Today in Science: Autism isn't a sliding scale

The autism spectrum is big, vibrant and complicated, a new graphic of 39 traits shows ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

April 8, 2026—The Artemis II crew made the first ship-to-ship call in space. Plus, genetics probably dictates whether weight-loss drugs work, and the autism spectrum is more than a sliding scale. Let's go. —Andrea Gawrylewski Chief Newsletter Editor MOON MISSION Artemis II crew enjoys a group hug after rounding the moon. NASA The Artemis II crew is on their return mission from a trip around the moon. Yesterday, they made an audio call to the International Space Station. It was the first “ship to ship” call of its kind. | 2 min read The capsule's toilet, while a milestone in space travel, has been giving the crew trouble off and on. Today the crew will begin preparing for splashdown, which is scheduled for 8:07 P.M. EDT on Friday. Read a full recap of the latest with Artemis II. | 3 min read   The U.S. has never successfully deployed and operated a robotic rover on the moon. That could change this year. | 5 min read The Artemis moon missions could provide a huge boost to astronomical research and might usher in a moon-anchored antenna, lunar-based gravitational wave detectors and more. | 8 min read IN OTHER SCIENCE NEWS GLP-1 drugs don’t work the same for everyone. How much weight you lose and how nauseous you feel while taking them may depend on your genetics. | 3 min read As humanoid robots enter the real world, studies suggest that people project human racial biases onto them. But the research is divided on whether those biases persist outside the lab and in real-world robot interactions. | 7 min read Communities tend to underestimate measles’ danger, experts say. Why? | 15 min podcast More News Explore the universe and feel the awe of science with a subscription to Scientific American.  TOP STORIES

Mary Budwick, Nathaniel Plimpton New Drugs for Kidney Disease In 2024, two big studies showed that semaglutide drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy reduce the risk of kidney disease—in one trial the drugs reduced the progression of kidney disease by 22 percent. More trials are now underway to look at not only GLP-1 receptor agonists but also those that target other gut hormones, including GIP. Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in the drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, is a hormone analogue designed to act on GIP and GLP-1 receptors. One ongoing trial is examining tirzepatide’s effects on kidneys.   Why this matters: More than one in seven people in the U.S. have chronic kidney disease, which was the ninth-leading cause of death worldwide in 2023. But until recently, just one class of drugs—called renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors—had been shown to slow progression of the illness, and even those medications were only modestly effective. Kidney health is inextricably intertwined with other conditions, particularly diabetes and cardiovascular disease. So researchers reasoned that drugs developed for those issues might also be useful for halting the deterioration of the kidneys.   What the experts say: Several other drugs have recently also come on the scene and have shown success in preserving kidney function. “For the first time there’s a realistic prospect of actually stopping kidney disease progression,” says Maarten Taal, a nephrologist at the University of Nottingham in England. “That’s why these drugs are game changers, and the fact that they each work by a completely different mechanism implies that they will have an additive effect because they’re not all doing the same thing.” INFOGRAPHIC OF THE DAY Visualizing the Spectrum It’s a misconception that the autism spectrum is a linear scale with "more autistic” on one end and “less autistic” on the other. Autism is actually a big, vibrant and multi-dimensional array of traits, and every person’s profile is unique. Most individuals have a personalized “chart” representing how they respond to 39 questions on the Autism Symptom Dimensions Questionnaire. Read them all and see some various individuals' charts here. Not all these characteristics are impairments that need some kind of treatment. Many of these traits are best thought of as normal human variation, says Ari Ne’eman, cofounder of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and a researcher at Harvard. Amanda Montañez; Source: “The Autism Symptom Dimensions Questionnaire: Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a New, Open-Source Measure of Autism Symptomatology,” by Thomas W. Frazier et al., in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, Vol. 65, No. 8; August 2023 (data) WHAT WE'RE READING Paris has been renovating their underground catacombs where some six million people were buried. | The New York Times A new poll conducted last week found that 76 percent of Americans agree that the U.S. space program makes them feel proud. | Ipsos An interactive public data platform provides monthly, utility-level estimates of residential electricity rates and bills across the United States going back to 2021. | Heatmap If you read through the 39 traits on the Autism Symptom Dimensions Questionnaire, you will likely resonate with more than one. Personally, my family and I tend to repeat lines from our favorite movies over and over. And I know plenty of people who make to-do lists or who cannot stand being in overly crowded settings. As one researcher put it, these traits are just a reflection of natural human variation. Where any of us land on the map is both unique to us and, therefore, difficult to categorize. Thanks for reading and send any suggestions or other feedback on this newsletter to: newsletters@sciam.com. See you tomorrow!   —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters here. Scientific American One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004 ​ Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American here ​ Unsubscribe    Preferences     View in Browser