March 23, 2026
(MIT Technology Review) – Placebo and “knowcebo” effects are a problem. But they can also help people feel better. Over the last decade, we’ve seen scientific interest in these drugs explode. But most clinical trials of psychedelics have been small … Read More
March 18, 2026
(NPR) – The treatment in question is leucovorin, a derivative of vitamin B9 — also called folinic acid — that is commonly used during cancer treatment. Federal officials said it could help treat a rare brain condition called cerebral folate … Read More
March 17, 2026
(The Atlantic) – Welcome to the golden age of gray-market drugs. Vyleesi has never been approved for men. Some clinics advertise that they’ll prescribe the drug to men off-label, but even that is often not necessary for men to get … Read More
March 4, 2026
(Retraction Watch) – A Canadian journal has issued corrections on 138 case reports it published over the last 25 years to add a disclaimer: The cases described are fictional. Paediatrics & Child Health, the journal of the Canadian Paediatric Society, … Read More
March 4, 2026
(PBS) – Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and reproduced in labs to enable … Read More
March 2, 2026
(MIT Technology Review) – Now, scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz are taking lab-grown mini-brains into their toddler era, after demonstrating that brain organoids can process information in real time. In a remarkable breakthrough published in the journal … Read More
February 25, 2026
(Nature) – The country is facing a coming wave of dementia for its ageing population, and is investing in research into drugs, diagnostics and even surgery to prepare itself. The Chinese government has responded with programmes and funding that are … Read More
February 24, 2026
(Knowable Magazine) – In the lab, animals live longer on less of the stuff. How could this be, and what does it mean for human aging? Protein dominates the grocery shelves: Protein chips. Protein cookies. Protein water. It’s in the … Read More
February 6, 2026
(The Transmitter) – A reanalysis of the data revealed errors and failed to replicate the results. The largest study to date of leucovorin’s effectiveness for treating autism traits has been retracted because of data inconsistencies and statistical issues, according to … Read More
February 4, 2026
(Nature) – Hindering studies involving fetal tissue will impede the development of the alternatives intended to replace it, while slowing the search for new medicines. “This decision is about advancing science by investing in breakthrough technologies more capable of modeling … Read More
January 29, 2026
(IB Times) – Elon Musk has unveiled new developments at Neuralink, outlining a more powerful brain implant and signalling that a vision-restoring device is nearing human trials. The announcement was made during recent public discussions and amplified across X, as … Read More
January 28, 2026
(Undark) – The goal, said Cowan, is to develop AI systems that can increase efficiency and scale up the production of science. And other companies like Sakana AI have indicated a belief that AI scientists are unlikely to replace human … Read More
January 26, 2026
(Wired) – More and more Chinese adoptees in the US are trying to reunite with their birth parents. For Youxue, it took more than a decade, and a remarkable coincidence. Decades earlier, the conditions that shaped this family’s life were … Read More
January 23, 2026
(Nature) – After turning off ChatGPT’s ‘data consent’ option, Marcel Bucher lost the work behind grant applications, teaching materials and publication drafts. Here’s what happened next. We are increasingly being encouraged to integrate generative AI into research and teaching. Individuals … Read More
January 22, 2026
(New York Times) – He Jiankui spent three years in prison after creating gene-edited babies. Now back at work, he sees a greater opening for researchers who push boundaries. For creating the world’s first genetically edited babies, He Jiankui has … Read More
January 14, 2026
(Washington Post via MSN) – Therapies that target genetic illnesses at their root are no longer on the horizon. They are here. More are coming. But even as a growing suite of gene therapy tools are changing individual patients’ lives, … Read More
January 8, 2026
(New York Times) – NASA will bring a crew of four astronauts home from the International Space Station before its scheduled return because of a “controlled medical evacuation,” agency officials said on Thursday. During the 25-year history of the space … Read More
January 6, 2026
The New England Journal of Medicine (vol. 393, no. 23, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
January 5, 2026
(Wired) – Innovative research into the gene-editing tool targets influenza’s ability to replicate—stopping it in its tracks. As he addressed an audience of virologists from China, Australia, and Singapore at October’s Pandemic Research Alliance Symposium, Wei Zhao introduced an eye-catching … Read More
January 5, 2026
(NPR) – Research on conditions like autism, schizophrenia and even brain cancer increasingly relies on clusters of human cells called brain organoids. These pea-size bits of neural tissue model aspects of human brain development as they grow for months and … Read More
January 2, 2026
(NPR) – Organoids are bits of neural tissue that model human brain development. Their use in science makes some uneasy, in part because the brain is so closely tied to our sense of self. (Read More or Listen Here)
January 2, 2026
(Reuters via MSN) – Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink will start “high-volume production” of brain-computer interface devices and move to an entirely automated surgical procedure in 2026, Musk said in a post on the social media platform X on … Read More
December 31, 2025
BMC Medical Ethics has new articles available online. Articles include:
December 23, 2025
(AP) – The Trump administration has awarded a $1.6 million, no-bid contract to a Danish university to study hepatitis B vaccinations on newborns in Africa that is raising ethical concerns. The unusual contract was awarded to scientists who have been … Read More
December 23, 2025
(MIT Technology Review) – In three papers published this week by Cell Press, scientists are reporting what they call the most accurate efforts yet to mimic the first moments of pregnancy in the lab. They’ve taken human embryos from IVF … Read More
