4 SpaceX’s IPO plans will give Elon Musk “virtually unchecked” authority And erode typical shareholder protections. (Reuters $) + Activists and pension funds are pushing back against the IPO. (Wired $) + While SpaceX is shifting focus from Falcon 9 to Starship. (Ars Technica)
5 Google DeepMind will use the MMORPG Eve Online for AI model testing It’s also bought a stake in the game’s maker. (Ars Technica) + DeepMind also recently built a new video-game-playing agent. (MIT Technology Review)
6 The US risks isolating its automakers by banning a Chinese EV standard It’s prohibiting software that’s dominating global EV markets. (Rest of World)
7 Elon Musk’s proposed Texas chip factory could cost $119 billion It would manufacture chips for Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI. (CNBC) + Future AI chips could be built on glass. (MIT Technology Review)
8 Why the “attention-span crisis” is misunderstood Technology may be exhausting attention rather than shortening it. (Atlantic $)
9 Scientists are getting closer to explaining what causes lightning New tools are revealing unexpected physics inside thunderstorms. (Quanta)
10 Kids have found an age verification loophole: fake mustaches Resourceful children are foiling blocks on adult websites. (TechCrunch)
Quote of the day
“My concern was about Sam saying one thing to one person and completely the opposite to another person.”
—Mira Murati, the former CTO of OpenAI, testifies in court that CEO Sam Altman was deceptive, Reuters reports.
One More Thing
ALAMY
A brief, weird history of brainwashing
During the Cold War, the US prepared for a psychic war with the Soviet Union and China by spending millions of dollars on research into manipulating the human brain.
The science never exactly panned out, but residual beliefs fostered by this bizarre conflict continue to play a role in ideological and scientific debates to this day. And now, new technologies are altering how we think about mind control.
BackgroundSleep disorders represent a common and impactful complication following acute ischemic stroke (AIS). This study aimed to identify clinical risk factors and evaluate the predictive value of serum hypocretin (Hcrt), neurofilament heavy chain (NfH), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) for post-stroke sleep disorders.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective observational study of 256 patients with AIS. Patients were classified into sleep disorder (n = 161) and non-sleep disorder (n = 95) groups based on their Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores 7 days after stroke onset. Fasting serum levels of Hcrt, NfH, and IL-1β were measured upon admission. We utilized multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to evaluate predictive performance. The combined model was internally validated using 1,000 bootstrap resamples to assess optimism-corrected discriminative performance.ResultsSleep disorders were present in 62.9% of patients. Nine independent risk factors were identified: age ≥ 65 years (OR = 2.059), snoring history (OR = 1.980), prior stroke (OR = 2.036), lower ADL scores (OR = 1.839), higher HAMD (OR = 1.726) and NIHSS scores (OR = 1.677), decreased serum Hcrt (OR = 1.863), elevated NfH (OR = 2.020), and elevated IL-1β (OR = 1.793; all p < 0.05). Individual biomarker AUCs ranged from 0.742 to 0.781, whereas the combined three-biomarker model achieved a significantly superior AUC of 0.874 (sensitivity 88.82%, specificity 71.58%). Bootstrap internal validation yielded a mean optimism-corrected AUC of 0.861 (95% CI: 0.812–0.903), indicating robust model performance with minimal overfitting.ConclusionClinical variables alongside altered levels of Hcrt, NfH, and IL-1β serve as independent predictors of post-stroke sleep disorders. The combined three-biomarker panel, reflecting neuroendocrine dysregulation, axonal injury, and systemic inflammation, demonstrates substantially superior predictive accuracy over individual biomarkers and offers a clinically practical tool for early identification of high-risk patients.
This perspective article argues that the theoretical landscape of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has long been stabilized by the “hydraulic” model of Automatic Negative Reinforcement, which conceptualizes self-harm primarily as a mechanism to down-regulate aversive hyper-arousal. While this framework successfully elucidates the etiology of self-injury driven by high-intensity negative affect, it fails to account for a substantial, treatment-resistant phenotype: adolescents driven by profound anhedonia and ventral striatal hypofunction. This perspective article argues for the formal recognition of an “Anhedonic Subtype” of NSSI. Synthesizing recent epidemiological data identifying “emptiness” as a central symptom network bridge, alongside neurobiological evidence of reward blunting, we posit that for this subtype, NSSI functions not as a sedative, but as a mechanism of “forced activation.” We propose a preliminary differential diagnostic framework distinguishing defensive dissociation from anhedonic deficit and outline the theoretical rationale for exploring a shift in clinical intervention from distress tolerance toward positive affect up-regulation. The clinical utility of this framework remains to be evaluated in future empirical research.
Music is a decisive factor of the everyday life and the core focus of human being of any culture. People of all ages, races and ethnicities prefer to listen to it and play it. But music is not only entertainment because scientific research has shown that it can also create an impact on the physiological processes that can be used to enhance physical and mental illnesses. The current study analyzes the ways in which the violin may be employed in enhancing emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being of different cultures and religions. It relies on secondary data to examine the emotional appeal of the instrument, the psychological resilience benefits, and the spiritual meaning of the instrument particularly in the intercultural and interfaith context. The sound of the violin that is very flexible and familiar in various cultural and religious practices is also a channel of emotional expression, psychological healing, and spiritual intercourse. Therapeutic interventions and educational environments have been linked to it, as a means of improving emotional control, decreasing stress and increasing resilience. Also, the violin can be used as a significant instrument of spiritual reflection in other religious practices, in the Christian church service as well as in Hindu devotional music. Findings indicate that the violin facilitates interfaith communication and social integration by way of sharing of emotions and spirituality. It is a cultural preservation and common good, that promotes inclusivity and comprehension of the multicultural societies and results in sustainable communities. The paper shows that the field of special role of the violin in promoting resilience, empathy and sustainable development of society needs more empirical studies to advance the knowledge on the topic.
