Legal tech startup BrentWorks reports that it has launched CiteSentinel, a dedicated platform built specifically to detect and prevent AI hallucinations in legal citations, including those related to biotechnology. The tool scans legal documents and flags case law, statutes, and legal authorities that may be fabricated, misstated, or otherwise erroneous, before they reach a judge, according to the company.
Courts across the country are increasingly sanctioning attorneys who submit briefs containing invented case citations, a well-documented byproduct of generative AI drafting tools that produce authoritative-sounding, but entirely fictional, legal authority, says BrentWorks co-founder Brent Britton, a technology attorney and MIT-trained engineer. CiteSentinel was designed to close that verification gap, giving attorneys a fast and easy way to confirm that every citation in a filing corresponds to a real case, a real statute, and a real legal authority, he adds.
“The legal profession is learning, in very public ways, that AI doesn’t just make mistakes, it confidently lies to your face,” continues Britton. “CiteSentinel is about restoring trust. It lets lawyers move fast with the irresistible efficiencies of generative AI while still filing documents reciting authorities they can stand behind. It also enables them to scan opposing counsel’s documents, giving them a competitive edge in the courtroom.”
When a brief containing fabricated citations reaches the court, the question of who drafted it quickly becomes secondary to the question of whose name is on it. [BestForBest/Getty Images]
Many attorneys who do not personally use AI to draft documents are discovering they have a problem anyway, Britton points out. Opposing counsel may have used AI. Co-counsel may have. Contract attorneys and paralegals almost certainly have access to it and may be using it without disclosing that fact. When a brief containing fabricated citations reaches the court, the question of who drafted it quickly becomes secondary to the question of whose name is on it, he explains.
CiteSentinel lets attorneys scan any document, their own, a colleague’s, or an adversary’s, for citation errors before those errors become their problem, notes Britton. Attorneys who review opposing counsel’s filings with CiteSentinel gain an additional advantage: the ability to identify and challenge citations to authorities that simply do not exist, he says.
Unlike traditional research platforms that focus on finding more information, states Britton, CiteSentinel was created to confirm that the law cited in a document is real. Attorneys can scan:
Their own AI-assisted drafts, before filing
Submissions from co-counsel, contract attorneys, and support staff
Opposing counsel’s filings, for strategic advantage
Any document where citation accuracy carries professional or ethical weight
BrentWorks’ other co-founder is Brent Hunter, a technologist who applied neural networks to finance in 1993. He cites CiteSentinel as the first in a series of products the company will be releasing for the practice of law in the age of AI.
Both BrentWorks’ co-founders agree that AI hallucinations pose particular risks in biotechnology-related legal matters because cases often depend on highly technical evidence, including patent claims, prior art, clinical trial data, FDA regulatory history, scientific publications, expert witness testimony, freedom-to-operate analyses, and licensing agreements. In this context, an AI system could invent scientific references that do not exist, mischaracterize FDA guidance documents, fabricate patent precedents, incorrectly summarize clinical trial results, or generate inaccurate prior-art searches. Such errors can undermine legal arguments, regulatory submissions, and intellectual property strategies.
“Biotech litigation is where AI hallucinations turn genuinely dangerous. You have a system trained to sound authoritative now injecting phantom patent precedents and counterfeit clinical data into documents that determine whether a drug reaches patients or a patent survives challenge,” explains Brent Britton. “In this domain, where the technical record is everything, a ghost FDA guidance document or a fabricated prior art reference can unravel an entire legal strategy and years of work along with it. The law has always been a high-stakes information game, and right now the machines are playing it with synthetic cards.”
As CiteSentinel expands beyond just case citation verification, “it will be the truth layer that keeps all players honest,” he predicts.
BackgroundThe current study evaluated Sonic Augmentation Technology™ (SAT), a novel, Polyvagal-informed probe that incorporates continuously varying and acoustic features modeled on patterns of autonomic regulation into musical soundscapes. Specifically, the study examined whether SAT led to improvements in self-reported biobehavioral state (e.g. relaxation, breathing slowly, interoceptive clarity), and whether individuals with poorer baseline functioning (i.e., increased autonomic reactivity and anxiety/depression symptoms) reported greater improvements in biobehavioral state following SAT. It also sought to determine whether there would be changes in endogenous oxytocin level, and whether individuals who exhibit larger gains in biobehavioral state would show greater increases in oxytocin.MethodsThe current study examined data obtained from four samples, with 72 participants providing data virtually and 41 participants providing data in-person. Participants completed self-report measures of biobehavioral state, autonomic reactivity, and psychiatric symptomatology (i.e. anxiety and depression). Salivary oxytocin (pg/mL) was assessed via enzyme immunoassay in the participants who completed the study in person, with samples collected pre-and post-SAT.ResultsFollowing SAT, participants reported significant improvements in total biobehavioral state and the low and high arousal subscales. We also found that participants scoring above the cutoff for autonomic reactivity, anxiety, and depression reported greater increases in total biobehavioral state and decreases in the high arousal subscale. Greater decreases in the low arousal subscale were observed in the participants with increased anxiety. The subset of participants with salivary oxytocin samples exhibited increases in salivary oxytocin.ConclusionsThus, our results support the potential of SAT as a low-cost, non-invasive auditory probe for improving wellbeing, especially for clinical populations experiencing autonomic dysregulation and psychiatric difficulties, such as anxiety and depression.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifiers NCT06710886, NCT06902506, NCT06580119, and NCT07065227.
BackgroundMobile gaming is important for children’s social interaction, but its impact on real-life social connectedness depends heavily on family dynamics. How family patterns shape children’s emotional and social experiences around gaming remains underexplored, particularly qualitatively. This study examined how family dynamics influence children’s belonging, emotion regulation, and virtual interactions in mobile gaming.MethodsUsing a phenomenological design, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 participants from 10 families across urban, suburban, and rural China. Participants included children (n=10, aged 10-12), parents (n=8, all mothers), and siblings (n=2). All children had played mobile games for ≥6 months. Data were analyzed via thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke). Family patterns were identified based on parental mediation, emotional communication, and children’s sense of connectedness.ResultsThree family patterns emerged. Restrictive-Control Families (4/8) showed high monitoring and low trust, linked to concealment, tension, and social shift to virtual peers. Supportive Co-Play Families (3/8) exhibited shared play, emotional communication, and digital-offline continuity, with children reporting greater resilience and belonging. Sibling-Mediated Families (3 families) featured siblings as companions and emotional buffers, helping manage frustration without direct parental involvement. No severe conflicts or distress were directly caused by gaming in any pattern.ConclusionsChildren’s mobile gaming outcomes are shaped by relational context, not just time. This study identifies three family-level regulatory mechanisms: suppression (restrictive-control), cognitive reappraisal (supportive co-play), and co-regulation (sibling-mediated). These findings extend Social Connectedness Theory, showing how family patterns shape children’s emotion regulation. Supportive co-play and sibling mediation facilitate adaptive regulation and connectedness, while restrictive-control may drive children to virtual spaces. Family-based interventions targeting emotion regulation, not just screen reduction, are recommended. Shifting from “anti-addiction” to “developmental enhancement” offers a safe, practical strategy for integrating gaming into family life.
BackgroundAdolescence represents a critical developmental period marked by significant vulnerability to depression, a condition with heterogeneous presentations that complicate clinical management. The co-occurrence of personality dysfunction with depression is known to indicate greater severity and poorer prognosis, yet specific features of this comorbidity in adolescent clinical samples require further delineation. This study aimed to compare clinical and psychosocial correlates in depressed adolescents with and without impaired personality functioning.MethodsThe clinical sample comprised 73 adolescents (aged 12–17; 83.6% female) diagnosed with depression or reporting clinically significant depressive symptoms. Participants completed self-report measures assessing personality functioning (LoPF-Q 12–18), childhood maltreatment (CEQ), psychopathology (YSR 11-18), mentalizing capacity (RFQY-8), borderline traits (BPFS-C), and self-harm behavior. Based on LoPF-Q 12-18 T-scores, participants were categorized into two subgroups: depression without personality dysfunction (T ≤ 64; n=20) and depression with personality dysfunction (T ≥ 65; n=53).ResultsResults indicated that adolescents with co-occurring depression and personality dysfunction exhibited significantly lower functioning across all personality domains compared to those with depression alone. This subgroup also reported an earlier onset and higher frequency of self-harm, more severe suicidal ideation, elevated borderline traits, and greater impairments in mentalizing. Furthermore, they demonstrated higher levels of internalizing, affective, conduct, and PTSD symptoms, alongside greater exposure to emotional neglect.ConclusionImpaired personality functioning in depressed adolescents is associated with elevated and multifaceted patterns of symptoms, including subjective distress and risky behaviors. These findings underscore the necessity of routinely assessing personality functioning in adolescents with clinically significant depressive symptoms to enable early identification and the development of tailored, integrated interventions for this high-risk subgroup.
An open letter, In Support of Mandatory Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening and Recordkeeping, published late on the evening of June 3, 2026, and signed by life sciences researchers, technologists, national security experts and former White House officials, is calling for mandatory screening of synthetic nucleic acids. This effort is significant because it highlights that screening is a rare point of consensus for a wide coalition of science and technology experts and is widely seen as both pro-AI and pro-safety.
From the CEOs of the major labs to AI skeptics and safety organizations to luminaries in the life sciences, public health, and national security, there is wide agreement that we need stronger screening guardrails. The letter calls on US lawmakers to codify mandatory nucleic acid synthesis screening, including recordkeeping, in order to combat the development of biological weapons at the scale of AI. The open letter reads as follows:
As life sciences researchers, builders of AI and biotechnology, and experts with a wide range of views on how to approach AI policy, we call on legislators to make screening of orders for synthetic nucleic acids—and the equipment needed to make them—mandatory. The ability to order synthetic DNA online has accelerated vaccine development, powered basic research, and made it possible for small teams to access capabilities that used to be confined to major institutions. Since the publication of protocols to reconstruct viruses from strands of DNA more than two decades ago, it has also been recognized as a point in the biotechnology supply chain where a bad actor could cause outsized harm. Recognizing the vulnerability, synthesis companies formed the International Gene Synthesis Consortium in 2009 to develop and implement voluntary safeguards against misuse.
While the issue is not new, the pace of progress in artificial intelligence is. AI systems now outperform PhD-level virologists on questions about highly technical laboratory procedures in their own domains of expertise. The evidence about what this means for present-day biosecurity threats is genuinely mixed, but the trend is hard to dispute. AI systems are improving rapidly, and alongside incredible benefits to science and medicine, there is a real possibility that the knowledge barriers which have historically prevented bad actors from obtaining biological weapons will meaningfully erode.
Support for screening does not depend on any particular view of AI; the biosecurity case has been recognized by scientists and governments for decades. Screening is also one of the best understood and least disruptive biosecurity measures available. It asks providers of synthesized DNA and manufacturers of synthesis machines to check synthesis requests for sequences of concern and to verify customer legitimacy before shipping orders. Providers should also record synthesis orders and sequence data to support legitimate biosecurity investigations, so that any threat that might evade initial screening can be traced back to its source — including when individual sequences would not raise concern in isolation. Awareness of traceability itself deters misuse.
Many of the largest and most responsible providers in the industry already screen and record orders voluntarily because it is well understood that they have an important role to play in maintaining public trust in and mitigating potential misuse of this important technology.
For these reasons, the undersigned support mandatory nucleic acid synthesis screening, including recordkeeping, in the United States.
Given the pace at which the underlying technology is changing, we believe the need is urgent. Congress should act this session, and we applaud the legislative efforts currently underway. To ensure a consistent national standard rather than a patchwork of conflicting laws, states should also consider implementing requirements based on existing federal and industry guidelines.
This is a rare moment of agreement across stakeholders that are often at odds. We hope policymakers will meet it with decisive action.
Sincerely,
You can find the full list of signatories and the letter here. I am a media consultant working with the two organizations that are the primary organizers of the letter: the Institute for Progress (IFP) and the Foundation for American Innovation (FAI). The best email contact regarding the open letter is letter@screendna.org.
Carrie Hutcheson is senior director of the Glen Echo Group in Washington, DC.
Buoyed by the remarkable results of the OPTIMA trial presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting, Veracyte this week announced the U.S. launch of the Prosigna Breast Risk of Recurrence (ROR) test, a genomic test for patients diagnosed with early-stage hormone-receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer.
“Prosigna is the only test proven to be predictive for chemotherapy benefit in a Phase III prospective trial for patients with up to nine positive lymph nodes, including premenopausal women, all of whom were recommended to receive ovarian suppression,” Phillip G. Febbo, MD, chief scientific and medical officer at Veracyte, told Inside Precision Medicine.
The Prosigna test determines a patient’s ROR score and estimates the 10-year probability of distant recurrence. It thus help guide treatment decisions, including predicting whether high risk patients are likely to benefit from chemotherapy or may safely achieve optimal outcomes with endocrine therapy alone, helping clinicians to make personalized care plans for their patients.
Prosigna will be available to order starting June 8, 2026.
“Every patient diagnosed with breast cancer deserves answers they can trust about what their cancer means and what comes next,” said John Leite, PhD, chief commercial officer, Veracyte.
“Prosigna gives patients and their oncologists a deeper understanding of their individual risk of recurrence, and, for many, whether chemotherapy will truly benefit them or whether they can safely avoid it. That kind of personalized insight can bring greater confidence and reassurance as patients navigate decisions that will shape their care and future health.”
In the U.S., more than 225,000 new HR+/HER2- breast cancer cases are diagnosed each year. When breast cancer is diagnosed early and treated appropriately, five-year survival rates reach 92%.
“For decades, clinical staging just comprised tumor size and nodal status together with pathology. This was the standard approach to determining whether patients with HR+/HER2- breast cancer need chemotherapy. Many node-positive patients routinely receive chemotherapy as standard of care,” Febbo said.
He added, “And yet, chemotherapy is likely to only benefit a relatively small fraction of these patients.”
The OPTIMA trial uses the Prosigna test to guide therapy and testing. Those patients with a low Prosigna ROR (<60) can safely avoid chemotherapy. OPTIMA shows that tumor biology, as evaluated by the Prosigna test, provides information beyond traditional clinical factors.
Prosigna is based on the PAM50 genomic classifier, which classifies tumors into four intrinsic subtypes. Prosigna, the company said in a press release, “uniquely combines intrinsic subtypes and proliferation score with clinical pathological factors into a single comprehensive analysis to calculate a patient’s Risk of Recurrence (ROR) score and predict 10-year probability of distant recurrence.”
Veracyte’s portfolio includes multiple cancer types, including tests for prostate cancer (Decipher Prostate), bladder cancer (Decipher Bladder and TrueMRD for muscle invasive bladder cancer monitoring), and others. The company said, “Prosigna’s intrinsic subtyping data positions us well for future expansion. While ROR scoring is specific to HR+/HER2- disease, the underlying intrinsic subtyping information spans all breast cancer types.”
More than 225,000 new HR+/HER2- breast cancer cases are diagnosed annually, with approximately 75,000 patients having node-positive disease annually. The OPTIMA trial demonstrated that more than two-thirds of clinically high-risk patients (68%) can safely avoid chemotherapy—a significant population previously assumed to require treatment based solely on nodal status.
