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
December 17, 2024
(DNYUZ) – In the months since, the angst and depression triggered by his cancer diagnosis no longer hound him, Mr. Blechman said, and he has gained profound insights into aspects of his personality he believes negatively affected his relationships. “Psilocybin … Read More
December 16, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Many on Wall Street see Adderall and Vyvanse as tools to plow through long hours of tedious work amid high-pressure competition Images of Wall Street’s rank-and-file blowing cash on illegal drugs and nightlife are well known, … Read More
December 13, 2024
(ProPublica) – Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal. ProPublica has obtained what is … Read More
December 13, 2024
(Vox) – Here are three possible explanations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s preliminary data on the 12-month period ending in June showed that overdoses dropped about 15 percentage points from the previous period. There were still roughly 94,000 … Read More
December 12, 2024
(The New Yorker) – A new kind of prosthetic limb depends on carbon fibre and computer chips—and the reëngineering of muscles, tendons, and bone. Surgeons traditionally sew down residual muscles when they amputate a limb. There are good reasons for … Read More
December 12, 2024
(Knowable Magazine) – Short sleepers cruise by on four to six hours a night and don’t seem to suffer ill effects. Turns out they’re genetically built to require less sleep than the rest of us. Everyone has heard that it’s … Read More
December 11, 2024
(New York Times) – Over the last 20 years, clinicians have increasingly recognized that A.D.H.D. symptoms, which begin in childhood, can linger into adulthood, and that some groups — like women and people of color — are more likely to … Read More
December 11, 2024
(CBS News) – In his newest special, which was just released on Netflix, Foxx said that he had experienced a brain bleed that led to a stroke. He said he was in a coma for 20 days, and his condition was … Read More
December 11, 2024
(Aftermath) – Embodied, maker of the AI robot called Moxie, is shuttering. With their closing, parents have to explain to their kids that Moxie is dead. AI company Embodied announced this week that they would be shutting down following financial … Read More
December 11, 2024
(CBC News) – As involuntary treatment gains political traction in Canada, CBC News goes to Washington state to find out how it can help — and what can go wrong CBC News went inside an involuntary treatment facility near Seattle … Read More
December 10, 2024
(Nature) – Researchers call on technology companies to test their systems for consciousness and create AI welfare policies. The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought to the fore ethical questions that were once confined to the realms of … Read More
December 10, 2024
(Wired) – Simple external cues, such as lines on the floor, can help Parkinson’s patients focus their efforts and overcome the difficulty of the symptoms. With augmented reality, those cues can be anywhere. The technique, called external cueing, works by … Read More
December 9, 2024
(The Washington Post) – Why would these drugs help with addictions to alcohol and drugs? “I really don’t think we know yet,” Lähteenvuo said, though he noted that some primate studies have pointed to GLP-1 drugs affecting dopamine in the … Read More
December 6, 2024
(Reuters via U.S. News & World Report) – An animal testing laboratory at Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain technology company was found to have “objectionable conditions or practices” by the Food and Drug Administration, which cited the company and urged it … Read More
December 4, 2024
(UPI via MSN) – In 2006, Wolfgang Jäger was in his 30s when a skiing accident left the young Austrian wheelchair-bound from a spinal cord injury. Fast-forward to today, where an innovative deep-brain stimulation technique is helping the 54-year-old Jäger … Read More
December 4, 2024
(The Verge) – The month before, Italian regulators had banned the company for posing a risk to minors and emotionally vulnerable users. In response, Replika placed filters on erotic content, which had the effect of sending many of its quarter-million … Read More
December 3, 2024
(Gizmodo) – The specialized ink could eventually replace clunky EEG wires and “potentially revolutionize” brain-computer interface devices. The future of diagnostic medicine is gearing up to look a bit more cyberpunk. Scientists have just unveiled technology that should allow people … Read More
December 2, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – America’s drug crisis has many survivors. Jerry Schlesinger, 72, is among the longest tenured. He tried heroin at 15. Today, he has been sober for two years. In between, decades of illicit drug use wrecked his … Read More
November 27, 2024
(Los Angeles Times) – Neuroscientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla have identified a brain pathway that instantly deflates anxiety. The new study, which published earlier this week in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience, lays out … Read More
November 27, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Edward Scolnick led the development of dozens of medicines while at Merck; his current mission pits him against time and the mental illness of millions, including his son Dr. Edward Scolnick figures he needs five, maybe … Read More
November 26, 2024
(Medscape) – Less than a decade ago, the use of wearable devices in Parkinson’s disease (PD) was considered futuristic. Today, there’s an array of innovative tools from commercial activity trackers to tremor suppression gloves and laser-guided walking sticks to help … Read More
