Now that the end of the year is approaching, I have the opportunity to look backwards and examine the cumulus of work within our blog site. In all more than 100 blogs have been written, focusing on the science of autism. The same can be considered biased, written from my perspective, and taking advantage that I had the liberty to expand on original ideas and opinions in a way not otherwise possible in a peer reviewed journal. So now and for the end of the year I will take still another liberty, that is, re-blogging some of my favorite writings.

The first blog that I wrote remains very popular. It is a criticism to the indiscriminate use of animal models in autism. There is a veritable zoo of animals being used in research with little more than scant behavioral observations to validate their usefulness. In 2013 mice with allergies made the list of animal models of autism. Do you have a zebrafish at home? According to their circling behavior, they may be exhibiting autistic tendencies. And where would we be if we did not include the fruit fly among our animal models? The authors of the study called their model novel, others would call it useless. However, the first prize among new animal models for autism goes to the……………… (drums rolling on the background)…………………. tadpole!

Well, now sit back relax, read our first blog, and let me know your opinions.

Have a Blessed Holiday Season.

Manuel