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While John Donvan kept his streak as an autism specialist alive on ABC's A Closer Look (11 of the 39 reports filed on the disease since November 2006 in Tyndall Report's database have been by him), CBS welcomed Jennifer Ashton--a new face on the Evening News and a physician. Both Ashton and Donvan told us about the latest DNA research into patients with autism. A genetic mutation has been isolated that alters brain chemistry. ABC's Donvan reported that the change caused by the genes occurs in the brain's frontal lobes. CBS' Ashton explained that it "disrupts synapses" that control "complex social behaviors" such as language and facial gestures. "Often there is an environmental trigger as well," she noted, pointing out that the genetic marker is found in only two-thirds of autistic patients. She did not tell us how frequently the same gene is found in the non-autistic population.
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