
SAN FRANCISCO — Dr. Thomas Insel is one of the most high-profile scientists who has departed Verily Life Sciences, the Google spinoff that has been plagued by turnover at the top and questions about its approach to science.
Insel, a neuroscientist and longtime head of the National Institute of Mental Health, left for a venture that he says could use people’s behavior on smartphones — such as the speed and cadence of their typing and scrolling — to improve diagnosis and treatment of mental health. The idea, he said in an interview, is to apply the kind of precision approach used for cancer or heart disease to “predict and preempt” serious mental illness.
People touch their phones 4,000 times a day, said Insel, who co-founded Mindstrong Health in May, the month he left Verily. “Every one of those touches is a data point for us … and it looks like it’s giving us really special insights into cognition and behavior.”
I’m editor of STAT Plus, STAT’s subscriber-only service for pharma, biotech, business, and policy coverage. STAT is a sister publication to the Globe, which means that we are separate. Globe editors will sometimes present STAT and STAT Plus stories that they think Globe readers would find interesting, in much the same way that some newsletters will aggregate links to a variety of other media outlets with distinct subscription services to add context and value for their readership.
At this time STAT and the Globe do not have a bundled subscription service, and as such our subscription entities are distinct. That said, we do offer a 25 percent discount to Globe subscribers if they are interested in STAT Plus. You can use the code GLOBE17 at checkout (www.statnews.com/subscribe) to redeem this offer. Or, you can learn more about STAT Plus here: https://www.statnews.com/stat-plus/faq/
Liz Cooney
STAT
So – Mark responded that he agreed.
Is Mark from STAT or The Boston Globe?
And – now what?
Thanks,
Laurie
Why do I need to subscribe to STAT –
as it is listed as a Boston Globe article?
It seems to me that if the Boston Globe puts the article in their paper,
they should provide the article…..
Please respond.
Thank you,
Laurie Abrams-Hall
[email protected]
Completely agree.
I would like to hear more from you.