The woman who thinks like a cow is Temple Grandin. Dr. Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and a leading researcher in the area of animal behavior. She's also the world's most famous autistic person. Autism is a developmental neural disorder, typically manifesting itself before the age of three and usually resulting in an impairment of communciative abilities and social interactions. Autistic individuals often demonstrate restricted and repeated behaviors. Dr. Grandin has shown remarkable insight into animal behavior, and believes that her autism enables her to more fully understand the neural processes of the animals with which she works.

Autism seems to have a genetic basis, although the inheritance of the disorder is not well understood. You've probably heard a little about the controversy surrounding autism and things like pesticides and vaccines. Thus far, though, there is little scientific evidence to suggest a link between autism and environmental agents. There has been some progress, however, in getting at the real causes of the disorder. A new study published in Nature Neuroscience has uncovered evidence that faulty neural connections in the region of the brain functioning in social cognition may lead to autism. The activation of a molecular pathway known as mTOR seems to be involved. This suggests a possible treatment, since drugs inhibiting mTOR are already FDA approved. Keep an eye on this.

By the way, if you think that Temple Grandin sounds like an interesting character, you might be interested in the upcoming movie based on her life. It's set to premiere on HBO on February 6th, with Claire Danes playing Dr. Grandin. Long way from "My So-Called Life."