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Predicting consequences of new hepatitis B vaccine recs

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Good morning. The other night I watched a shocking episode of “The Vampire Diaries.” A series of cursed, ghost-like hallucinations attempt to convince a teen vampire to end her own life using some disturbingly coercive, cogent arguments. Ultimately, the character is saved. And while this episode aired more than a decade ago, I was surprised by how many parallels there were to current debates about the risks of AI chatbots and people in mental health crises. 

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STAT+: Eli Lilly enlists AI startup for next-generation gene editors

Eli Lilly struck a deal Tuesday to develop new forms of gene editors potentially capable of inserting entire genes into patients. 

The collaboration, with artificial intelligence-focused biotech Profluent, is sparse on details, including the number of programs the two companies would work on, the types of diseases they’ll pursue, or how much Lilly was paying upfront. But if every one of its efforts works out, Lilly would pay Profluent $2.25 billion in milestones payments.

The deal is part of a larger push by Lilly into gene editing. The big pharma, flush with record revenues from its obesity and diabetes drugs, has opened a new genetic medicine center in Boston and bought up a series of gene editing or gene therapy companies over the last few years.

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Opinion: Why do discussions about ‘brain health’ ignore mental illness?

Governments, industry, and philanthropies are investing in neuroscience at an unprecedented scale, and the ambition behind this impetus is a noble one: to reduce the growing burden of brain diseases and extend healthy cognitive life. We fully support this movement’s push for “brain health” to mirror successful frameworks established for cancer and heart health that prioritize early screening and aggressive preventive treatments, making it possible to act before irreversible damage sets in.

Even as this agenda gains momentum, however, a critical blind spot is emerging. As governments refocus their policies to tackle conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, mental illness is often being sidelined as a secondary concern rather than as a primary component of brain health. This artificial divide is a scientific and a strategic error.

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STAT+: A giant question looms over GOP’s new Medicaid work requirements

WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans are at odds over a consequential health care policy embedded in last year’s tax cut law. 

Democrats say the law’s Medicaid work requirements will create red tape that leads to people losing their coverage. Republicans say the measure encourages work.

But because the law doesn’t require states to report on the implementation of this massive change to Medicaid, we may never get a detailed account of how the policy is working.

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STAT+: Google clinical director says AI can be a ‘bridge’ for people having a mental health crisis

As Google faces pressure to take greater accountability for the mental health impacts of its artificial intelligence products, the company’s clinical director Megan Jones Bell welcomed the challenge of making artificial intelligence helpful to people who come to its Gemini chatbot with a mental health crisis.

“It can seem sometimes like shutting something down is a way of preventing harm,” Jones Bell told STAT. “We believe that making our product experience safer and more helpful and strengthening that bridge to support it is the more effective path to support mental health for the most people.”

Google recently made updates to its Gemini app so that it more prominently features connections to crisis hotlines when it detects a person may be at risk of self harm. In conversations about mental health, the AI will frequently point people to outside resources — but the bot doesn’t disengage, reminding a user, for example, that “I’m here to listen.”

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Sociodemographic factors, anxiety and attitudes toward generative artificial intelligence among nurses

BackgroundAlthough generative artificial intelligence offers substantial potential benefits in healthcare, negative attitudes and elevated anxiety among nurses may hinder its effective integration into clinical practice. Evidence regarding the psychological impact of generative artificial intelligence on nurses remains limited.ObjectiveThis study examined the relationships among sociodemographic characteristics, anxiety, and attitudes toward generative artificial intelligence among nurses.MethodsA cross-sectional correlational design was employed. Data were collected from 312 hospital nurses using online questionnaires assessing sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes toward artificial intelligence, and artificial intelligence-related anxiety. Data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics software version 28.ResultsHigher levels of artificial intelligence-related anxiety were associated with less favorable attitudes toward artificial intelligence. Sociodemographic characteristics and anxiety scores collectively explained 49.4% of the total variance in attitudes toward artificial intelligence. Gender, experience with artificial intelligence, use of artificial intelligence in nursing care, awareness of artificial intelligence applications in healthcare, hours spent on the internet, age, and professional experience accounted for 24.7% of the variance in negative attitudes toward generative artificial intelligence.ConclusionAnxiety and experiential factors play a central role in shaping nurses’ attitudes toward generative artificial intelligence. Increasing nurses’ exposure to and awareness of artificial intelligence in nursing practice may reduce anxiety and support its acceptance and appropriate use.