Using baby teeth as a novel biomarker of early life environmental exposure, researchers from the Lautenberg Environmental Health Science Lab and the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai found that differences in the uptake of multiple toxic and essential elements over the second and third trimesters and early postnatal periods have an impact on the risk of developing autism spectrum disorders (ASD), according to a study published inNature. The critical developmental windows for the observed discrepancies varied for each element, suggesting that systemic elemental dysregulation may serve an important role in ASD.