Doctors just developed the most accurate test yet for Down's syndrome

Ultrasound.
(Image credit: iStock)

British doctors have discovered a new procedure to test for Down's syndrome in pregnancies that is far more accurate than conventional testing, The Guardian reported Wednesday. One doctor involved in the study, which uses advanced DNA analysis to detect abnormalities, called it "transformational."

In the 14-month-long study, the new procedure, called reflex DNA screening, had a 95 percent detection rate for Down's syndrome and two other rare genetic disorders, compared to 81 percent with conventional testing. Like conventional testing, reflex DNA testing uses a combination of a blood test, an ultrasound scan, and the mother's age to first determine the risk of a given pregnancy.

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Kelly O'Meara Morales

Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.