JMIR Publications released two feature News and Perspectives articles covering health tech research developments, and one investigating the rising use of AI in medical education.
Navigating AI in Medical Education
In " Charting a Course for AI in Medical Education ," Katie Cottingham investigates how medical schools are integrating AI to prepare students for the increasingly tech-oriented clinical world. While AI tools can provide personalized, instant feedback and support, experts warn against never-skilling, mis-skilling, and de-skilling—risks where students (and professionals) rely too heavily on AI and lose, or never develop, critical thinking skills. Cottingham speaks with educators and one medical student on potential uses of AI tools to scaffold, rather than replace, these skills. "The brain needs to wrestle with information to make it stick," she writes. "When people offload difficult problems to AI models for quick answers, they are not going through this process, and the information may not become second-nature."
Please cite as:
Cottingham K. Charting a Course for AI in Medical Education.
J Med Internet Res 2026;28:e106486
URL: https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e106486
DOI: 10.2196/106486
Harnessing Foundation Models for Rare Disease Research
Rare diseases, affecting as many as 446 million people globally, remain difficult to diagnose and treat due to sparse available data and underfunding. In " AI Models Could Improve Diagnosis and Care for Rare Diseases ," Simon Spichak reports on novel machine learning tools which could speed up detection and treatment discovery. Expert source Rose Orenbuch, PhD, of Harvard, describes her work training the deep generative model popEVE, which has so far "identified 123 novel genetic variants that may cause rare severe developmental disorders" writes Spichak. Larger frontier and foundation models may also be able to generalize the signals learned from massive, diverse datasets to data-scarce rare disease research, potentially aiding in diagnosis and drug discovery—although, according to Spichak, "aside from a few success stories, they haven't yet proven their mettle in the real world."
Please cite as:
Spichak S. AI Models Could Improve Diagnosis and Care for Rare Diseases.
J Med Internet Res 2026;28:e106852
URL: https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e106582
DOI: 10.2196/106582
Sniffing Out Cancer
Liam Critchley covers research developments in electronic noses for non-invasive cancer screening in " Advanced Olfactory Cancer Detection: When E-Noses Sniff the Skin ". A pilot study published in the Journal of Analytical Chemistry developed a new quantum-dot-based e-nose utilizing cadmium sulfide nanocrystals to sense volatile organic compounds exhaled through the skin. "Using this data, researchers identified potential biomarkers indicating the presence or absence of a malignant tumor," reports Critchley. This highly sensitive device, according to the study authors, achieved 100% accuracy and sensitivity in distinguishing cancer patients from healthy controls, while also potentially allowing for disease severity to be classified.
Please cite as:
Critchley L.
Advanced Olfactory Cancer Detection: When E-Noses Sniff the Skin.
J Med Internet Res 2026;28:e106481
URL: https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e106481
DOI: 10.2196/100948
About JMIR Publications News and Perspectives
JMIR Publications is a leading open access publisher of digital health research. The News and Perspectives section is the newest addition to its portfolio, established to bring the rigor and integrity of academic publishing to scientific journalism. The section features well-researched, expert-driven content from the Scientific News Editor, Kayleigh-Ann Clegg, PhD, and a network of specialist JMIR Publications Correspondents to keep the digital health community informed, inspired, and ahead of the curve.
About JMIR Publications
JMIR Publications is a leading open access publisher of digital health research and a champion of open science. With a focus on author advocacy and research amplification, JMIR Publications partners with researchers to advance their careers and maximize the impact of their work. As a technology organization with publishing at its core, we provide innovative tools and resources that go beyond traditional publishing, supporting researchers at every step of the dissemination process. Our portfolio features a range of peer-reviewed journals, including the renowned Journal of Medical Internet Research.
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