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This week saw the publication of a remarkable new study that took skin cells and turned them into brain cells. No joke. This technique allows researchers to study the autism brain during very early development. But it isn’t sufficient to study and understand the brains across the lifespan of people with autism. The only way to do that is with postmortem brains of people with ASD. Because of this resource, researchers discovered a new type of genetic mutation associated with ASD – one that redefines how scientists view all of the DNA. TO REGISTER FOR THE AUTISM BRAINNET GO TO WWW.TAKESBRAINS.ORG. Also this week, beyond genetics and brain tissue research, a meeting in California applied a technique to the air pollution and autism data to understand and make sense of the multiple studies showing an association.