Researchers have conducted a new experiment revealing some answers about Rett Syndrome, an autism-like disease. Researchers are now hopeful that based on the results, the brain damage caused by this disease is not permanent.

Geneticists at Scotland's Edinburgh University discovered that the symptoms of the brain-damaging disorder were erased in the case of genetically engineered mice thus challenging the long-held belief that the brain damage from Rett syndrome is permanent

A new survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that nearly 1 in every 150 children in America is affected by autism; a nervous disorder that leads to impaired social interaction, communication and other behavioral problems in children. The results of the study are based on medical and school records of thousands of children from across 14 states.

An analysis of the records revealed an average autism rate of 6.6 per 1,000, significantly higher than last year's estimated rate of 5.5 in 1,000

There's a part of the brain that predicts whether people will develop altruistic traits, according to a new study. By analyzing brain scans, scientists discovered that a region of the brain called the posterior superior temporal sulcus is related to behavior that puts the well-being of others above the well-being of oneself.

The study, published in the advanced online edition of Nature Neuroscience, will be published in the print version of the journal in February 2007

Scientists are trying to help autistic children identify emotions better with cartoons.

Many autistic children have trouble expressing emotion or even looking others in the eye. Now, children nationwide are improving in emotion identification

In a bid to raise funds for autism, President Bush on Tuesday signed a bill to increase federal funding by 50 percent for the disorder, which afflicts 1.5 million people in the United States.

Additionally, other bills which aim to shift AIDS money to rural areas and the South and create a government unit to oversee the response to a bird flu pandemic or bio terrorism attack were also signed