The sponsors of the largest clinical trial of a treatment for autism on 18 February revealed disheartening results: fluoxetine ― commonly marketed as the antidepressant Prozac ― is no more effective than placebo at reducing repetitive behaviors in children with autism.
Previous studies had suggested that people with autism benefit significantly from the drug. “Our push behind fluoxetine was made on the premise that the current data were predictive of a larger scale success, so we’d anticipated success,” says Mike Snape, chief scientific officer at Neuropharm which, together with the advocacy group Autism Speaks, co-sponsored the trial.
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In the 30 years since Louise Brown, the first ‘test-tube baby’, was born, fertility techniques have grown into a major industry, accounting for more than one percent of births in the U.S.
In the fall of 1979, after three months of living with a French family in the Loire Valley, 19-year-old 
In the 1970s, when animal scientist 
Kelly Gifford’s heart sank on a Friday morning in August 2006 when she checked her e-mail and no message popped up from her older sister, Linda. For decades, Linda, 42, had suffered from bipolar disorder, depression, and eating disorders, and had checked in and out of several rehabilitation clinics. Although she lived alone in Denver, 1,800 miles from Kelly and the rest of their family in Arlington, Virginia, the two sisters were close. On the previous Friday, Linda had admitted to Kelly that she had called a suicide hot line. Kelly talked to her constantly that weekend, begging her to call a doctor. When last they had spoken on Monday, Linda had assured Kelly that she was feeling much better. But now there was no word.
Every baby born in Denmark, within the first few days of life, receives a unique, 10-digit identification number. The babyʼs name and number become a part of the Danish Medical Birth Registry, a comprehensive electronic record of the birth details ― from birth weight and length to parents’ smoking habits ― established in 1968.
