Multiple Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Studies Retracted After Data Manipulation Detected
The reputation of the prestigious Harvard University-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston, Massachusetts is at stake after seven studies were retracted from the medical literature and over 30 papers were subject to corrections due to errors. The allegations, which involve image duplications and manipulations in biomedical research, first surfaced in January 2024 when microbiologist […]
Artificial Intelligence Technology Predicts COVID Shot Uptake
Findings from a new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research Public Health Surveillance showed that a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool is able to predict whether someone is willing to get a COVID-19 shot. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Northwestern University aimed to determine the predictive power of a small […]
FDA No Longer Requires Animal Testing Before Human Clinical Trials
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is no longer requiring pharmaceutical companies to test new drugs and biologics (vaccines) on animals prior to human clinical trials and licensure. This is a change that animal welfare advocates have been pushing for a long time. In December 2022, President Biden signed legislation ending a requirement that […]
U.S. Shuts Down Risky Novel Animal Virus Research Program
The U.S. government has shut down a research program that searches for new animal viruses in Asia, Africa and Latin America that have the potential to infect humans and cause a pandemic. The $125 million dollar research program called Discovery and Exploration of Emerging Pathogens- Viral Zoonoses (DEEP VZN) focused on the study of novel […]
U.S. Military Uses AI Monitored Wearable Devices to Detect Infectious Disease in Service Members
In a public-private collaboration with a technology company, the U.S Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) developed AI monitored wearable devices that were used to detect infections in military personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is known as the Rapid Assessment of Threat Exposure (RATE),1 which characterizes infections as a security and […]
Artificial Intelligence Takes Over Vaccine Development
Story Highlights A computer with artificial intelligence (AI) has designed a new “turbocharged” flu vaccine without human help. A research team from Flinders University in Australia created the AI program, which they named SAM (Search Algorithm for Ligands). The AI vaccine research work is being funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Scientists in […]