(TIME.com) -- Earlier detection of autism, relying on markers in
the blood, may help more children to take advantage of helpful
behavioral therapies. Diagnosing autism currently requires hours
of observation by clinicians and a far from objective series of
behavioral measures, but improvements in genetic testing could
make the process more efficient. In a study published in the
journal PLOS ONE, researchers from Children's Hospital Boston
describe a new experimental test to detect the developmental
disorder, based on the differences in gene expression between
kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those without the
condition. The blood-based test appears to predict autism
relatively accurately, at least among boys, and has already been
licensed to a company, SynapDx, for commercial development. In
an e-mail statement to TIME, a spokeswoman for SynapDx said the
company plans to start clinical trials of the new test in early
2013. The new blood test for autism is intriguing, researchers
say, because it se