"DNA Deletion Linked to Autism"

"A specific structural variation on chromosome 16 dramatically boosts the risk of autism, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The finding--one of the most significant to date--permits the development of new diagnostic tests to identify children at risk, and could ultimately point to specific biochemical pathways to target in drug development.

"This is one of the single largest [influences] and most frequent genetic causes for autism identified so far," says Bai-Lin Wu,director of the Genetics Diagnostic Laboratory at Children's Hospital Boston and one of the senior authors on the study."

"Despite the news coverage the discovery has received, The mutations, described yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine, are present in just 1 percent of all kids with autism. At least 31 different stories appear in Google News, with all the usual heavy hitters -- the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, New York Times et al. -- weighing in.

From the sheer bulk of coverage, a reader might imagine that something truly significant has taken place. But is this merely part of the daily science journalism news cycle, in which a relatively technical finding is virtually assured of wall-to-wall exposure if it comes out in a major journal and touches on a timely issue?

The answer: a bit of both. "