Genetic gatekeepers: regulating direct-to-consumer genomic services in an era of participatory medicine.

Should consumers be able to obtain information about their own bodies, even if it has no proven medical value? Direct-to-consumer ("DTC") genomic companies offer consumers two services: generation of the consumer's personal genetic sequence, and interpretation of that sequence in light of current research. Concerned that consumers will misunderstand genomic information and make ill-advised health decisions, regulators, legislators and scholars have advocated restricted access to DTC genomic services. The Food and Drug Administration, which has historically refrained from regulating most genetic tests, has announced its intent to treat DTC genomic services as medical devices because they make "medical claims.

Retrograde control of synaptic transmission by postsynaptic CaMKII at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction.

Retrograde signaling plays an important role in synaptic homeostasis, growth, and plasticity. A retrograde signal at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of Drosophila controls the homeostasis of neurotransmitter release. Here, we show that this retrograde signal is regulated by the postsynaptic activity of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII).