A blood test may help the diagnosis and treatment of depression
Snippets of RNA are the giveaways
MAJOR DEPRESSION is a serious illness, but also an elusive one. It wrecks lives and may drive people to suicide. It sometimes, though not always, alternates with periods of mania in a condition called bipolar disorder. And it is disturbingly common. Reliable figures are hard to come by, but in some parts of the world as many as one person in four experiences major depression at some point during their life.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Unlucky 13”
More from Science & technology
Are ice baths good for you?
They won’t hurt. Actually they might, a bit
Why carbon monoxide could appeal to the discerning doper
Professional cycling is debating whether to ban the poisonous gas
A sophisticated civilisation once flourished in the Amazon basin
How the Casarabe died out remains a mystery
Heritable Agriculture, a Google spinout, is bringing AI to crop breeding
By reducing the cost of breeding, the firm hopes to improve yields and other properties for an array of important crops
Could supersonic air travel make a comeback?
Boom Supersonic’s demonstrator jet exceeds Mach 1
Should you worry about microplastics?
Little is known about the effects on humans—but limiting exposure to them seems prudent