Measuring progress in health care AI performance relies heavily on question-answer tests, researchers argue, and not enough on evaluating real-world medical tasks.
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/030325_ac_ai-health-apps_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/030325_ac_ai-health-apps_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
Artificial Intelligence
Medical AI tools are growing, but are they being tested properly?
AI medical benchmark tests fall short because they don’t test efficiency on real tasks such as writing medical notes, experts say.
Health & Medicine
More Stories in Health & Medicine
- Genetics
A child who got CAR-T cancer therapy is still disease-free 18 years later
The long-term survival of a patient with neuroblastoma suggests the personalized cancer treatment may work for solid tumors, not just blood cancers.
- Health & Medicine
Hear how people re-learn to live with emotions during brain stimulation
In the fourth episode of The Deep End, Jon Nelson and others describe dealing with emotions they haven’t felt in a long time.
- Health & Medicine
What experts say about childhood vaccines amid the Texas measles outbreak
As the Texas measles outbreak grows and HHS head RFK Jr. puts vaccines under new scrutiny, two experts answer questions about the public health tool.
- Tech
Squirty gels bring the taste of cake and coffee to virtual reality
By squirting chemicals onto a person’s tongue to taste, a new device aims to replicate food flavors for fuller virtual experiences.
- Health & Medicine
Can probiotics actually curb sugar cravings?
Some companies claim that taking beneficial bacteria can reduce the desire for sugar. But the evidence comes from mice, not people.
- Life
A new book chronicles the science of life in the air
Carl Zimmer’s Air-Borne recounts centuries of aerobiology’s greatest moments and mistakes.
- Health & Medicine
Hear patients with brain implants describe what it feels like
In the third episode of The Deep End, Jon shares how DBS surgery went and how he and other volunteers felt in the days and weeks afterward.
- Health & Medicine
‘It felt like dread.’ Hear what severe depression can do to people
In the second episode of The Deep End, listeners hear what it’s like to live with severe depression and the backstory of an experimental treatment.
- Health & Medicine
NIH research grant cuts could deal a biting blow to crucial support staff
The funding agency aims to cap “indirect costs” in biomedical research grants. But this behind-the-scenes work is crucial to making research happen.
In CAR-T cell therapy, T cells, like the one illustrated (brown) attacking cancer cells (purple), are programmed to track specific proteins on a cancer cell and kill it.
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/022125_at_car-t-survivor_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/022125_at_car-t-survivor_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1"> 
As a participant in a study, Jon Nelson uses a remote to record his brain signals for scientists to study.
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/022805_TDE_ep4_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/022805_TDE_ep4_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1"> 
A large measles outbreak in Texas demonstrates how quickly the disease can spread when too few people are vaccinated. This warning sign greets patients at an Odessa, Texas, medical clinic.
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/022825_ts_vaccine_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/022825_ts_vaccine_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1"> 
A new device can replicate food flavors in virtual reality by squirting chemicals onto the tongue.
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/022825_sm_virtual-taste_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/022825_sm_virtual-taste_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1"> 
In experiments, scientists have found that gut bacteria can have an effect on mice’s desire for sugar. Some companies claim probiotics can have the same effect in people.
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/030125_column_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/030125_column_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1"> 
In the 19th century, tuberculosis surged through Europe in a deadly epidemic. A new book recounts how aerobiology, the study of life in the air, illuminated the disease’s airborne transmission.
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/030125_reviews_feat-2.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/030125_reviews_feat-2.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1"> 
Jon Nelson had lost interest in having his friends over to sit around his fire pit. But DBS, he hoped, would bring that energy back.
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ls_deepend_ep3.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ls_deepend_ep3.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1"> 
After years of unsuccessful treatments, deep brain stimulation helped pull Amanda out of depression.
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/092323_neurotech_2_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/092323_neurotech_2_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1"> 