Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization, has announced preliminary results of new research that estimates autism costs society a staggering $126 billion per year (U.S.) – a number that has more than tripled since 2006, and annually in the U.K. has reached more than $34 billion (equivalent to $54 billion U.S.).

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are developmental disabilities that include difficulties in social interaction and communication as well as restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped behavior patterns. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has released information this week, estimating that as many as 1 in 88 children, or more than 1%, may have some kind of ASD.

DOL is making available about $20 million to fund cooperative agreements that will improve education, training and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. These grants are the third round of funding through the DEI, a joint program of the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration and its Office of Disability Employment Policy. Grants will be awarded to state workforce agencies, which will work with local workforce investment boards. Programs supported by the grants will build on the Department’s Disability Program Navigator Initiative. Application deadline is June 1, 2012.

Previous human studies have suggested that early life exposure to microbes (i.e., germs) is an important determinant of adulthood sensitivity to allergic and autoimmune diseases such as hay fever, asthma and inflammatory bowel disease. This concept of exposing people to germs at an early age (i.e., childhood) to build immunity is known as the hygiene hypothesis.

An important step towards developing a rapid, inexpensive diagnostic method for autism has been taken by Uppsala University, among other universities. Through advanced mass spectrometry the researchers managed to capture promising biomarkers from a tiny blood sample. The study has just been published in the prestigious journal Nature Translational Psychiatry.

When poet Walt Whitman wrote that we “contain multitudes,” he was speaking metaphorically, but he was correct in the literal sense. Every human being carries over 100 trillion individual bacterial cells within the intestine – ten times more cells than comprise the body itself.

The standard test used to detect milk-protein residues in processed foods may not work as well as previously believed in all applications, sometimes missing ingredients that can cause milk allergy, the most common childhood food allergy, which affects millions of children under age 3, a scientist reported at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Socie.

Washington Post

Convicted defendants left uninformed of forensic flaws found by Justice Dept. [Justice Dept., FBI forensic lab] – Spencer S. Hsu reports that even though a Justice Department task force investigation uncovered sloppy forensic work at an FBI crime lab that led to faulty results, the agency notified prosecutors but not defendants; as a result some defendants served decades in prison for crimes they did not commit, and in one case a death penalty was carried out despite evidence that might have spared the defendant’s life; the scope of the task force’s findings was made public as a result of a multi-year Freedom of Information Act fight

GSA inspector general is investigating possible bribes, kickbacks [General Services Administration, Inspector General] – Lisa Rein and Ed O’Keefe report that the General Services Administration’s inspector general, who headed the investigation of out-of-control spending by the agency’s Public Buildings Service, told a congressional committee that he has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether bribes and kickbacks took place as well

Panetta said he regretted cost to taxpayers for trips home to California [Defense Department Secretary Leon Panetta] – Craig Whitlock reports that an embarrassing fact came to light in congressional hearing testimony by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: his trips home to California on the weekends cost over $800,000 since July, of which he reimbursed the government for $17,000, the cost of commercial flights; the Defense Secretary is required to fly on communications-secure military aircraft, typically a Air Force C-37A

If the food’s in plastic, what’s in the food? [Food and Drug Administration, BPA] – Susan Freinkel, author of “Plastic: A Toxic Love Story,” follows up on the controversy surrounding the Food and Drug Administration’s decision not to ban the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), a ubiquitous food packaging component, despite scientific evidence that it is transmitted to humans through food, and she questions the FDA’s approach in assessing the harm of chemicals in packaging – focusing on how much of a toxic chemical such as BPA is present rather than on the chemical itself, as well as the agency’s heavy reliance on information supplied by manufacturers

More military personnel might have been involved in misconduct before Obama’s trip [U.S. Secret Service] – David Nakamura and Scott Wilson report that the scandal involving Secret Service personnel and prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia in advance of the president’s trip there may involve as many as 20 Secret Service and military personnel; the scandal has deeply embarrassed the Pentagon, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a congressional committee

New York Times

Prosecutor who ran ethics unit leaves Justice Dept. [Justice Dept.] – Charlie Savage reports on the retirement of William W. Welch, known as the chief of the public integrity section at Justice Department headquarters at the time of the prosecution of the late senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), that was thrown out for prosecutorial misconduct; the department failed to disclose evidence to Stevens’ attorneys that was favorable to his case, although Welch was exonerated of wrongdoing in an investigation of the case’s handling

Antipoverty tax program offers relief, though often temporary [taxes] — Sabrina Tavernise, on this tax day, examines the effects of the earned income tax credit, the United States’ largest antipoverty program, which returns a large portion of tax payments to those who make under a certain amount per year

Wall Street Journal

SEC addressing gaps in analysis [Securities and Exchange Commission] – Jessica Holzer and Andrew Ackerman report that the Securities and Exchange Commission is taking steps to address criticism it does not weigh the economic impact of its rules

U.S. nominee is elected to lead World Bank [World Bank] – Sudeep Reddy reports that President Obama’s nominee to head the World Bank, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, former director of the HIV/AIDS department at the World Health Organization and current president of Dartmouth College has been elected to the post despite objections by some countries to both a U.S. nominee and one that is not from the financial sector

Tuna blamed in Salmonella outbreak is recalled [Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] – Bill Tomson reports that the Food and Drug Administration has determined that a salmonella outbreak that sickened 100 people nationwide is linked to raw yellow fin tuna from a supplier in California — Moon Marine USA Corp. in Cupertino, Calif; the CDC said the tuna was imported from India

People with autism have a greater than normal capacity for processing information even from rapid presentations and are better able to detect information defined as ‘critical’, according to a study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

A study led by Eric Courchesne, PhD, director of the Autism Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has, for the first time, identified in young autism patients genetic mechanisms involved in abnormal early brain development and overgrowth that occurs in the disorder.

Early disruptions in serotonin signaling in the brain may contribute to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and other “enduring effects on behavior,” Vanderbilt University researchers report. Serotonin is a brain chemical that carries signals across the synapse, or gap between nerve cells. The supply of serotonin is regulated by the serotonin transporter (SERT).

A paper published online in Nature describes the results of using bone marrow transplant (BMT) to replace faulty immune system cells in models of Rett Syndrome. The procedure arrested many severe symptoms of the childhood disorder, including abnormal breathing and movement, and significantly extended the lifespan of Rett mouse models.

Children with multiple hereditary exostoses (MHE), an inherited genetic disease, suffer from multiple growths on their bones that cause pain and disfigurement. But beyond the physical symptoms of this condition, some parents have long observed that their children with MHE also experience autism-like social problems.

Scripps Research Institute scientists and their colleagues have successfully harnessed neurons in mouse brains, allowing them to at least partially control a specific memory.

Could parental exposure to solvents at work be linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their children? According to an exploratory study by Erin McCanlies, a research epidemiologist from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and colleagues, such exposures could play a role, but more research would be needed to confirm an association.

The next time you set a trap for that rat running around in your basement, here’s something to consider: you are going up against an opponent whose ability to assess the situation and make decisions is statistically just as good as yours.