Copy number variants (CNVs) account for a major proportion of human genetic diversity and may contribute to genetic susceptibility to disease. Here, a large, genome-wide study of association between common CNVs and eight common human diseases is presented. The study provides a wealth of technical insights that will inform future study design and analysis. The results also indicate that common CNVs that can be 'typed' on existing platforms are unlikely to contribute much to the genetic basis of common diseases

African sleeping sickness, caused by Trypanosoma brucei species, is responsible for some 30,000 human deaths each year. Available treatments are limited by poor efficacy and safety profiles. However, a new molecular target for potential treatments has now been identified. The protein target is T. bruceiN-myristoyltransferase. In further experiments, lead compounds have been discovered that inhibit this protein, kill trypanosomes in vitro and in vivo, and can cure trypanosomiasis in mice

Light beams can be engineered to carry orbital angular momentum, with application as, for instance, optical 'spanners' — essentially a 'twisted' variant of the more familiar optical tweezers. Here it is shown that it is, in principle, possible to engineer similar behaviour into an electron beam. Such a beam could find use in a variety of spectroscopy and microscopy techniques