AI can’t yet help doctors improve their ability to diagnose complex conditions, a sobering new study has found. Doctors had about the same diagnostic accuracy whether or not they were using ChatGPT Plus, according to results published recently in the journal JAMA Network Open. However, the AI outperformed doctors when allowed to diagnose on its… read on > read on >
Cases of the autoimmune skin condition eczema appear to rise in areas most plagued by air pollution, new research shows. Since data has long shown that rates of eczema — clinically known as atopic dermatitis — increase along with industrialization, dirty air might be a connecting link, according to the team from Yale University. “Showing… read on > read on >
An experimental vaccine has shown promise in protecting against the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia, researchers report. Lab mice given the vaccine were able to rapidly clear subsequent chlamydia infections, and were less likely to develop severe infections compared with unvaccinated mice, researchers reported Nov. 11 in the journal npj Vaccines. The vaccine contains chlamydia whole-cell… read on > read on >
In a move guaranteed to alarm many, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal opponent of vaccines and other tenets of mainstream health care, to head the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The department encompasses numerous key agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,… read on > read on >
Over 600,000 people worldwide die from mosquito-borne malaria each year, with the majority of these deaths happening among children under 5. Now, there’s troubling news that the malaria parasite may be gaining resistance against artemisinin, the drug most often used to try and save these young lives. “This is the first study from Africa showing… read on > read on >
Using abbreviations while texting might save some typing time, but it won’t make a good impression, a new study finds. People who use texting abbreviations like IDK or GOAT are perceived as more insincere and are less likely to receive replies, researchers discovered. “Our findings are especially relevant when we want to appear more sincere… read on > read on >
The number of Americans sickened in an E. coli outbreak tied to slivered onions used on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders has now risen to 104, U.S. health officials reported Wednesday. In an update posted on its website, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that 34 people have now been hospitalized, four have developed serious kidney… read on > read on >
After decades of battling the opioid epidemic, U.S. health officials reported Wednesday that overdose deaths have now declined for the second year in a row. By how much did these deaths of despair drop? There were about 97,000 overdose deaths in the 12-month period that ended June 30, according to new provisional data from the U.S.… read on > read on >
More than a third of surgical patients develop complications as a result of their procedure, a new study shows. About 38% of adult patients suffer an adverse event during or following their surgery, researchers reported Nov. 13 in the BMJ. Nearly half of these complications result in serious, life-threatening or fatal harm, results showed. What’s… read on > read on >
Fourteen percent of the world’s people — more than 800 million — now have diabetes, a doubling of the global rate for the blood sugar disease since 1990, new statistics show. Type 2 diabetes, which makes up 95% of cases, is surging in poorer countries. However, across these resource-poor nations, only half of people get… read on > read on >
