News & Views |
Featured
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News |
Test measures spark of consciousness
Researchers distinguish between vegetative and minimally conscious states.
- Amber Dance
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News |
DNA mismatch reveals organ rejection
A test that spots donor DNA in a transplant recipient's bloodstream could replace invasive biopsies.
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Research Highlights |
Prenatal test for Down's syndrome
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News Explainer |
Brain damage on the playing field
Suicide of American-football player reignites debate about sport's part in a neurodegenerative disease.
- Cassandra Willyard
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News |
CJD diagnosis just got easier
Test for Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease raises hopes of speedier diagnosis.
- Tiffany O'Callaghan
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Comment |
Get ready for the flood of fetal gene screening
Regulators, doctors and patients need to prepare for the ethical, legal and practical effects of sequencing fetal genomes from mothers' blood, says Henry T. Greely.
- Henry T. Greely
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News |
Report supports embryo genetic tests in Germany
National academy recommends legalizing tests where there is risk of serious incurable disease.
- Alison Abbott
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Editorial |
First do no harm
Simple tools to diagnose mental illness should not be offered without sound supporting evidence.
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News |
People prove impervious to anxiety from genetic tests
The results of direct-to-consumer tests relating to the risk of developing diseases seem easy to swallow.
- Cassandra Willyard
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News |
Alzheimer's blood test 'most accurate' so far
The blood of patients with the brain disease contains antibodies not found in healthy people.
- Ewen Callaway
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Technology Feature |
Interactome under construction
Developing techniques are helping researchers to build the protein interaction networks that underlie all cell functions.
- Laura Bonetta
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News |
Baby's genome hidden in mother's blood
A complete fetal genome can be deduced from maternal DNA.
- Ewen Callaway
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Editorial |
Combating schizophrenia
Research has revealed daunting complexities in the psychiatric condition, but also new routes towards diagnosis and treatment.
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Books & Arts |
In retrospect: The five lives of the psychiatry manual
Roy Richard Grinker describes the military origins of the key reference work for diagnosing mental illness.
- Roy Richard Grinker
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News |
China tackles surge in mental illness
Psychological examinations to be added to selection procedure for government officials.
- David Cyranoski
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News |
Cancer-gene testing ramps up
Thousands to get personalized medicine in Britain's National Health Service.
- Ewen Callaway
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News |
US clinics quietly embrace whole-genome sequencing
Physicians are turning to genomic tools to diagnose puzzling conditions.
- Brendan Borrell
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News |
Superfast TB test slashes waiting time
Infection with tuberculosis can be diagnosed easily and accurately in less than two hours.
- Apoorva Mandavilli
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Opinion |
Which way for genetic-test regulation? Leave test interpretation to specialists
Although largely unregulated, genetic tests are increasingly used to diagnose conditions, map ancestry or predict disease risk. In this, the first of two related pieces, Arthur L. Beaudet advocates the US Food and Drug Administration banning direct-to-consumer medical tests but leaving the analysis of clinical diagnostics to specialists. In the second, Gail Javitt argues that the agency should implement a regulatory framework for all health-related tests.
- Arthur L. Beaudet
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Opinion |
Which way for genetic-test regulation? Assign regulation appropriate to the level of risk
Although largely unregulated, genetic tests are increasingly used to diagnose conditions, map ancestry or predict disease risk. In this, the second of two related pieces, Gail Javitt argues that the US Food and Drug Administration should implement a regulatory framework for all health-related tests. In the first, Arthur L. Beaudet advocates the agency banning direct-to-consumer medical tests but leaving the analysis of clinical diagnostics to specialists.
- Gail Javitt
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News |
Forensic science braces for change
FBI laboratory chief is optimistic despite severe criticism and challenges ahead.
- Laura Spinney
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Article |
Anti-diabetic drugs inhibit obesity-linked phosphorylation of PPARγ by Cdk5
PPARγ ligands are used to control diabetes, but their anti-diabetic actions are puzzling. Here the authors show that phosphorylation of PPARγ by cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) in mice is linked to obesity induced by high-fat feeding, and that inhibition of the effect in humans by the drug rosiglitazone is closely associated with its anti-diabetic effects. Several anti-diabetic PPARγ ligands directly inhibit the effect, and thus support a more normal non-diabetic pattern of gene expression.
- Jang Hyun Choi
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News |
A speech screen for autism?
Automated analysis of audio recordings could accelerate language research.
- Janelle Weaver
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Research Highlights |
Cancer genomics: Prognostic sign
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News |
Mice pull pained expressions
Animal and human faces display similar responses to suffering.
- Janelle Weaver
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News |
Changes proposed to key psychiatry manual
Controversial revision alters diagnostic definitions.
- Heidi Ledford
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Research Highlights |
Evolutionary biology: Sperm signals
How common is autism?
Cells of origin in cancer