At Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, blood samples from more than 700 people with autism and their families have been carefully collected and tested over the past five years. The DNA from each of the samples - almost 3,000 in total - has been extracted, studied and shared with researchers around the world. And each person with autism whose genes are in the collection has been put through batteries of tests and examinations to characterize their condition. The Simons Simplex Collection, as the set of data is known, is one of the largest - and most comprehensive - of the handful of autism cohorts around the world. But even so, it hasn't given up many of autism s secrets.
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