When it comes to navigating their surroundings, machines have a natural disadvantage compared to humans.

In a new study involving 402 U.S.-based primary care physicians, researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Sydney identified a “sweet spot” in clinical decision-making. By presenting just the right number of treatment alternatives in the electronic health record (EHR) system, physicians were more likely to choose a high-quality alternative rather than defaulting to the status quo.

There’s no scientific evidence that the gut microbiome causes autism, a group of scientists argue in an opinion paper publishing November 13 in the Cell Press journal Neuron. They point to the fact that conclusions from past research that supported this hypothesis—including observational studies, mouse models of autism, and human clinical trials—are undermined by flawed assumptions, small sample sizes, and inappropriate statistical methods.  

 

Unhealthy lifestyles in deprived communities are stoking a series of economic and policy challenges in the UK, a new paper from Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) suggests.

The paper says health inequalities between the richest and poorest have reversed the post-1945 increase in life expectancy, while boosting both NHS waiting lists and welfare spending. It has also driven the politically toxic post-Brexit rise in immigration through distorting local labour markets – exacerbating other national challenges such as the housing shortage.

Without a major drive aimed at deterring unhealthy lifestyles, the paper warns, health inequalities and the economic and social pressures they breed will continue to soar.