This week, The National – the nightly news program of Canada’s CBC network – spotlights the Autism Speaks MSSNG project, the world’s largest open-access genomic database on autism. MSSNG is producing ground-breaking discoveries into the causes and biology of autism, while providing meaningful information for families.
In the 15-minute segment – “Study Aims to Crack Autism Code” – we meet two families profoundly affected by their participation in MSSNG. They describe how the results of their genome sequencing give them perspective and hope for their children’s future.
The segment also features geneticists Mat Pletcher, Autism Speaks’ interim chief science officer and vice president for genomic discovery, and Steve Scherer, MSSNG research director and head of the Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children, in Toronto.