With its promises of improved diagnostic and treatment outcomes for arthritis, breast cancer, and other conditions, genetic testing is on a trajectory to becoming a mainstay of the healthcare system.

Polar body diagnosis can make artificial fertilization more successful, according to Katrin and Hans van der Ven and Markus Montag of Bonn University Clinic, writing in the current edition of Deutsches Дrzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2008; 105[11]: 190-6).

Direct-to-consumer advertising for commercial genetic testing is on the rise and may be problematic, according to a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physician. In the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Erin Tracy, MD, MPH, warns that such testing is poorly regulated and may present potential pitfalls for patients and physicians.

Although many people rely on commercially available genetic tests for insights into their ancestry, the tests have significant limitations according to Deborah Bolnick, assistant professor of anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin.

NeuroMark, a Boulder, Colorado company, announced today the immediate availability of a genetic test to identify people at risk of suicidal ideation—thoughts of committing suicide—when prescribed an antidepressant drug.

Not everyone needs a genetic test before taking the cancer drug irinotecan, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should modify its prescription guidelines to say so, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A new test announced to tell parents the sex of their future child just six weeks into pregnancy is not believed to be reliable and could open a Pandora's Box of ethical issues.