A molecular mechanism that explains the development of autism remains enigmatic. Here, researchers from UCLA sequenced the DNA and RNA from patients with and without autism to catalog differences in RNA editing – a little-studied process where the RNA produced from our genes is edited to produce novel RNAs that differ from the DNA sequence from which they are derived. They identified thousands of edits that differed between normal people and patients afflicted with autism and identified two proteins – FMRP and FXR1P – that are involved in the editing. How does the activity of FMRP and FXR1P go awry in the autistic brain? Out of the thousands of abnormal RNA edits that were identified, which ones contribute to the development of autism? Finally, how to we use this information to develop new drugs to treat or prevent autism? RNA Editing in Autism