(Newswire.net — August 11, 2016) — There are many theories as to why children become autistic, however, the exact cause of autism remains unknown. Using a self-learning algorithm, scientists have managed to identify hundreds of genes that might be responsible for autism.
Simons Foundation researchers and scientists from the Princeton University developed a self-learning software, that can search and match genome combinations. The software is using an algorithm that is very similar to the one Facebook uses to find friends, Russia Today refers to an article published August 1 in the Nature Neuroscience journal.
Prior to this study there were only 65 autism-risk genes known. Researchers now estimate that between “400 to 1,000 genes underpin the complex neurodevelopmental disorder”.
Autism is a mysterious and difficult disorder that can manifest itself in a myriad of ways, ranging from social awkwardness to the inability to be self-sufficient. Prior to the study, there were only 65 autism-risk genes known. Scientists believe that there are about 2500 genes that contribute to autism, and it is only a matter of time until all of them are identified.
“Geneticists can now focus on the top-ranked autism-risk gene predictions from our machine-learning program,” Arjun Krishnan, an associate research scholar at Princeton’s Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics said in a statement.
“…both to direct future genome sequencing studies and to prioritize individual genes for experimental studies,” Krishnan added.
Given that there are approximately 25,000 genes in the human body, 10% of them in correlation with autism is a quite discovery.
The system, which is similar to Facebook’s algorithm, was used to find gene correlation and could be the key in identifying other diseases.