As health systems explore AI tools for vaccine communication, a new Penn-led randomized controlled trial offers a cautionary finding: Brief chatbot conversations can make vaccine-hesitant parents more willing to vaccinate their children against HPV, but they did not outperform standard public health materials. The effects of the written materials also persisted, while those of the chatbots faded. The researchers say the next step is to test AI as part of broader support systems that help families move from intention to action.

In a step forward for patient-centered cancer research, a new pilot project reveals that 84% of participants had a positive experience using a newly developed online tool created by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology called the Participant Engagement Portal (PEP). Alliance created PEP to foster direct connection between cancer researchers and the individuals who volunteer for clinical studies. The goal was to make it easier for patients and clinicians to share information, deliver trial updates, and self-report on social risk factors. The results of this national project are published in JNCI Cancer Spectrum.  

Antiretroviral drugs for HIV infection have enabled most people living with the virus to live long and healthy lives. However, a small portion of people experience detectable — and worrisome —traces of the virus that causes AIDS despite strict adherence to long-term treatment regimens and the absence of symptoms. New findings published in Nature Communications suggest that most cases of this phenomenon, which is called non-suppressible viremia, are explained by defective and noninfectious copies of the virus.

A new pharmaceutical production method could allow astronauts on long space missions to "grow" fresh medicines on demand using plants. The work could also bring low-cost pharmaceutical production to resource-limited areas on Earth.