An estimated 1-1.5 million Americans live with autism, a neural disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication. Some research suggests environmental factors play a role in autism, while other findings point to a genetic basis. More recently there's been a heated public debate about whether autism is caused by the mercury in vaccines commonly given to children. In this podcast, Irva Hertz-Picciotto discusses the implications of research comparing blood mercury levels of autistic children with those of typically developing children. Hertz-Picciotto is an environmental epidemiologist with the Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (MIND) Institute at the University of California, Davis, and the first author of "Blood Mercury Concentrations in CHARGE Study Children with and without Autism." Visit the podcast webpage to download a full transcript of this podcast.