I’m a Scientist is like school science lessons meet the X Factor! School students choose which scientist gets a prize of $1000 to communicate their work.
Scientists and students talk on this website. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn. But only the students get to vote.
This zone is the Organs Zone. It has scientists studying health and disease in various parts of our bodies. Who gets the prize? YOU decide!
At the moment the only way to test for autism is for a medical specialist to observe the behaviour of a child. The earliest signs of autism are normally picked up by 2 years of age and involve not being able to walk, talk, and if they have a lack of interest in pointing, gesturing and interacting with people.
Some illnesses and disorders are caused by a change in DNA code and this can be picked up while the baby is in the mothers womb. We do know that genes are important in Autism because it runs in families. For example, if your brother has Autism you are more likely to have Autism because you share some of his genes. At the moment though, we have found over 500 genes that might lead to Autism. We are a long way away from having a genetic test.
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