Thread

1. mlboss · 1789596855 · focus · HN ↗

   > Autism is genetic. You’re born autistic and you’re autistic for life. Most autistic people are autistic because of genes they got from their parents. This is why autism often runs in families. Much less commonly, other factors can play a role, but usually in combination with genes from parents. There isn’t a single ‘autism gene’. Thousands of genes combine to make a person autistic. Scientists have identified many of these genes, but they think there are still many more to find. And there is no genetic test for autism. We don't fully understand how genes combine to make a person autistic. It is complex and no simple test can give an accurate answer. Genetic testing cannot predict whether a child will be autistic or not, and it can’t be used to diagnose someone as autistic.

   Autism is genetic but we cannot do genetic testing and prove that you have autism. Seems like a very circular reasoning.

   1. jvwong · 1789610313 · focus · HN ↗

      Height has a strong genetic component, but there's no test for height.

      1. amszmidt · 1789625096 · focus · HN ↗

         There are ways to predict a child’s height as an adult that are very accurate.

         Most countries track growth curves, and ask parents about what their height is to correlate data with. One can also use bone age assessment.

         1. dns_snek · 1789632360 · focus · HN ↗

            But can you do it only having their DNA?

            1. jvwong · 1789658153 · focus · HN ↗

               Lemme try again: My LLM hallucinates paper citations. I have a strong suspicion that this results from the parameter regime. Is there a test for paper citation hallucination?

               1. dns_snek · 1789740503 · focus · HN ↗

                  I think we agree and you replied to the wrong comment here.

                  i.e. You can look at family history and determine that autism runs in families, and by controlling for environmental factors you can conclude that it's very likely to be genetic, yet you still don't have a genetic test for it.

                  Which is very different from measuring parents' heights and predicting the height of their child. Similarly you could look at 2 autistic adults and conclude that their child would almost certainly be autistic too.

         2. 7bit · 1789663593 · focus · HN ↗

            The comment you're replying to isn't talking about predictions now, isnt it?

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