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Bangalore-based Rashmi Vasudeva's journalism has appeared in many Indian and international publications over the past decade. A features writer with over nine years of experience heading a health and fitness supplement in a mainstream Indian newspaper, her niche areas include health, wellness, fitness, food, nutrition and Indian classical Arts.
Her articles have appeared in various publications including Mint-Wall Street Journal, The Hindu, Deccan Herald (mainstream South Indian newspaper), Smart Life (Health magazine from the Malayala Manorama Group of publications), YourStory (India's media technology platform for entrepreneurs), Avantika (a noir arts and theatre magazine), ZDF (a German public broadcasting company) and others.
In 2006, she was awarded the British Print-Chevening scholarship to pursue a short-term course in new-age journalism at the University of Westminster, U.K. With a double Masters in Globalisation and Media Studies from Aarhus Universitet (Denmark), University of Amsterdam and Swansea University in Wales, U.K., she has also dabbled in academics, travel writing and socio-cultural studies. Mother to a frisky toddler, she hums 'wheels on the bus' while working and keeps a beady eye on the aforementioned toddler's antics.
What Causes Autism? Could Epigenetics Provide The Answers?
Autism is now treated with respect, the kind that epidemic diseases get. Till recently a ‘first world’ syndrome, autism today arguably stands first in the list of misunderstood and misdiagnosed conditions. It is also a 'fancy' social media favorite. This exalted status has spawned several theories (mostly unfounded) about its causes and its so-called steady rise — the most popular one being of course that autism is caused by vaccination.
Experts disagree. They mostly attribute the ‘rise’ in autism rates to increased awareness, better access and an expanded spectrum.
But this is relatively old news. This article is interesting because it expostulates how a spate of new research is investigating its causes. Sniffing out the whys of autism is a daunting task, especially because of its diversity; a range that includes physical ailments, neurological disabilities as well as 'gifts'. There is a wonderful quote in the article attributed to many clinicians, which covers the autism spectrum perfectly: “If you have met one child with autism, you have met one child with autism.”
As for the causes, it reiterates what is pretty much becoming an obvious cause for several 'modern' ailments today: epigenetic factors. Epigenetics is complex and involves the influence of the environment on proteins and other molecules, thus affecting the way genes express themselves. 'Environment' is used loosely here and can include everything from nutrition to diet to the air we breathe. For instance, 'environmental factors' could be pollutants in the air, a lack of folic acid in the mother's diet or even pre-natal exposure to pesticides.
For scientists exploring autism, this is just the beginning of an exciting adventure. Though most agree that both genetics and environment play a role, how these two agents interact with each other, which plays upon the other and what increases risks are all open questions. And as this lucid piece makes it clear, open questions is progress, however slow.
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