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Researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto have discovered a gene may be responsible for the behaviours commonly linked to autism. The study published in the May 13 issue of the science journal Nature , looked at genetic data from 9,349 people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 8,332 without the condition. The newly pinpointed gene, dubbed PTCHD1-AS, provides “a new entry point to study the biology of ASD, sharpening our understanding of how specific biological pathways relate to key autism traits,” says Dr. Stephen Scherer, senior study author and chief of...