Study: Siblings with autism don't share genetic mutations

The largest autism genome sequencing has produced an unexpected finding: Siblings with autism only share the same genes 31 percent of the time, according to a study published Monday in Nature Medicine.

A third of the relevant mutations seemed random to researchers. Lead investigator Stephen Scherer, who runs an applied genomics center at Toronto's Hospital For Sick Children, suggests "autisms" is a more accurate name than "autism."

For some families, "it’s like lightning striking twice in the same family," Scherer told The Los Angeles Times.

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