New Study on AI Clinical Decision-Making
A recent study evaluated large language model (LLM) AIs across 29 clinical vignettes, generating 16,254 responses. Scores ranged from 0.64 for Gemini 1.5 Flash to 0.78 for Grok 4, with GPT models leading overall. While final‑diagnosis accuracy was modest, failure rates for differential diagnoses exceeded 80%, revealing a stark drop from multiple‑choice exam performance. The research underscores that LLMs remain at a basic competency level and are not ready for autonomous clinical practice.
Since They Won’t Remind You, Here’s What Drs. John Ioannidis, Jay Bhattacharya, and Scott Atlas, Actually Said 6 Years...
In the spring of 2020, Stanford physicians John Ioannidis, Jay Bhattacharya, and Scott Atlas publicly downplayed COVID‑19’s lethality and warned that lockdowns could cause greater societal harm. Ioannidis projected fewer than 40,000 U.S. deaths, Bhattacharya suggested a fatality rate as low as 0.01 %,...
Do Our Mitochondria Need Support?
The article critiques the booming market of "mitochondrial support" products, arguing that most claims rely on vague marketing rather than solid science. While mitochondria are essential for cellular energy, supplements like NAD+ precursors, CoQ10, and red‑light therapy typically demonstrate only...
More On Raw Milk
The current HHS secretary is championing raw, unpasteurized milk despite FDA warnings, reigniting public debate. Epidemiological data show raw milk causes roughly 840 times more illnesses and 45 times more hospitalizations than pasteurized milk, with 143 CDC‑recorded outbreaks from 2009‑2021....
Legislative Alchemy: Licensing Reflexologists and Other Practitioners of Pseudoscience
States across the U.S. are introducing bills that would license reflexologists and other alternative‑medicine practitioners, a process the author dubs “Legislative Alchemy.” The North Carolina Healing Arts Act, Massachusetts Senate Bill 261, and Iowa House File 2178 each propose new regulatory boards...
Dr. Vinay Prasad Said He Would Deliver New COVID Vaccine RCTs. He Failed and Should STFU.
Pfizer and BioNTech announced they are halting a U.S. phase‑III trial of their updated COVID‑19 vaccine aimed at adults 50‑64 because enrollment fell far short of the planned 25,000‑30,000 participants. The companies said the decision was unrelated to safety or...
Smart Drugs Are Here
A recent proof‑of‑concept study introduces DNA‑drug conjugates (DDCs) that turn “smart drugs” into programmable therapies. DDCs use split DNA strands as logic gates to release payloads only when specific biomarker combinations are present, offering higher specificity than antibody‑drug conjugates (ADCs)....
Geopolitics and Drug Shortages
The escalation of the Iran conflict has throttled traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and crippled Gulf airport capacity, exposing a fragile pharmaceutical distribution network that relies on the Dubai hub. Air‑cargo rates are soaring while the region’s ability to...
Zoonotic Spillover Is A Problem
Recent analysis by Dr. Steven Novella reaffirms that SARS‑CoV‑2 most likely arose from a zoonotic spillover at Wuhan’s Huanan wet market. The article highlights how dense wildlife supply chains, inter‑species mixing, and poor hygiene create ideal conditions for viral recombination...
Vaccines Work. Here’s Why We Care About Your Unvaccinated Child.
The article underscores that measles remains deadly despite overall vaccine success, citing recent tragedies—including a child who died from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and another who suffered severe encephalitis. It highlights how unvaccinated or under‑vaccinated children, as well as those with...
‘Start Low, Go Slow’: The Smart, Safe Approach to Drug Dosage in the Elderly
The article highlights the growing risk of drug over‑dosage in older adults as age‑related changes in metabolism make standard adult doses unsafe. It cites real‑world cases, such as an elderly man bleeding from excessive ibuprofen, and outlines FDA guidance that...
Liver Failure From Alternative Medicines
A recent Indian study of 91 patients exposed to alternative medicines found that 39.6% developed acute‑on‑chronic liver failure (ACLF), with a 38.9% mortality rate among those cases. Heavy‑metal contamination exceeded WHO limits in many products, and 27.7% contained undeclared pharmaceutical...
Death Returns From Holiday
In a candid essay, infectious‑disease specialist Dr. Mark Crislip recounts his career‑long exposure to death from infections and uses those memories to warn that recent U.S. policy cuts to USAID and vaccination programs could trigger millions of preventable fatalities. He cites...
Using Alternative Medicine to Treat Cancer, Even Alongside Conventional Therapies, Is Still a Bad Idea
A recent JAMA Network Open cohort study examined over 2 million breast‑cancer patients in the National Cancer Database and found that use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is linked to lower overall survival. Patients who combined CAM with standard therapy...
Generic GLP-1s Are Coming, but Americans Don’t Want to Wait
GLP‑1 drugs such as semaglutide have surged from diabetes treatment to a mass‑market weight‑loss solution, with roughly 12.4% of Americans now using them. Global sales are projected to climb from $50‑60 billion today to over $135 billion within a decade, driven largely...
