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A trawl through a library of more than 50,000 ‘small molecules’ has identified a potential candidate to inhibit the spread of cancer cells throughout the body. Reported today in the journal Nature Communications, the molecule targets a mechanism of tumour development that had previously been considered ‘undruggable’– in other words, extremely difficult, if not impossible, to target with a drug – and could open the door to further promising new candidates.

Scientists in Cambridge have found hidden signatures in the brains of people in a vegetative state, which point to networks that could support consciousness even when a patient appears to be unconscious and unresponsive. ̽»¨Ö±²¥study could help doctors identify patients who are aware despite being unable to communicate.

Children with high everyday levels of a protein released into the blood in response to infection are at greater risk of developing depression and psychosis in adulthood, according to new research which suggests a role for the immune system in mental illness.

̽»¨Ö±²¥largest ever psychological study of sex differences in adults with autism has found that both males and females with autism on average show an extreme of the typical male mind, where systemising (the drive to look for underlying rules in a system) is stronger than empathising (the ability to recognize the thoughts and feelings of others and to respond to these with appropriate emotions).