Nature Medicine

A study by Rutgers University researchers suggests GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may reduce links between impulsivity, alcohol use, and violent behavior. The research found associations between impulsivity and violence were 62% weaker among current users compared to former users, while alcohol-related violence was 52% weaker.

A study in Nature Medicine compared clinical AI systems OpenEvidence and UpToDate Expert AI against general LLMs, sparking debate in the clinical AI community. The article discusses challenges in benchmarking these systems, emphasizing that headline-driven summaries often oversimplify complex results.

Clinical large language models developed by companies like OpenEvidence, Doximity, and UpToDate are widely used by U.S. doctors, but a June 2024 study in Nature Medicine found these models performed worse than generalist AI models on clinical questions. The findings sparked significant debate within the health AI community, with some interpreting the results as a 'clear victory for general frontier models.'

Slack messages released by Rand Paul reveal private doubts among authors of a key 2020 paper on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, suggesting they were uncertain about the virus's bat origin and considered a lab-leak possibility, despite their public conclusion ruling out a laboratory origin. The authors, including Kristian Andersen and Eddie Holmes, acknowledged limited evidence and internal debates over the furin cleavage site, while coordinating with U.S. intelligence and NIH.

Slack messages released by Rand Paul reveal private doubts among authors of a key 2020 paper on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, contradicting their public assertion that the virus did not originate in a lab. The authors, including Kristian Andersen and Eddie Holmes, privately assigned probabilities to a lab origin, while coordinating with U.S. intelligence and NIH as they defended their public conclusions.

A California-developed brain implant has enabled a man with ALS to communicate independently, browse the internet, and work from home for nearly two years, as reported in a study published in Nature Medicine.

Casey Harrell, a man with ALS, has used a brain-computer interface (BCI) for over 3,800 hours to communicate, surf the web, and work independently. The implant, developed by a UC Davis research team, decodes neural activity into speech and was detailed in a study published in Nature Medicine.

A study in Nature Medicine found that pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT, a gut bacterium, helped overweight and obese adults regain less weight after dieting compared to a placebo. Participants taking the bacterium regained an average of 2.6 pounds versus 7.1 pounds in the placebo group, though researchers noted limitations like a small sample size and short duration. Dr. Peter Balazs highlighted the treatment's potential to support weight maintenance by reducing biological signals that promote fat regain.

In 2025, a study published in Nature Medicine had no cost despite being NIH-funded. In 2026, a similar NIH-funded study required a $12,850 open-access fee due to the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy. Both studies were results of years of work by Johns Hopkins teams.

A study led by University College London found that specific gut bacteria can predict Parkinson’s disease risk years before symptoms appear. The research, involving 271 Parkinson’s patients and 43 carriers of the GBA1 genetic variant, revealed distinct microbial patterns linked to the disease, with non-symptomatic carriers showing intermediate changes. Dietary diversity was associated with lower Parkinson’s risk.