The largest federal study to date into the causes of autism was announced Friday — a multi-state investigation that will involve 2,700 young children.

The new study will recruit 900 children diagnosed with autism, 900 with undefined or other developmental problems, and 900 randomly selected youngsters. The CDC and five other research centers will study the youngsters over five years. The research is designed to ferret out any genetic and environmental factors that may contribute to autism.

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