Hastings Center senior research scholar Karen Maschke was on NPR’s “It’s Been a Minute” discussing the latest biohacking trend in Silicon Valley—injecting Chinese peptides and other unregulated substances to improve brain power, athletic ability, etc. She cautioned that bypassing evidence-based regulation raises serious ethical concerns about harm, benefit, and social responsibility. Listen to the podcast.
When Clinical Judgment and Artificial Intelligence Diverge Register for event, February 9
What happens when human clinical judgment and AI disagree? Hastings Center senior research scholar Nancy Berlinger will participate in an event in New York next month, presented by the Columbia University Data Science Institute, that will address this question and explore why moments of “human–AI dissonance” could become among the most consequential frontiers in modern medicine. Learn more and register.
Future Proofing Trust in Health Science in Canada New report outlines recommendations
Mirroring global trends, Canada has seen a decline in public trust in health science, a result being widespread exposure to false information. A new report by The Bioethics Council for Canada, of which Vardit Ravitsky is Secretary of the Board, has three recommendations to counter this trend: reinforce research integrity; require accountability (by researchers, the media, and others) for contributing to misinformation; and assume leadership to implement, oversee, and monitor the recommendations. Read the report.
Global Catastrophes, Personal Medical Experience, and Rock Climbing Bioethics Chats: Travis Rieder
Travis Rieder’s work on catastrophes has spanned from the global to the personal. “It would be hard to imagine writing good biomedical ethics scholarship if you had never really experienced medicine in some way,” he told Vardit Ravitsky in the latest of our Bioethics Chats. They also got into rock climbing, which Rieder called “the most restorative thing I can imagine doing.” Read their chat and see a clip.
Deadline Approaching: Nominate an Outstanding Physician Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Awards
The 2026 Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Awards recognize physicians who provide outstanding care to patients nearing the end of life. The deadline for nominations is January 31. Learn more and submit a nomination.
Hastings Fellows News Vaccine federalism, birth of EMS, in memoriam
The history of how Blair Sadler and Alfred (Fred) Sadler Jr. helped establish emergency medical services in Connecticut and beyond is explored in an article in Yale Medicine Magazine.
Lawrence O. Gostin responded to the Department of Health and Human Services’ changes to the national immunization schedule: “We are entering an era of vaccine federalism, and it will not be good,” he and Richard Hughes IV wrote in STAT.
Jennifer J. Prah and Lawrence O. Gostin wrote an article in The Lancet on addressing post-separation abuse, which affects woman and children after women leave abusive partners.
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Law. Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky will deliver the keynote address at the Institute for Health Law, Bioethics & Policy 2nd Annual Symposium. February 2.
How Should Human-AI Dissonance Be Addressed Ethically? Hastings Center senior research scholar Nancy Berlinger will participate in a conference presented by the Columbia University Data Science Institute. February 9.
Ethics on Call: The Nancy Dubler Story. World premiere of documentary featuring commentary by Hastings Center senior research scholar Nancy Berlinger and Board Chair Joseph J. Fins. February 11.
What Is a 'Serious' Medical Condition and Why It Ethically Matters? Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky will deliver the Schroder Lecture at Case Western Reserve School of Law. February 23.
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