Scientists replicate autism in monkeys
Chinese scientists have genetically engineered monkeys to show core symptoms of autism, according to a new study conducted at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published in Nature. By using human gene therapy, the researchers, lead by Zilong Qiu of the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, were able to create a line of cynomolgus monkeys, or crab-eating macaques, that expressed several core phenotypes of autism. The genetically-modified monkeys represent the first known primate model of autism, giving researchers a new tool through which they can better understand autism spectrum disorders.