This is very good article in the Beijing News on the gene therapy trial death of a girl, a story broken in Borrell's stunning piece in Science. (At least it looks good in my laborious Google Translate version, despite quoting me) www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/17858... www.science.org/content/arti...

RFKJr continues to stack FDA advisory panels with charlatans and snake oil salesmen. RFK Jr. adds 8 members to a 6 member FDA advisory panel. 6 of them were sellers of peptides, and the 7th a compounding pharmacist.

FDA Panel Supports Lifting Restrictions on Four Peptides

In an all-day hearing, the agency’s scientists argued against allowing broad access to unproven drugs that the agency had banned three years ago.

nytimes.com

How is AI changing the ways commercial actors influence health? Check out our new article published in BMJ: "Artificial intelligence as a new commercial determinant of health." We introduce the AI commercial determinants of health (AI-CDoH) framework 🧵 @bmj.com 1/9

Yet another Kalshi offering that serves no legitimate economic purpose. It's not possible to make a rational bet on this without material non-public information. It's a market solely for fraud by both regulators and corporate insiders, and everyone connected to it in any way should go to prison.

Kalshi Will Offer Sports-Style Betting on Drug Trial Results

Kalshi Inc. is expanding in biotechnology by offering wagers on the outcomes of clinical trials and regulatory decisions, giving traders a more direct way to bet on key industry catalysts.

bloomberg.com

The International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics Blog Editors are always seeking new submissions. Here is a quick overview of: - who edits the blog - how to reach us - general post guidelines - examples of post types Please share with the feminist bioethicists in your life!

Writing for the IJFAB Blog

The IJFAB Blog editors are always seeking new submissions for the blog. Here is an update of who the editors are, how to contact us, some general guidelines for blog posts, and an open call for creati...

fabnet.org

US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra welcomed Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich to his July 4 party in Ottawa tonight Lich is currently serving a house arrest sentence in relation to a criminal conviction over her role in the convoy's three-week occupation of Canada's capital city

STORY: Earlier this year, I obtained localized life expectancy data in B.C. The figures show that in many areas outside big cities, life expectancy is LOWER than 20 years ago. At the bottom of the story, you can find trends for every local health area in B.C. STORY HERE: thetyee.ca/News/2026/06...

New study examines crowdfunding for unproven stem cell-based treatments for ALS. It’s disheartening to see quacks targeting ALS patients. Note the bogus #Lyme and toxins claims. Authors: @marcozenone.bsky.social @caulfieldtim.bsky.social @jsnyder.bsky.social Michael Jewer doi.org/10.1080/2167...

Bold choice to use this as an opportunity to promote AI-enabled public surveillance: "Those are Ray-Bans? From Meta? Ok. Oh my God! I know your age!"

Mark Carney@mark-carney.bsky.social · last mo.

The people of Val-des-Monts were out in full force yesterday to celebrate la Fête nationale.

Putting all concerns about efficacy aside, FDA & FTC have consistently found that these clinics are often highly unsanitary& spread disease in the process of transfusing stem cells—please consider the risks involved when infusing anything into your blood stream publichealth.uci.edu/2023/10/26/u...

Jeremy Snyder@jsnyder.bsky.social · last mo.

Great overview of how the US FDA under RFK Jr. is enabling scientifically unsupported 'stem cell' clinics 'treating' autism. Dangerous and exploitative.

Great overview of how the US FDA under RFK Jr. is enabling scientifically unsupported 'stem cell' clinics 'treating' autism. Dangerous and exploitative.

RFK Jr. , stem cells for autism, & more clinics including one selling sheep cell injections - The Niche

Stem cell biologist discusses the growing stem cells for autism problem in the US under RFK Jr. as he promotes unproven offerings.

ipscell.com

Must be nice to be this specific, well connected (then) 79 year old man with influence over pharmaceutical companies and the Food and Drug Administration.

Lizzy Lawrence@lizzylawrence.bsky.social · last mo.

18 bioethics experts, obesity clinicians, and current and former government officials told me the application struck them as unusual. They questioned why Lilly would offer compassionate use for a single patient when obesity is such a widespread condition.

Mason the dog is ready for Macbeth at @bardonthebeach.bsky.social

"GoFundMe said it recognizes that most users are not professionals and may need support in telling their stories and deciding what information to include. The company said it has “built products like AI-powered tools — now used more than 85 million times — to help make it easier to ask for help"”

Some Canadians are crowdfunding their way through the cost of living crisis | CBC Radio

Faced with rising costs for necessities such as rent, groceries and utilities, more Canadians are turning to GoFundMe to help make ends meet.

cbc.ca

Explaining the Wrongs of Undisclosed LLM Use: Reply to Sahebi and Montefiore - Philosophy & Technology link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Explaining the Wrongs of Undisclosed LLM Use: Reply to Sahebi and Montefiore - Philosophy & Technology

Sahebi and Montefiore (2026) provide a compelling and timely criticism of undisclosed LLM use in writing. Their central point, put briefly, is that undisclosed LLM use epistemically deprives an…

link.springer.com

Caught this bumper sticker on my way home today.

"“I found stem cells on TikTok... The algorithm served them to me. I know that sounds crazy, but it changed my life.” ...The doctor who founded the clinic... says in one of the TikTok videos that “umbilical cord blood is like the chicken soup for healing”."

Jeremy Snyder@jsnyder.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"Since Prodromos’s exchange with Kennedy, the Guardian has learned that he is now offering umbilical cord stem cell infusions to autistic children from two of his US clinics – in Naples, Florida, and Dallas, Texas."

"Since Prodromos’s exchange with Kennedy, the Guardian has learned that he is now offering umbilical cord stem cell infusions to autistic children from two of his US clinics – in Naples, Florida, and Dallas, Texas."

‘Autistic kids are being experimented on’: inside America’s booming market for unproven stem cell infusions

Feeling abandoned and overwhelmed, families are turning to controversial new therapies backed by the US health secretary

theguardian.com

For decades I've studied the harms done by pushing unproven stem cell therapies. Exploitive, stigmatizing & so so harmful. Stop "scienceploitation." 🛑 Autistic kids are being experimented on’: inside America’s booming market for unproven stem cell infusions www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...

‘Autistic kids are being experimented on’: inside America’s booming market for unproven stem cell infusions

Feeling abandoned and overwhelmed, families are turning to controversial new therapies backed by the US health secretary

theguardian.com

Vancouver never plays itself, but @sfu.ca does play host to Zuckerberg apparently.

B.C. universities featured in new trailer for Hollywood blockbuster | Daily Hive | News

Movie buffs won't have to wait long to see Metro Vancouver on the big screen, as two local universities are featured in The Social Reckoning.

dailyhive.com

Seems insufficient? "AI chatbots will need measures to respond when a user expresses ideas of suicide or self harm or an intention to commit an act that could cause death or serious bodily harm... The bill would not require the companies behind the chatbots to report those interactions to police."

Ottawa moves to restrict social media for kids under 16 | CBC News

The federal government is moving to restrict young Canadians' access to social media unless those companies can show they've made their platforms safe.

cbc.ca

Canada has introduced new legislation to regulate social media companies and LLMs — taking aim at CSAM and violence-encouraging chatbots — with penalties up to 5% of the company's global revenue if they refuse to comply.

AJOB call for responses closes June 19! Shorter is better - ethics of antibiotic course duration. We want to hear your views! Article and call at: mc.manuscriptcentral.com/uajb

"There are two beneficiaries of this. One is the grifters who are monetizing. They are engaged in this activity because it is financially profitable for them. The other is the platform itself … the ad revenue monetization around the attention that they're getting."

Facebook is paying people overseas promoting Alberta separatism | CBC Music

A CBC News investigation found a number of Facebook accounts run by people overseas impersonating real Albertan separatists.

cbc.ca

Please clap.

1. How common is LLM use in scientific publishing, and how does it vary across field, publisher, journal prestige, author demographics etc.? @kylesiler.bsky.social has new paper in PNAS that addresses this question on a massive scale: 7.3 million papers from Elsevier, PLOS, MDPI, and Frontiers.

The diffusion of large language models in published academic articles | PNAS

Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly changing academic research, raising questions of who is adopting these tools and under what conditions. Th...

pnas.org

“This transaction reflects our conviction that research and AI are mutually reinforcing: our proprietary content and data fuels AI, and AI accelerates the pace of publishing.” Not sure that this vision of ever-accelerating pace and expanding scale is good for the quality of academic research (1/2)

Academic Publishing News@acadpubnews.bsky.social · 2mo ago

BREAKING: Wiley acquire Emerald www.researchinformation.info/news/wiley-a...

“Apps for popular sportsbook companies like FanDuel and DraftKings cannot be accessed legally by anyone who is under 21. Stadium Live resembles those apps but describes itself as a prediction game. Its users wager virtual coins, instead of real money… Anyone can download and use the app —even a kid”

As the betting industry grows, kids as young as 11 are getting hooked

Experts argue that gambling addiction among youths could be the 'next opioid epidemic.'

inquirer.com

Exciting selection of affordable tickets for the local Vancouver World Cup games....

Poll suggests 46% of Canadians have asked an AI chatbot for medical advice in the past year. 40% say AI will make Canadian health care worse, 30% believe AI will improve health care.

Canadians skeptical about using AI in health care, poll suggests | CBC News

A new poll on artificial intelligence and health care suggests that while some Canadians may be turning to chatbots for medical advice, they're far less comfortable with the technology being used to m...

cbc.ca