January 14, 2025
(Associated Press) – About a million Americans a year are expected to develop dementia by 2060, roughly double today’s toll, researchers reported Monday. That estimate is based on a new study that found a higher lifetime risk than previously thought: … Read More
January 13, 2025
(Bloomberg via Yahoo!) – Neuralink Corp.’s brain-computer device has been implanted in a third patient and the company has plans for about 20 to 30 more implants in 2025, founder Elon Musk said. “We’ve got now three humans with Neuralinks … Read More
January 13, 2025
(New York Times) – A provocative large study published last year in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that at least one-fourth of people who appear unresponsive actually are conscious enough to understand language. As a doctor who sometimes … Read More
January 13, 2025
(NPR) – If you want to get high in Texas, your options are almost limitless. This law-and-order state of guns, God and capital punishment is awash in cannabis. Today, Texas has more than 7,000 cannabis dispensaries, almost twice as many … Read More
January 13, 2025
(New York Times) – The number of people in the United States who develop dementia each year will double over the next 35 years to about one million annually by 2060, a new study estimates, and the number of new … Read More
January 9, 2025
(New York Times) – D.D.D. is often associated with a history of emotional abuse or neglect. The symptoms can be brought on by anxiety, depression, the resurfacing of early trauma, major life stressors, cannabis and hallucinogens like LSD, said Dr. … Read More
January 9, 2025
(New York Times) – He was a neuropsychiatrist who was studying consciousness when a patient explained what had happened to him, and he realized the phenomenon was real. In early 1988, the British neuropsychiatrist Peter Fenwick found himself drowning in … Read More
January 7, 2025
(The Conversation) – The use of neurotechnology in the workplace has global implications and high stakes. Advocates say neurotechnology can encourage economic growth and the betterment of society. Those against neurotechnology caution that it could fuel inequity and undermine democracy, … Read More
January 7, 2025
(The Atlantic) – When my father turned on his iPad again about a year after his seizure, he couldn’t find the Photoshop app because the logo had changed. Instagram, which now had Reels and a shopping tab, was unnavigable. Some … Read More
January 6, 2025
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics (vol. 33, no. 4, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
January 3, 2025
(MedPage Today) – Clinical practice recommendations cover both primary and specialty care A three-step process underscores new clinical practice guidelines for primary and specialty care clinicians to evaluate patients who may have cognitive impairment or dementia due to Alzheimer’s or … Read More
January 3, 2025
(KFF Health News) – The mix of stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines with fentanyl — a synthetic opioid 50 times as powerful as heroin — is driving what experts call the opioid epidemic’s “fourth wave.” The mixture of stimulants … Read More
December 31, 2024
(New York Times) – Early intervention tries to rein in psychotic disorders before they can ruin young lives. For Kevin Lopez, everything is on the line. An estimated 100,000 people experience a first episode of psychosis every year, roughly four … Read More
December 31, 2024
(NPR) – “Brain rot” is the Oxford word of the year for 2024, and it’s pretty much what it sounds like: a perceived mental decline from consuming too much online media. If just reading that definition has you worried about … Read More
December 31, 2024
(Wired) – Do “anti-hangover” supplements really work? With the sterling help of a UK rugby team, we raised a glass or five to find out. So on a cold and frosty Saturday night in December—with a crate of beer in … Read More
December 30, 2024
(The Hill) – A report from the Senate Intelligence Committee offers a critical look at the CIA’s handling of cases of unexplained health incidents, determining its approach hindered its ability to care for staff and alienated employees. The Friday report on … Read More
December 30, 2024
(New York Times) – The controversial medical diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome can send parents to jail. What if the symptoms are caused by something else? Even if parents who are accused challenge an abusive-head-trauma diagnosis with medical experts of … Read More
December 26, 2024
(NPR) – Whether it’s volunteering at a local food bank, or taking soup to a sick neighbor, there’s lots of evidence that when we help others, it can boost our own happiness and psychological well-being. But there’s also growing research … Read More
December 23, 2024
(New York Times) – There is no one factor that causes autism — or explains its growing prevalence. Researchers are seeking explanations for the surge. Here are some possibilities. Autism spectrum disorder, as it is officially called, is inherently wide-ranging, … Read More
December 23, 2024
(Knowable Magazine) – Neurologists have grappled with a cluster of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases in France, where a fondness for a toxic wild mushroom may hold the answer Well known to skiers and alpinistes, Montchavin also has grabbed the attention … Read More
December 20, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Gamblers Anonymous meetings are filling up with people hooked on trading and betting. Apps make it as easy as ordering takeout. Doctors and counselors say they are seeing more cases of compulsive gambling in financial markets, … Read More
December 19, 2024
(Science) – A brace of new studies probes benefits and risks for an understudied group Profound feelings of unity, transcendence, ineffability, and awe—as well as improved mental health. Those were among the testimonials in a recent survey of 233 people … Read More
December 19, 2024
(The Atlantic) – For people with developmental disabilities like Michael, however, using chatbots brings particular and profound risks. His parents and I were acutely afraid that he would lose track of what was fact and what was fiction. In the … Read More
December 17, 2024
(The Dispatch) – Christine Rosen’s new book shows how modern technology simply lacks an essential human touch. Would you choose to spend the rest of your life in the experience machine? When Nozick first asked this question to his students … Read More
December 17, 2024
(Wired) – The proliferation of open drug dealing on Instagram, Snapchat, and X—as well as on encrypted messaging platforms Telegram and WhatsApp—has transformed the fabric of illegal substance procurement, gradually making it more convenient, and arguably safer, for consumers, who … Read More