American researchers have found that variations  in a single gene can be used to predict if someone is likely to take their own life. Researchers at John Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, found that the gene SKA2 stopped functioning correctly in people at risk of suicide. The SKA2 gene is found in the prefrontal cortex  of the brain, and is involved in preventing negative thoughts and controlling abnormal behavior. If there isn't enough SKA2, or it is changed in some way, the body cannot control levels of cortisol  . Previous research has shown that people who attempt suicide or who take their own lives have large amounts of cortisol in their systems. A test could allow doctors or psychologists to place patients on "suicide watch" and disable their access to drugs or equipment which they could use to end their own life. The research was reported in The American Journal of Psychology. "We need to study this in a larger sample but we believe that we might be able to monitor the blood to identify those at risk of suicide. After all, suicide is a major preventable public health problem, but we have been stymied  in our prevention efforts because we have no steady way to predict those who are at increased risk of killing themselves," says study leader Dr Zachary Kaminsky, an assistant professor of psychological and behavioral sciences. "With a test like ours, we may be able to cut down suicide rates by identifying those people and intervening early enough to head off a catastrophe ." The blood test managed to predict those with the most severe risk of suicide with 90 per cent accuracy. They could also spot if someone had already attempted suicide with 96 per cent accuracy, simply by looking at the levels of SKA2. What is the author's attitude towards the blood test research?
Doubtful. Passive. Cautious. Objective.