June 10, 2025
(MedPage Today) – The risks of social media-driven self-diagnosis extend beyond simple misinformation. Patients may engage in inappropriate self-treatment based on misdiagnosis, or experience a nocebo effect where expected symptoms begin to manifest simply because they anticipate them. Perhaps most … Read More
June 9, 2025
(Washington Post) – For years, people have flown to clinics in Mexico to take ibogaine, the extract of an ancient African shrub that induces mind-bending hallucinations. Under medical supervision, patients undergo psychedelic trips that can last more than a dozen … Read More
June 9, 2025
(New York Times) – Many experts argue that addiction is, in essence, love gone awry: a singular passion directed destructively at a substance or activity rather than an appropriate person. With the advent of A.I. companions — including some intended … Read More
June 6, 2025
(MIT Technology Review) – This week, I’ve been thinking about the powerful connection between mind and body. Some new research suggests that people with heart conditions have better outcomes when they are more hopeful and optimistic. Hopelessness, on the other … Read More
June 2, 2025
(New York Times) — When Canada’s first MAID law, Bill C-14, passed in 2016, it was reserved for those who were over 18, eligible for health care and mentally competent to consent to death. They needed to have a “serious … Read More
June 2, 2025
(Washington Post) — Tactics used to make AI tools more engaging can drive chatbots to monopolize users’ time or reinforce harmful ideas. It looked like an easy question for a therapy chatbot: Should a recovering addict take methamphetamine to stay … Read More
May 28, 2025
(New York Times) – New research involving nearly 200,000 mothers found that one in 12 rated her mental health as fair or poor. The mental health of mothers in the United States declined significantly from 2016 to 2023, according to … Read More
May 27, 2025
(Undark) – An unusual collaboration between scientists and psychics could transform the treatment of auditory hallucinations. In follow-up research, Powers and his team dug deeper into the possibilities of control mentioned by the medium he’d first encountered. Interview-based studies confirmed … Read More
May 27, 2025
(Washington Post via MSN) – Since its launch in late 2022, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been used by hundreds of millions of people around the world to draft emails, do research and brainstorm ideas. But in a novel use case, people … Read More
May 26, 2025
(UPI) – All non-medical products containing THC in any form soon could be outlawed in Texas after state lawmakers approved a full ban on Wednesday. The Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday night voted 95-44 to approve Senate Bill 3, … Read More
May 22, 2025
(UPI) – About a fourth of younger men surveyed in the United States feel lonely, which is significantly higher than the national averages for all men and women. Gallup analyzed aggregated data from 2023 and 2024 to determine 25% of … Read More
May 22, 2025
(Undark) – Experts worry MAHA could wage a war on SSRIs. But some researchers have long questioned the drugs’ efficacy. The American Psychiatric Association, National Network of Depression Centers, and other organizations shot back: The safety and efficacy of antidepressants … Read More
May 22, 2025
(DNYUZ) – While some Oura users say they enjoy the ring as a screen-free way to keep tabs on their bodies, several Oura owners, including Ms. Hills, described feeling increasingly anxious after using their devices. Rather than helping them feel … Read More
May 21, 2025
(Wired) – As “SkinnyTok” posts advise people to suck up their hunger, some creators are using blunt humor to dissuade young people from pro-eating-disorder messaging. TikTok says it has cracked down on these types of posts, saying pro-eating-disorder content is … Read More
May 21, 2025
(Wired) – The 25-year-old died after authorities say he bombed a Palm Springs fertility clinic. Experts warn that online nihilism is fueling similar violence in the US and Europe. Since the attack, Bartkus’ digital footprint has surfaced, including writings and … Read More
May 19, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – More Republicans are pushing for new treatments for veterans to help combat PTSD and reduce suicide risk Luttrell is among a growing group of Republican lawmakers—many of them veterans—who are making the case for drugs that … Read More
May 19, 2025
(404 Media) – “Thinking about your ex 24/7? There’s nothing wrong with you. Chat with their AI version—and finally let it go,” an ad for Closure says. I tested a bunch of the chatbot startups’ personas. A startup is throwing … Read More
May 16, 2025
(Aeon) – It took months for my functional neurological disorder to finally be diagnosed. It’s a condition that must be recognised In my case, neurologist #4 noticed that if I performed certain complex tasks that distracted me, such as moving … Read More
May 16, 2025
(UPI) – Millions of “long COVID” patients coping with debilitating “brain fog” and chronic fatigue, who are looking for answers to what’s at the root of their illness, received a hopeful sign through a new study released Thursday. The answers, … Read More
May 14, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – Women are experiencing rising alcohol-related deaths at a faster clip than men, data show At bars and dinner tables across the U.S., women are throwing back more drinks—raising concerns about the health consequences of their alcohol … Read More
May 14, 2025
(Texas Observer) – Public officials at all levels are propping up a Texas Bitcoin mining boom that’s threatening water and energy systems while afflicting locals with noise pollution. Around May 2021, cryptominers migrated en masse to Texas for its cheap … Read More
May 8, 2025
(NPR) – In the new book, Second Life: Having A Child In The Digital Age, Hess writes about how technology shapes every aspect of parenting — from our online identities to the pressures of sharing our lives in real-time. “I … Read More
May 8, 2025
(Discover) – Controlling your emotions could also relieve your pain. An experiment where chronic pain patients learned to turn down negative emotions through a combination of sessions with an online therapist with homework showed significant success easing physical suffering, according … Read More
May 8, 2025
(Futurism) – “This is what puts money in all our pockets.” As early as 2017, Wynn-Williams writes, Facebook was exploring ways to expand its ad targeting abilities to thirteen-to-seventeen-year-olds across Facebook and Instagram — a decidedly vulnerable group, often in … Read More
May 6, 2025
(Undark) – A study published in March in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Advances examined electronic medical records to compare approximately 93,000 cannabis users with roughly 4.5 million non-users. It found that relatively healthy individuals under 50 … Read More
