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Archive: New COVID-19 ‘Citizen Science’ Initiative Lets Any Adult with a Smartphone Help to Fight Coronavirus

The online study would try to help researchers gain insight into how the virus is spreading and identify ways to predict and reduce the number of new infections.

The Story behind the Science: Preprints of pandemic potential—how bioRxiv and medRxiv brought preprints to the life sciences

ABSTRACT The bioRxiv and medRxiv preprint servers brought preprinting to the life sciences and played a critical role in disseminating COVID research during the pandemic. Here, I reflect on the birth of bioRxiv and medRxiv and the crucial role so many members of the community played, our experience during the pandemic, and the launch of the new non-profit organization set up to oversee the servers. The pandemic was a stress test for bioRxiv and medRxiv that demonstrated their value and robustness. Under the umbrella of openRxiv, they are now poised to become long-term infrastructure underpinning a new publishing ecosystem.

Avoidable mortality, risk factors and policies for tackling noncommunicable diseases – leveraging data for impact: monitoring commitments in the WHO European Region ahead of the Fourth United Nations High-Level Meeting

The report notes that, in order to tackle NCDs and address the commercial, social, environmental and digital determinants of health, there is a need for accelerated multisectoral whole-of-government and whole-of-society action, integrated policies, enhanced preventive measures and strengthened health systems.

Cyclospora and salmonella outbreaks raise concerns about U.S. food safety

Public health concerns are widening as cyclosporiasis cases surge and a salmonella outbreak across 17 states has many Americans raising concerns about U.S. food safety. Back-to-back cases where people are getting sick from food have put many on edge. William Brangham discussed the concerns with Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University.

Doctors’ AI scribes get names of drugs and diagnoses wrong, NHS watchdog warns

Exclusive: Patients identify errors in consultation transcripts that are missed by GPs, Healthwatch England finds

KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Use of Social Media and AI For Health Information and Advice | KFF

This poll finds that about 3 in 10 adults turn to social media for health information and advice at least monthly. Community connection and the need for immediate answers are the top reasons why people are turning to these tools. Slim majorities of those who use social media for health are confident they can tell what is true, and relatively few take steps to check the information they receive.

Correction of scientific literature: Too little, too late!

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the limitations of the current scientific publication system, in which serious post-publication concerns are often addressed too slowly to be effective. In this Perspective, we offer suggestions to improve academia’s willingness and ability to correct errors in an appropriate time frame.

Launching openRxiv Labs - openRxiv

Over the last thirteen years, bioRxiv and medRxiv have grown into widely used infrastructure for rapid research sharing in biology and medicine. The reliability and researcher-first values that have defined these platforms since their founding remain central to how we operate, and building on the trust, partnerships, and community relationships researchers worldwide depend on is…

Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice

Exclusive: Inaccurate information presented in summaries, Guardian investigation finds

Browse Studies

Health eHeart is an ambitious study to end Heart Disease. Anyone can join -- whether you have Heart Disease or not.

Public Body Vulnerabilities

From the Met Office to the UK Health Security Agency to the Office for National Statistics, the UK relies on independent expert bodies to generate evidence, regulate complex industries, and hold government to account. This reference guide maps how 44 of those bodies are constituted and how their independence could be eroded by a determined government.

KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Use of AI For Health Information and Advice | KFF

This poll finds that about as many adults are turning to AI for health information as social media, with health care costs and access driving many users, particularly younger users.

Meta’s New AI Asked for My Raw Health Data—and Gave Me Terrible Advice

Meta’s Muse Spark model offers to analyze users’ health data, including lab results. Beyond the obvious privacy risks, it’s not a capable stand-in for a real doctor.

Cyclospora Outbreak: Weekend Update | Shouldn't Need to Be a Lawyer by Matthew Cortland

This is a follow up to Cyclosporiasis Is Here: How to Protect Yourself (July 13). My pre-write of this piece, also drafted on July 13th, was

Cyclospora Outbreak: Weekend Update | Shouldn't Need to Be a Lawyer by Matthew Cortland

This is a follow up to Cyclosporiasis Is Here: How to Protect Yourself (July 13). My pre-write of this piece, also drafted on July 13th, was

We live in a golden age of biology. So why are people still dying from disease? Because discovery and development move slower than they should. Today, we’re partnering with Incyte to change… | Samuel G. Rodriques | 491 comments

We live in a golden age of biology. So why are people still dying from disease? Because discovery and development move slower than they should. Today, we’re partnering with Incyte to change that. Kosmos is now the first agent that can compress months of drug development into weeks, from the earliest stages of scientific discovery through to FDA approval. Incyte will be the first company to deploy it across their pipeline. Work that used to take a team of scientists months now happens in weeks. Patients can't wait, and neither can we. | 491 comments on LinkedIn