May 19, 2025
(Ars Technica) – Google’s DeepMind research division claims its newest AI agent marks a significant step toward using the technology to tackle big problems in math and science. The system, known as AlphaEvolve, is based on the company’s Gemini large … Read More
May 19, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – The underlying architecture of AI models can simulate intelligence by memorizing endless lists of rules. But our tech columnist Christopher Mims says “thinking” is way more complicated than that. Plus, personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen answers … Read More
May 19, 2025
(New York Times) – The explosion on Saturday morning, which occurred in or near a vehicle less than a mile from downtown Palm Springs, Calif., was “an intentional act of terrorism,” the F.B.I. said. Mr. Davis said that the bureau … Read More
May 19, 2025
(Axios) – The FDA on Friday cleared the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, potentially paving the way for earlier detection and treatment of the dreaded neurological condition. Why it matters: The test, developed by Fujirebio, is a … Read More
May 19, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer just months after he left office, his representatives said Sunday. Biden received the diagnosis of prostate cancer with metastasis to the bone after he was experiencing … Read More
May 19, 2025
(BBC) – Sharing a dirty cell with a dozen others, constant sleep deprivation, cells with lights on 24-hours a day; poor hygiene and forced labour. These are some of what prisoners in Chinese jails are subjected to, according to Australian … Read More
May 19, 2025
HEC Forum (vol. 37, no. 2, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
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
(Gizmodo) – A woman’s human growth hormone treatments in childhood may have sealed her fate decades later, according to a new case report. The grim reaper can sometimes take decades to catch up with its victims. In a report out … 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 16, 2025
(NPR) – At least 17 clinics closed last year in states where abortion remains legal, and another 17 have closed in just the first five months of this year, according to data gathered by ineedana[dot]com. That includes states that have … Read More
May 16, 2025
(The Atlantic) – For decades, Eve Baer remained convinced that her son, unresponsive after a severe brain injury, was still conscious. Science eventually proved her right. When the jaws of life freed him from the wreckage, Ian was still alive, … Read More
May 16, 2025
(NPR) – A pregnant woman in Georgia who was declared brain dead after a medical emergency has been on life support for three months to let the fetus grow enough to be delivered, a move her family says a hospital … Read More
May 16, 2025
The New England Journal of Medicine (vol. 392, no. 16, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
May 15, 2025
(New York Times) – The technique used on a 9½-month-old boy with a rare condition has the potential to help people with thousands of other uncommon genetic diseases. The baby, now 9 ½ months old, became the first patient of … Read More
May 15, 2025
(Nature) – Researchers have coaxed stem cells to grow into amniotic sacs filled with fluid. The model sacs, which grew to roughly the same size as a four-week-old sac surrounding a developing embryo, could be used to study the protective … Read More
May 15, 2025
(Science) – A forensic technology developed in India sifts brain recordings for clues to a suspect’s guilt or innocence. Many neuroscientists are skeptical, but it is catching on in other countries The man accused of the crime, Surjaram, denied everything … Read More
May 15, 2025
(KFF Health News) – As the country’s incarcerated population ages rapidly, thousands die behind bars each year. For some researchers, medical providers, and families of terminally ill people in custody, Rigsby’s situation — and Moser’s frustration — are familiar: Incarcerated … Read More
May 15, 2025
(NPR) – Since abortion became nearly entirely illegal in Texas in 2021, the state has seen a significant rise in the number of women who die in pregnancy or after giving birth. A group of bipartisan lawmakers in the state … Read More
May 15, 2025
(New York Times) – After the shooting in the West Bank, doctors were able to save the baby, a boy, who was taken to a neonatal intensive care unit. The woman’s baby, a boy, survived after being delivered in an … Read More
May 15, 2025
(The Atlantic) – Ever since Elon Musk bought Twitter and renamed it X, the platform has crept further into the realm of the outlandish and unsettling. Porn spam bots are rampant, and Nazi apologia—which used to be extremely hard to … Read More
May 15, 2025
(Wired) – As the FDA halts the sale of Ozempic and Zepbound copycats, online clinics have begun offering liraglutide, an older GLP-1 medication injected daily instead of weekly. After telehealth startups recently lost the ability to sell exact copies of … Read More
May 15, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – The Justice Department is investigating UnitedHealth Group for possible criminal Medicare fraud, people familiar with the matter said. The healthcare-fraud unit of the Justice Department’s criminal division is overseeing the investigation, the people said, and it … Read More
May 15, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made combating chronic disease a rallying cry as he looks to overhaul the health department and “Make America Healthy Again.” So how healthy is America, historically? … Read More
May 14, 2025
(TechCrunch) – Nine years ago, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton sent shock waves through medicine by declaring it “just completely obvious” that AI would make radiologists extinct in short order. Fast-forward and the specialists — who do more than analyze images … Read More