'Computer geek' genes 'may be linked to autism'
Tony Jones | 15.08.2002 09:28
Doctors in California think high autism rates in the Silicon Valley area could be down to the 'computer geek' genes of its workers.
The BBC says up to one in 150 children in the area have some sort of autistic disorder - much higher than the rest of the US.
It says experts at the Mind Institute in Sacramento believe hi-tech workers in the area may be carrying genes which contribute to autism.
They think the 'computer geek' men probably find it difficult to mix socially and are more likely to meet partners who also carry autistic genes.
Dr Matthew Hardy told BBC Online: "If your father has four genes and is a computer whiz, and your mother has three genes, you might as well get seven and develop full-blown autism."
The number of autistic children attending treatment centres in California between 1987 and 1998 rose by 273%.
Some scientists have put it down to better diagnosis.
In Britain, Dr Matthew Hardy says there are echoes of the Silicon Valley problem in areas surrounding Cambridge near to where I live - which also attract hi-tech workers.
He said: "We have carried out a recent survey of primary schools in the Cambridge area and are finding similar rates to those reported in the Silicon Valley. This could be the Silicon Fen phenomenon."
David Potter, of the National Autistic Society, described the research as "interesting", but points out it doesn't explain cluster of cases found in predominantly blue-collar areas.
It says experts at the Mind Institute in Sacramento believe hi-tech workers in the area may be carrying genes which contribute to autism.
They think the 'computer geek' men probably find it difficult to mix socially and are more likely to meet partners who also carry autistic genes.
Dr Matthew Hardy told BBC Online: "If your father has four genes and is a computer whiz, and your mother has three genes, you might as well get seven and develop full-blown autism."
The number of autistic children attending treatment centres in California between 1987 and 1998 rose by 273%.
Some scientists have put it down to better diagnosis.
In Britain, Dr Matthew Hardy says there are echoes of the Silicon Valley problem in areas surrounding Cambridge near to where I live - which also attract hi-tech workers.
He said: "We have carried out a recent survey of primary schools in the Cambridge area and are finding similar rates to those reported in the Silicon Valley. This could be the Silicon Fen phenomenon."
David Potter, of the National Autistic Society, described the research as "interesting", but points out it doesn't explain cluster of cases found in predominantly blue-collar areas.
Tony Jones
e-mail:
tony.jones@visionit.com
Comments
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Give me MMR!!!
15.08.2002 22:19
I want it now!
computer geek wannabe
Are you taking the piddle ?
16.08.2002 14:10
Ultimately, humans are rather slow in realising the true nature of their discoveries, even when it comes to their own bodies and own society.
When will o-so-smug modern reseachers drop this notion that every aspect of human behaviour can be located in a 'gene'. This is ludicrous ! Its not even as if its a new discovery; after all, Gr Mendel made the first sketches toward genetic theory in (hell, can anyone rememeber the dates ?)
Much of the so-called 'genetic predisposition' is patent nonsense, so to speak: purported 'gay' genes and 'suicide' genes, are particularly suspect, because surely, the predisposition of such genes would be to eliminate themselves over time...
I do not deny there may, in the future, be much of benefit to come from genetic research (I'm not a Barbarian), but we must break away from this crass technocratic reductionism; it is this after all, which appealed to the NSDAP 'eugenics' program, the banal notion that a genetic ideal could 'save' the nation (with of course the corresponding murder of the 'untermensch'.)
Space-Trotskyist