Why AI systems are most useful as designers of new scientific tools - Nature

Researchers from the University of Alberta have found that opioids are best used for acute pain relief for four weeks or less, and may cause more harm than good when used for chronic pain for more than 12 weeks. In a recently published paper in the British Journal of General Practice, the team did a systematic review of 27 randomized controlled trials comparing opioids with non-opioid pain management for the treatment of osteoarthritis or chronic low back pain. The trials examined the ability of opioids such as oxycodone, buprenorphine, oxymorphone, hydromorphone and morphine to produce clinically meaningful pain relief defined as 30 per cent or more over time.