New research from scientists is helping piece together the missing genetics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

In a study published in Nature, researchers identified hundreds of new microexons — short gene segments that appear to play a key role in ASD and other neurological conditions — and developed a machine learning approach to predict the impact of ASD-associated genetic variants on the regulation of these segments.

“Autism is characterized by multifactorial genetics,” says the study’s co-senior.