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Language skills are essential to a child’s ability to communicate and develop. These skills enable children to engage with other people and learn from their surroundings and in the classroom.

AI models struggle in real-world medical conversations

Artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT have been touted for their promise to alleviate clinician workload by triaging patients, taking medical histories and even providing preliminary diagnoses.

2 Jan 2025

Structural brain differences in adolescents may play a role in early initiation of substance use

A study of nearly 10,000 adolescents funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has identified distinct differences in the brain structures of those who used substances before age 15 compared to those who did not.

30 Dec 2024

Rethinking the role of microbiome in age-related bone loss

Osteoporosis is a major health concern worldwide, particularly in aging populations. Despite pharmacological advancements, challenges like side effects, costs, and limited accessibility reduce adherence to treatments.

30 Dec 2024

Lithium shows promise as a potential therapy for autism spectrum disorder

A groundbreaking discovery has highlighted lithium - a drug long used to treat bipolar disorder and depression - as a potential therapy for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

23 Dec 2024

New Alzheimer's guidelines provide comprehensive framework for diagnosis

We have entered a new era of improved and emerging biologically-based diagnostic biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related neurodegenerative disorders (ADRD) that are rapidly impacting evaluation and care paradigms in every clinical setting: primary care, specialty care and dementia subspecialty care.

23 Dec 2024

New review discusses the expanding horizons of AI in medical sciences

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has grown remarkably, fueled by innovative foundation models (FMs) such as GPT-n series by OpenAI, and derived large language models (LLMs) like Chat generative pre-trained transformer, popularly known as ChatGPT.

20 Dec 2024

Study finds power-motivated users share more fake news on social media

People motivated by power and the desire to influence others are more likely to share fake news posts on social media, according to a new study led by a UCL researcher.

20 Dec 2024

Pregnant women must be prioritized in pandemic vaccination programs

The vast majority of women who contract bird flu during pregnancy and their unborn baby will die from the virus, according to a new study. And the findings stress the importance of early inclusion of pregnant women in public health vaccination programs during pandemics.

19 Dec 2024

Drinking more coffee linked to reduced cognitive decline in people with atrial fibrillation

Drinking multiple cups of coffee a day may help prevent cognitive decline in people with atrial fibrillation (AFib or AF), according to new research published on Dec. 14, 2024 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

19 Dec 2024

New molecular insights into the early stages of Rett syndrome

Scientists investigating the severe developmental disorder known as Rett syndrome have discovered a series of crucial molecular changes that occur long before symptoms appear.

19 Dec 2024

Study reveals positive impact of COVID-19 lockdown on gender identity development

Research published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown had largely positive impacts on gender identity development in trans and gender diverse youth.

19 Dec 2024

Dancing reduces depression symptoms in Parkinson's patients

Dancing lowers the depression associated with Parkinson's disease, and the benefits can be seen in multiple ways, a new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research involving York University researchers shows.

19 Dec 2024

LLMs show potential as aids for clinicians during physical exams

Physical examinations are important diagnostic tools that can reveal critical insights into a patient's health, but complex conditions may be overlooked if a clinician lacks specialized training in that area.

19 Dec 2024

Study highlights children's misunderstandings of medical terminology

Published in Pediatrics, a new University of Minnesota Medical School study highlights how children interpret common medical phrases, revealing surprising - and sometimes alarming - misunderstandings.

19 Dec 2024

Study shows chatbots’ cognitive limitations using dementia screening

Almost all leading large language models or "chatbots" show signs of mild cognitive impairment in tests widely used to spot early signs of dementia, finds a study in the Christmas issue of The BMJ.

19 Dec 2024

Study reveals link between dyslexia genes and brain structure

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty in which genes often play a role. How do genes associated with dyslexia relate to brain structure in the general population? In a large-scale study published in Science Advances, a team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen found that genetic variants that increase the chance of dyslexia were associated with differences in brain areas involved in motor coordination, vision, and language.

18 Dec 2024

Study finds no link between antibiotic use and cognitive decline in older adults

For healthy older adults, using antibiotics is not associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment or dementia, according to a study published in the December 18, 2024, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

18 Dec 2024

How a duty to spend wisely on worker benefits could loosen PBMs’ grip on drug prices

Ann Lewandowski knows all about pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, the companies that shape the U.S. drug market. Her job, as a policy advocate at drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, was to tell patient and physician groups about the PBMs' role in high drug prices.

18 Dec 2024

Personality testing reveals behavioral bias in LLMs

Most major large language models (LLMs) can quickly tell when they are being given a personality test and will tweak their responses to provide more socially desirable results - a finding with implications for any study using LLMs as a stand-in for humans.

18 Dec 2024

Thalamus damage plays key role in long-term stroke disability

A recent study from Simon Fraser University researchers has revealed how an overlooked type of indirect brain damage contributes to ongoing disability after a stroke.

17 Dec 2024