Hope of test for cot death

A BLOOD test to identify babies at risk of cot death could be possible after a scientific breakthrough.

Research on 61 victims found almost a third had unusually high levels of the brain chemical serotonin.

Experts, writing in journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, hope the result will eventually lead to a screening programme.

Dr Rosemary Higgins, of National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Maryland, said: “It is a very exciting finding.”