Girls appear to have more resistance to autism

U.S. researchers said that 8% of children with autism spectrum disorder had de novo variants -- changes that occur during conception -- compared with only 2% of their unaffected siblings. Girls with the disorder were more likely than boys to have more of the variants, as well as more genes involved in deletions or duplications, suggesting higher resistance to the disorder, according to data published in the journal Neuron. HealthDay News (6/8)