News
Pitfalls of large language models in medical ethics reasoning
Large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT-o1, display subtle blind spots in complex reasoning tasks. These pitfalls are illustrated with lateral thinking puzzles and medical ethics scenarios. Observations indicate that patterns in training data may contribute to cognitive biases, limiting the models’ ability to navigate nuanced ethical situations. Recognizing these tendencies is crucial for responsible AI deployment in clinical contexts.
UKRIO's New AI Guide Is Essential Reading for Lab Managers
The UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) recently released Embracing AI with Integrity: A Practical Guide for Researchers, a guide to using artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in research without affecting integrity. For lab managers, the advice in the guide can help inform their lab’s acceptable use policy and steer training efforts for AI.
Scientists Develop High-Performance MRI Scanner in Effort to Define Microscopic Brain Structures
A new, ultra-high-resolution brain imaging system can reconstruct microscopic brain structures that are disrupted in neurological and neuropsychiatric brain disorders. The new system is a significant advance over conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners that cannot visualize these tiny but clinically important structures.
New menstrual blood test detects endometriosis with five times greater sensitivity
Almost 200 million people, including children, around the world have endometriosis, a chronic disease in which the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus. More severe symptoms, such as extreme pain and potentially infertility, can often be mitigated with early identification and treatment, but no single point-of-care diagnostic test for the disease exists despite the ease of access to the tissue directly implicated.
Limits of Genetic Testing Exposed When Nearly a Dozen Offspring from a Single Sperm Donor Discovered to Have Deadly Gene Mutation
A single sperm donor’s shared gene mutation has shed light on shortfalls in preventative clinical laboratory genetic screening.
Diagnostic Performance of ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy in Discriminating Normal Breast Tissue and Breast Tumors
ATR-FTIR spectroscopy demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy in differentiating normal, benign, and malignant breast tissues using specific spectral biomarkers. Among these, the cytoplasm-nucleus ratio marker showed strong potential as a reliable spectral indicator for distinguishing various types of breast tumors.
University of Texas Study Shows Self-Collection Boosts Cancer Screenings among Women
Clinical laboratories can play a role in educating and advising at-home self-collection test users
Scientists May Have Found a Way To Eliminate Chromosome Linked to Down Syndrome
An extra copy of chromosome 21 was discovered as the cause of Down syndrome more than half a century ago; however, methods to effectively remove the extra chromosome from trisomic cells are lacking. Using a system to rescue human cells with trisomy 21, this study successfully demonstrates the efficient elimination of excess chromosomes.
How X-ray Imaging Links Dinosaurs to Brain Trauma Research
X-ray technology is a foundational tool in both medicine and paleontology, but recent innovations are revealing a surprising intersection between these two fields. Structural biologist Joseph Orgel and his research team at the Illinois Institute of Technology have developed a groundbreaking micron-scale X-ray imaging technique that bridges the past and present—originally created to study fossilized dinosaur tissues, it's now being applied to understand traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) at the cellular level.
Temporary tattoo sticker could detect small amounts of GHB in alcoholic beverages
Temporary tattoos aren't just for kids anymore - semi-permanent versions have become a favorite among adults who don't want the commitment of the real thing. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sensors have created their own temporary tattoo sticker that has a hidden, but possibly lifesaving, purpose: detecting the presence of one drug used to "spike" alcoholic beverages and facilitate sexual assault. The sticker responds within 1 second to even low concentrations of the drug γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB).
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