Schizophrenia is a severe and complex psychiatric illness that affects about 1% of the population. Diagnosis currently relies on subjective clinical interviews and the assessment of ambiguous symptoms, which frequently leads to delayed diagnosis and treatment. As such, biomarkers that would indicate schizophrenia risk or onset would be extremely useful.

A protein found in immune cells may be a reliable marker for schizophrenia risk, say researchers behind a new proteomics study.

Sabine Bahn and colleagues sought to find such a "protein fingerprint" in the blood (due to its accessibility). They compared protein profiles of schizophrenia patients and controls using mass spectrometry and identified two peaks highlighting a significant change. These were identified as alpha defensins, proteins responsible for killing microbes and viruses in the innate immune response.

Scientists have long been fascinated by structure of bone. Bone is very light but can withstand heavy pressure and he inside is like a sponge so bone is firm and compact in certain places and porous in others.

The construction industry would love to have materials like bone. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research have developed a simulation program that calculates the internal structure and density distribution of bone material and, from that, the scientists were able to derive the material structure for other components. The program simulates how the structure needs to be built in order to meet the specified requirements.

False-positive results are an inherent risk in cancer research, particularly in observational epidemiology studies. The frequency and impact of misleading results can be mitigated if researchers use more exacting standards when interpreting and reporting results, according to a commentary in the July 8 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Additionally, the impact of false-positive results could be lessened if the researchers and other stakeholders, including journal editors, the media, and consumers, evaluated the results with a more critical eye.

In other words, skepticism remains your friend in just about everything.

What constitutes valid therapy? It depends on who you ask. Some will say that if a treatment works, it is valid. This is why there might be those who regret the unemployment of Tribal Shamen or magic amulet manufacturers - they were associated with success just often enough to stay in business.

Art makes many people feel better, as does music or Boggle, but is it valid therapy or just a happy coincidence?

Elizaberta López Pérez, a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Doctor in Painting at the University of Granada, has carried out a study on the use of art therapy for the treatment of acute mentally ill people. Her work, based on psychoanalysis principles, starts with a basic premise: A work of art is a sign formed as a vital trace and its essential material is the humanity of the human being who leaves his memory in the world.

Art therapy (or therapy through art), started in the middle of the 20th century and uses visual arts for therapeutic purposes. It is based on the idea that visual representations, objectified through plastic material, contribute to the construction of a meaning of the psychic conflicts, and can help with its resolution. Plastic representation would be, from this point of view, a process for thought construction.

Men bicycle frequently could be harming their health if they don't choose the right bicycle, according to consultant urological surgeon Vinod Nargund from St. Bartholomew's and Homerton Hospitals, London, in the urology journal BJU International.

He says problems include genital numbness, erection problems and soreness and skin irritations in the groin area. Men might also experience changes to their sperm function because of the excessive heat generated in the pelvic area.

No general link between cycling and male infertility has been established, but it is still recognised as a possible side effect and has been noted in a number of male cyclists.

Depression is the most important single factor predisposing to suicide, and more than half of all subjects completing suicide are known to have suffered from depression. Unfortunately, depression is still often untreated or undertreated, even after a suicide attempt.

Antidepressive drugs represent the cornerstone of treatment of depressive patients but their role has become somewhat controversial over the last few years due to reports suggesting that antidepressants might, in a small subgroup of younger patients (recently estimated at 0.7% in clinical trials) actually worsen suicidal tendencies instead of alleviating them.