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Video Boy goes viral sharing his love of science
Sean Atitsgobe, 11, has gained more than a million followers on social media and hopes to attend college by 13.
Dorking scientists to help launch spacecraft in new mission
Scientists from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Dorking are helping launch the spacecraft.
Browns hosting dynamic tight end for pre-draft visit
Could the Browns go a different route to improve the pass game? Drafting Kenyon Sadiq sure would be a shock
Former sports radio host Mike Missanelli arrested for assault, officials say
Former long-time sports radio host Mike Missanelli was charged with simple assault and harassment after slapping his fiancé, court documents say.
New sports bar to open at former Harpo's site
The bar aims to revive a long-vacant Arapahoe Avenue location.
Kansas City explores possibility of building urban youth sports complex
Members of a city council committee directed the city manager’s office to study the possibility of developing an urban youth sports facility.
Catherine O'Hara's brother says actress 'wasn't talking much in the end,' said goodbye to him in a dream
Catherine O'Hara's brother Michael P. O'Hara shares the 'sort of goodbye' he had with his sister after her death in January. 'She wasn't talking much in the end,' he says. 'She didn't really want to talk on the phone.'
Parents navigate opportunities, challenges of high school sports NIL shift
Following the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s (MHSAA) decision to allow high school athletes to participate in name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities, families around the Lansing area are starting to feel the impact. While the idea of student-athletes earning money from their talents is exciting, many parents say the reality is more complicated than […]
Report: Patriots Intend To Release Linebacker, Special Teams Weapon
Tuesday's news continues a trend of the New England Patriots moving on from backup linebackers this offseason.
UNCW Business, Education Advance in 2026 Rankings
For nearly a decade, UNCW has ranked among the nation’s best in the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings. The 2026 Best Graduate Schools list is no exception.
Two charged with stealing appliances from Wilkes-Barre Township business
WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Two men from New York City were apprehended by Wilkes-Barre Township police burglarizing a business and stealing appliances early Monday morning.
Badminton Asia C'ship, Billie Jean Cup ties begin; medal chances at boxing, wrestling Asian C'ship; Candidates continues: Indian Sports LIVE, April 7
Here are all the updates from Indian sports on April 7, 2026.
USA's Folarin Balogun Scores In Monaco's Win Over Rival Marseille
U.S. men's national team striker Folarin Balogun scored the difference-making goal as Monaco defeated rival Marseille, 2-1.
Upstate flower business celebrates 70 years
FOX Carolina's Margaret-Ann Carter has the details.
Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe is ready to turn his activism into a political career
Chris Kluwe never imagined a life in politics, but after years of speaking out, he's now running for a California Assembly seat.
Vietnam Politics
Delegates attend the opening session of Vietnam's National Assembly in Hanoi, Vietnam Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
Trump news at a glance: president accused of ‘threatening possible war crimes’ in Iran post
Chuck Schumer accuses president of ‘ranting like unhinged madman’ in threat to obliterate Iran’s power plants and bridges. Key US politics stories from 5 April
Marlins' Pete Fairbanks makes 3rd career start before paternity leave
Fairbanks threw 27 pitches in his lone inning, allowing three hits, including a three-run home run by Yankees first baseman Ben Rice that gave New York a 3-1 lead.
NFL draft profile 2026: Carson Beck (Quarterback, Miami)
Is Beck on of the 2026 draft’s top quarterbacks?
In a state that bans online sports betting, why is California allowing people to bet on politics?
Online sports betting is illegal in California but as of right now, it’s apparently legal for most people to bet on politics.
TPD: Man shot and killed overnight Sunday on Apalachee Parkway during ‘large physical altercation’
A man was shot and killed overnight Sunday on Apalachee Parkway after a “large physical altercation,” according to the Tallahassee Police Department.
Samsung’s Android Update—Bad News For Galaxy S26 Owners
If you own a new Samsung Galaxy S26, look away now.
Nichols’ Notes: Devils GM Speculation; Big-Name Trade Target
Downtown Bismarck gets back to business after snow
Several inches of snow fell across Bismarck in less than a day, but by afternoon, downtown was already starting to bounce back.
Ben Shelton suffers another early exit at ATP Houston 250
Ben Shelton suffered another upset loss in Houston, falling as the top seed in the quarter-finals. He's still alive in doubles action, however.
Play Ball! Knoxville Smokies kickoff 2026 season at Covenant Health Park
Knoxville Smokies hosts Birmingham Barons for Opening Day for their second season at Covenant Health Park on April 3, 2026.
Kirk Cousins getting paid by Raiders: How QB has cashed in to become one of NFL's richest players
Only two players in NFL history have made more money than Cousins and they are both locks for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
‘Ahead of his time’: Donation gives BRAF ownership of Newtron Group
Founder of billion dollar company The Newtron Group prepared for the company to be donated to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation more than a decade prior to his July 2025 death. The donation will ensure that the company maintains its employees, leadership and contributions to charitable causes dear to the founder.
WME Sells Sports Agency to Publicis
Publicis Groupe is set to acquire 160over90 in a bid to win more of advertisers’ spending in sports.
Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies Game Thread
Follow along as the Nats and Phillies square off in an afternoon rubber match
Dubai-Based Storyfied Ventures Launches as ‘First’ Strategic Brand Entertainment Outfit in Middle East
A new Dubai-based company called Storyfied Ventures dedicated to strategic partnerships between brands and entertainment content in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is being launched by ...
Danville business owners say they’re still waiting for traffic boost from casino
Part of Danville’s goal in bringing in Caesars Virginia was to capitalize on increased visitation by sending out-of-towners to other parts of the city. Some business owners have seen this happen, a…
King County order targets housing, shelters and behavioral health
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay announced a new Executive Order on Tuesday aimed at boosting affordable housing and shelter options throughout the region.
CERN lays first stone of Science Gateway
CERN today held a first stone ceremony as the next step in the creation of the Science Gateway which was first unveiled in 2019 in Geneva
A billionaire tax could save rural hospitals and patients
Fewer health care workers in turn drives a care crisis marked by burnout, excessive wait times and poor patient outcomes.
Phillies' slow start continues and the fans aren't happy about it
The Phillies dropped their third straight on Monday with a disastrous 13-2 loss to the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park.
Sacramento’s Sutter Health settles feds’ drug violations probe at two facilities
Investigators found hundreds of violations at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento and a surgical center in Fairfield.
Your guide to the biggest casino shows hitting the region now
Pete Davidson, SatchVai and more headline a packed early April entertainment lineup at casinos in NorCal and Nevada.
Why the cost of college football roster building won’t slow down anytime soon
Winning is expensive, but the alternative costs more. “Losing is the most expensive element of our sport,” a Pac-12 assistant coach said.
Malnourished children and desperate mothers: the healthcare facility on the frontline of Nigeria’s hunger crisis
About 6.4 million Nigerian children are expected to be acutely malnourished by the end of the year, putting impossible pressure on scarce treatment centres
The Guardian view on peptides: Robert F Kennedy Jr would leave public health policy to the hucksters
Editorial: The US health secretary says he is a big fan of peptides. Many are promising drugs, but the only way to know their utility is proper clinical trials
Overpaid Executive Tax fight divisive, costly
Billionaires spend to battle labor's ballot measure.
France XI vs Colombia – Predicted lineup and team news
France and Colombia face off in a friendly at Northwest Stadium on Sunday, with both sides treating the match as valuable preparation for the upcoming World Cup.France come into this game after a 2-1 ...
The science of the warm-up: From ridicule to RAMP, and the nightmare of losing a player to injury
Player warm-ups, whether for training or on matchday, have become part of the normal routine but there is technique behind making them work
TST Images: Mammoth defeat Kings, 6-2, in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES -- The Utah Mammoth defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 6-2, on March 28, 2026 at Crypto.
Meta vows to appeal social media ruling amid mental health crisis
Meta's Chief Legal Officer CJ Mahoney discusses the company's aggressive appeal against landmark social media rulings regarding teen mental health.
Florida influencer Clavicular arrested on suspicion of battery
A controversial manosphere influencer who goes by the name Clavicular was arrested on suspicion of battery, and no, this had nothing to do with the alligator incident.
Malik Willis briefed on Jaylen Waddle trade before it happened
Earlier this month, the Miami Dolphins shocked their fan base by trading one of the team’s most beloved and dynamic stars — wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. The former first round pick was packaged with a fourth round pick and sent to the Denver Broncos in exchange for 2026 first, third and fourth round selections. While […]
Partial Shutdown Chaos Hits Home
Co-hosts Brandon Rottinghaus and Jeronimo Cortina delve into the latest news in politics
Minneapolis City Council releases $7 million plan for businesses recovering from Operation Metro Surge
Who is the Latter-day Saint BYU student dividing the right?
A college Republican group tapped a Latter-day Saint BYU student as political director. Not all conservatives are happy.
Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley are torchbearers of women’s basketball. But who’s next?
The sport needs more prominent voices for the next generation of coaches and players.
19th-Century Blues: When Science Killed God and Made Some Englishmen Sad
With the Royal Navy ruling the waves, Queen Victoria safely on her throne, science explaining a confusing world, and British missionaries, explorers, and armies turning the map pink you’d think tha…
As war frays Trump’s power, new political forces erupt
In America this spring, seeds of political change are stirring.
Exclusive: Anthropic acknowledges testing new AI model representing ‘step change’ in capabilities, after accidental data leak reveals its existence
Anthropic said it was testing the new model, which it called a 'step change' in performance, after accidental data leak reveals its existence
Exclusive: Anthropic left details of an unreleased model, exclusive CEO retreat, sitting in an unsecured data trove in a significant security lapse
In a significant security lapse, the not-yet-public information was made accessible via the company’s content management system
Old Astria Health Medical Center converting to behavioral health facility
The building formerly as the Astria Regional Medical Center has been sold, with construction of an assisted living center at the site will begin soon.The buildi
United Healthcare, ECU Health pause contract talks as price dispute puts coverage in focus
Discussions around healthcare could impact people across Eastern North Carolina,United Healthcare and ECU Health have paused negotiations on a new contract and
Fayetteville businesses brace for impact as Fort Bragg deployments loom
When soldiers deploy, small businesses often feel the strain.
Broadcasters navigate scale, complexity of 2026 World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is poised to be the most expansive and logistically complex broadcast operation the sport has ever seen, as media companies prepare to cover a record number of matches across three host countries while tailoring coverage for a wide range of audiences.
Opioid settlement funds designated to build 60-bed youth behavioral health facility in Anderson
The local nonprofit Family Dynamics Resource Center asked the county board for $2 million as a community match in order to receive $25 million dollars in funding from the state. The funds are intended to allow the organization, which provides counseling and parenting services, to develop a 60-bed behavioral health campus for youth.
Roseman University launches life science incubator to promote discoveries
Roseman University is launching a new life science incubator to support the growth of the biotechnology sector in Southern Nevada.
Scientists Filmed a Whale Birth. The Surprise: Mom Had Many Helpers.
The episode, involving a group of sperm whales, adds to evidence that humans aren’t the only species that gets some form of assistance during and after delivery.
Scientists Finally Figured Out the Math Behind How You See Color
The team behind the study created what might be the most accurate mathematical representation of photoreception ever.
All-League Greyhounds in winter sports named | Healdsburg Tribune | Local News Healdsburg, California
“What’s impactful about these selections is that they are decided on by all of the peer head coaches in the girls league. Each girl is talked about; some advocated for stat by stat, others in a speech-like cadence. These girls selected are getting head nods from all these other coaches. It’s a special recognition.”
Jury holds Meta and Google liable for role in young woman's mental health issues
The verdict marks the end of the first-ever jury trial over whether tech giants should be held accountable for social media addiction. It may influence the outcome of 2,000 other pending lawsuits.
Massachusetts hospital EDs have a mental health 'boarding' problem
Such long waits are expensive and unhelpful for patients experiencing psychiatric crises, in addition to tying up in-demand hospital beds, the report said.
Las Vegas and Seattle are a step closer to getting NBA teams after league’s owners approve expansion exploration
The NBA’s board of governors voted Wednesday to approve a plan that will allow NBA officials to “formally explore potential team expansion” to Seattle and Las Vegas.
UCLA Health receives $2.4 million from Rose and Allen Nelson to establish a fellowship in translational and clinical neuroscience
The gift is being made in memory of their son Brandon, who received his bachelor’s in aerospace engineering from UCLA in 2014.
Play It Again Sports (Arkansas Sports University Inc.) - Talk Business & Politics
Cameron Campbell always enjoyed playing sports. His two favorite sports were basketball and baseball. When he got out of school, he wanted to do something where he was still involved...
The BB-777 is the ultimate in boombox nostalgia
It’s a modern recreation of the iconic Sharp GF-777.
Advancing Science, Students Provide Fun and Free STEM Programs for Low-Income Youth
Alyssa Huang seriously loves science and math. And she’s on a mission to make every kid feel the same way.
Pop-up bar dedicated to women's sports now open in Boston
261 at Para Maria is named for the bib number worn by the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon.
Jacobs Entertainment begins construction on downtown sports fields
Jacobs Entertainment has begun building the flat fields that will make up their youth sports initiative.
Jacobs Entertainment begins construction on downtown sports fields
Jacobs Entertainment has begun building the flat fields that will make up their youth sports initiative.
Pound loses footing, business activity growth slows on Iran war hit
The British pound fell against the dollar on Tuesday, reversing some of its rise from the day before, as the Middle East war continues to hold sway over markets and as signs emerged that the conflict was starting to affect Britain's economy.
Anthropic's Claude Can Now Control Your Computer
The developer is boosting Claude's agentic capabilities in an apparent effort to compete with platforms like OpenClaw.
While Intel Skipped Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, It Appeared At Geekbench With A Staggering 17% Higher Single And Multi-Core Score Than Ultra 9 285K
Intel's Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 3747 single-core and 26117 multi-core in Geekbench, showing a 17% performance boost over the 285K.
Inaugural Health Care by Food research award honors excellence in food is medicine science
DALLAS, March 23, 2026 — At a time when American dietary patterns are facing renewed attention, the American Heart Association has announced its inaugural Health Care by Food™ Most Impactful Food Is Medicine Research Award, honoring the year’s most...
How Healthy Are Meat Sticks and Jerky as Protein Sources?
These convenient snacks are rich in protein and low in calories, but they are considered processed meats. Here's how often you should eat them.
Inaugural Health Care by Food research award honors excellence in food is medicine science
DALLAS, March 23, 2026 — At a time when American dietary patterns are facing renewed attention, the American Heart Association has announced its inaugural Health Care by Food™ Most Impactful Food Is Medicine Research Award, honoring the year’s most...
NBA's Final Decision on Luka Doncic Suspension Causes a Stir
Luka Doncic received his 16th technical foul of the season, which warrants an automatic suspension.
Crimson Desert developer apologizes and promises to replace AI-generated art
Pearl Abyss announced a comprehensive audit of its in-game assets and will replace any AI-generated content.
Your Thymus and Your Healthspan
Our thymus gland plays a central role in the development or our immune system, specifically for supporting T cell development (how these cells got their name, maturation and differentiation in the thymus) and discriminating between self and foreign, non-self antigen proteins with production of dendritic cells. As we age, our thymus gland shrinks—the process known as involution—with progressive change from spongy to fatty tissue, with loss of functionality. But this process, with respect to timeline and extent, markedly varies from one person to the next. And to make things even more complicated, our thymus gland anatomy and precise location in the chest also is highly variable. So the famous Frank Netter diagrams from the 1960s (such as at left below) don’t capture the remarkable heterogeneity that a random set of 12 chest CT scans (below at right). What I consider as 2 landmark papers in Nature this week (here and here) used AI to quantify health of the thymus in 2 large cohorts, and then correlate the metric to a broad array of health outcomes. In this edition of Ground Truths, I’m going to cover three questions: (1) How was thymus health determined by AI?; (2) How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? and (3) Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? Subscribe 1. How was thymus health determined by AI? This was accomplished by extensive work developing and validating an AI pipeline for 2 stages, the first for localization and segmentation of the thymus bed, and the second to quantify a digital marker, termed the thymic health score. There’s a lot to this algorithmic development, so I won’t go into all the details, but just provide a rudimentary outline of what was done. The 1st stage used supervised learning with 2 radiologists reviewing 2,461 chest CT scans. That work trained a 3D U-Net model to automatically identify the thymic bed’s 3D cropped region using center of mass coordinates, which reached 99.8% accuracy. The 2nd stage used a foundation model that was pre-trained with SwAV (which stands for Swapping Assignment between multiple Views), a self-supervised model, that generated a high-dimensional thymus representation of 4,096 features. That compares to the radiology reductionist and subjective scoring of 0 to 3 where 0 means the thymus is fully degenerated and fatty, and 3 is considered dense, intact glandular soft tissue. Notably, the self-supervised learning (SSL) performance was superior to supervised (AUC ~0.75 vs 0.55, respectively) reflecting the shallowness of the 0-3 classifier vs SSL’s holistic, self-taught AI. The thymic health score ranged from 0 to 100, with the highest number indexed to fully preserved thymic health. The algorithmic work extended to explainability with both Shapely value distribution, meaning the model was holistic not relying on any “magic” pixel, and occlusion sensitivity, demonstrating the model’s performance was not affected by ribs, sternum, lung tissue, but rather focused on the thymic bed directly. Below are a few saliency maps from the occlusion sensitivity that indicate the thymic bed focus, not affected by neighboring structures, using the jet color scale. Now the AI was ready for processing ~25,000 CT scans, each over 30 MB files, from the 2 large participant cohorts to provide a thymic health score, it did so in less than 14 hours, which is less than 2 seconds per scan! Share 2. How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? The two cohorts were the National Lung Screening Trial, NLST (N=25,031) and the Framingham Heart Study, FHS (N=2,581) each with baseline demographics and long term follow up of >12 years for health outcomes. From the NSLT, you can see below that increased age and body-mass index were correlated to reduced thymic health. And, overall, men had reduced thymic health scores compared with women. There are a lot of graphs in the paper for outcomes, for both the NLST and FHS cohorts. To simplify the major outcomes, below is a composite Figure with striking reduction of all-cause mortality and for the different causes of death. The results were consistent between the 2 cohorts. For example, the cardiovascular mortality hazard ratio average was 0.57 in NLST and 0.38 in FHS (weighted to be 0.53 for the aggregate). The reduction of mortality also extended to digestive diseases and pulmonary disease (data not shown below). Lung cancer incidence was reduced by 36% for high vs low thymic health (Figure below, with a panel -incidence and b panel-mortality, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, smoking status). Notably, there was a smoker’s paradox: lower incidence and improved survival for lung cancer in smokers who had a high thymus health score. Smoking was associated with lower thymic scores whereas alcohol was not. Higher thymic health was linked to higher HDL cholesterol, lower triglycerides, lower fasting blood glucose, and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Inflammation biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, were elevated in the people with lower thymic health scores. In their second paper, the same team looked at the relationship between thymic score and outcomes for 3,476 patients receiving cancer immunotherapy. The non-small cell lung cancer progression-free survival was reduced in patients with low thymic health score. A parallel relationship for survival was seen for other types of cancer including melanoma, breast, and kidney with a 44% lower risk among high thymic scores (Figure). A similar pattern was seen with different immune checkpoint inhibitors. The thymus health score outperformed programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1)and tumor mutation burden (TMB) assay of the tumor and was an independent prognostic marker of progression-free survival. In this dataset, a direct connect with thymus score and adaptive immune function was noted with a correlation before cancer treatment for both T-cell diversity and thymus T-cell production (a metric known as T cell receptor excision circles). Thymus Removal Study There is a highly relevant citation about thymus function before moving onto ways to rejuvenate it. In 2023, a very important study of thymus removal during cardiothoracic surgery was published, with 1146 patients undergoing thymus removal vs 1146 matched controls (mean age 55 years). The adverse outcomes for thymus removal were striking, with a 2.9 higher risk of all-cause mortality and doubling of cancer incidence, 1.5 fold increase in cancer mortality, and 1.5-fold increase in autoimmune diseases. The immune function showed marked compromise after thymus removal, as reflected by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (Figure below) Share Ground Truths 3. Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? In recent months we’ve learned a lot about the process of thymus involution and the pathways by which this may be modulated. Thymus involution is primarily due to loss to thymus epithelial cells (TECs) and there are 2 subtypes with different functions: the cortical, responsible for positive selection of T cells, and the medullary, for negative selection. When adipose tissue infiltrates the thymus, thymic adipocytes are pro-inflammatory, knocking out T-cell output. Likewise, systemic inflammation, or “inflammaging,” from smoking, obesity, and chronic stress promote thymic adipocytes. Now, from preclinical studies, we know about key pathways that account for these processes. Historically, back in 2014, FOXN1 was recognized as a single master transcription factor essential for TEC function, with studies in mice with forced FOXN1 upregulation leading to thymus regeneration. That laid the foundation for potential regrowth of quiescent thymus cells. It took awhile to find pathways to accomplish this goal and to even refute its role as the master regulator. The Liver-Thymus Axis Feng Zhang and his team recently showed that injection of an mRNA vaccine to the liver encoding DLL1, IL-7 and FLT3-L in combination, factors known to support thymopoiesis (Figure), successfully enhanced immune function in aged mice. However, the effect was transient. The FGF21 Story Two reports in 2025 addressed the thymus gland’s production of FGF21, a growth factor (fibroblast growth factor 21) and its control of thymus involution. This growth factor is also produced by the liver, but it doesn’t have impact on the thymus in aged rodent models. In contrast, The liver’s hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has been shown to reverse senescent TEC structural changes. Growth hormone stimulates production of insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the liver and the thymus. Two small studies in human participants (TRIIM, for Thymus Regeneration, Immunorestoration, and Insulin Mitigation) of 6 and 50 people, respectively, treated with combined human growth hormone, metformin and DHEA, suggested the potential of slowing epigenetic aging and improving thymus mass and function. But the combination of drugs, small sample, and lack of controls make conclusions murky. Increased thymus FGF21 led to increased CD8 T cells in old mice and extended healthspan and improved physical performance. Building on the previous FOXN1 data, ablation of β-klotho, the obligatory co-receptor for FOXN1, accelerated thymic aging. The benefit to FGF21 was confirmed in a companion paper using an FGF21 knock-in mouse model showing thymus enlargement and increased TECs throughout the lifespan. (schematic Figure below). The accompanying editorial for these 2 papers speculated: “The proposed link between age-associated thymus involution and organismal aging is intriguing, and suggests we might seek to achieve systemic rejuvenation by counteracting thymic involution.” Other Factors Lessons from the Axolotl (Mexican Salamander) In an elegant set of experiments of the axolotl (Figure), known for its complete thymus regeneration after total surgical removal, mediators were identified. Surprisingly FOXN1 was dispensable. But midkine, a growth factor, appeared to be the driver, the initiator of thymus cell growth, survival, and repair. Other components that contributed were Postn+ (periostin-expressing mesenchymal niches) and Ccl19, a chemokine protein from the bloodstream. RANK and RANKL RANK (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB its ligand (RANKL) have been considered key regulators of medullary TECs. In a study of both aged mice and human thymus cell cultures, their key role was confirmed, with multiple benefits of resorting TEC function, recruitment of progenitor cells, and T cell development. Subscribe Summing Up This body of work strongly supports the health of the thymus gland as a critical regulator of human healthspan, not just a correlate or link. The new landmark studies are reinforced by the regenerative biology experimental models that have shown, via an array of mediators, that healthspan of aged mice is at least in part dependent on thymus gland function and its critical role for maintaining adaptive immunity. It sure seems that we’d be better off having an immune reservoir of naive T cells instead of a profile in older adults of exhausted, low quality, memory T cells, with a senescent phenotype. It is striking that we ignored the importance of the thymus gland for many decades. A wake-up call was the results of the thymectomy matched control study reviewed here, with the opposite of high thymic health score improved health outcomes. The convergence of AI and healthspan here is notable. The exceptional and laborious work for developing and validating (no less explaining) the AI to quantify thymus health set the foundation for probing the connect the major health outcomes in two cohorts with extensive follow-up. We’ve never had a way to meaningfully quantify the thymus gland before, so this represents important leverage of supervised, self-supervised, and transformer models. The study wouldn’t have been possible without AI. And it begs the question as to whether there are ways we can maintain our thymus at a high health score. But it’s not so simple to rejuvenate our thymus. There are multiple risks including the induction of autoimmunity, increasing the risk of cancer, and inducing a pro-inflammatory state. For example, factors that increase TEC proliferation could compromise the medulllary negative selection process and leak out auto-reactive (self-attacking) T cells. Thymic cells could be induced to proliferate, but we know, for example, that growth hormone and IGF-1 are associated with an increase risk of cancer. If thymus rejuvenation doesn’t clear out the accumulated senescent cells in older adults, then inflammation within the gland could block the production of TECs. Keeping these risks in mind, we now have identified many ways to keep our thymus healthy as we age that undoubtedly will be tested in clinical trials going forward. Ultimately, the benefit-to-risk tradeoffs will be defined. In the meantime, we have desperately needed an immunome. As I’ve stressed in multiple prior Ground Truths, we have no test in the clinic to assess a patient’s immune status! It was very encouraging for me to get an email from Hugo Aerts, the senior author of the landmark papers in the days after they were published: “I also wanted to say that your Substack on “Why We Need an Immunome” was inspiring for this work. We found it a very compelling perspective and greatly enjoyed reading it.” Just having an assessment of a person’s immune status via a chest CT scan, with millions of these performed per year, might help in guiding the right immunotherapy for cancer (e.g. more intensive, combinations for those with low thymic health scores) and help define people who are increased risk for age-related diseases of cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative. The main theme of Super Agers is that we now have many layers of data (genetics, proteins, biomarkers, organ clocks that can be integrated via multimodal AI) for us to define a person’s specific risk decades before one of these age-related diseases leads to symptoms, enabling prevention. From the new studies this week, we can add thymus health score as yet another way to understand a person’s risk, a window into their adaptive immune system and healthspan. And perhaps someday we will be able to safely rejuvenate the thymus, or maintain its health through one’s life, and use the thymus health score to monitor. NB: I wrote this post (No A.I.) A Quick Poll Loading... ********************************************************************* Thanks to Ground Truths subscribers (now > 200,000) from every US state and 212 countries. Your subscription to these free essays and podcasts makes my work in putting them together worthwhile. Please join! If you found this interesting PLEASE share it! Share Ground Truths Paid subscriptions are voluntary and all proceeds from them go to support Scripps Research. They do allow for posting comments and questions, which I do my best to respond to. Please don’t hesitate to post comments and give me feedback. Let me know topics that you would like to see covered. Leave a comment Many thanks to those who have contributed—they have greatly helped fund our summer internship programs for the past two years. It enabled us to accept and support 47 summer interns in 2025! We aim to accept even more of the several thousand who will apply for summer 2026.
‘We can create hype’: H&M’s UK boss on its commitment to the high street
As the chain marks 50th anniversary in Britain, Karen O’Rourke explains what makes it stand out against cut-price rivals
Washington Football Hires Utah State Analyst as Special Teams Analyst
Washington will once again have two coaches working on specials teams in 2026 after added a rising analyst to work alongside Chris Petrilli.
Gov. Stein announces $8.5 million for WNC small business recovery after Helene
The funding will assist 13 projects through the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program, continuing the state’s response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene.
March Madness live: Who will advance to Sweet 16? Today's schedule, TV listings
Keep up the men's NCAA Tournament on March 21, including game times, TV channels and live updates.
These are my favorite budget-friendly iPhone 17e accessories
Best budget accessories for iPhone 17e: cases, chargers, MagSafe gear, AirPods, and more to upgrade your setup for less.
High-speed combat drone production starts at new US Anduril plant in days
Anduril Industries will begin building its new FURY, "loyal wingman," high-speed combat drones in the coming days at a new facility in Ohio, as the U.S. military's interest in unmanned aircraft surges following battlefield successes in Ukraine and Iran.
Most ACA enrollees cutting back on food, household needs to pay for health care: Poll
A little more than half of Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollees reported cutting back on spending for food, clothing and other basic household items to afford health care that’s be…
To chop spending, Ottawa will cut science, tourism, foreign aid programs
While 40 departments will collectively spend $23 billion more next year, another 85 departments will spend $31 billion less in 2026-27.
‘Superhuman’ healthcare workers saved NHS from collapse, Covid inquiry concludes
Chair Heather Hallett says pandemic had devastating impact due to NHS being in ‘parlous state’ at time
California’s proposed billionaire tax gains majority support in new poll, with a partisan split on voter ID
A new poll shows California voters are sharply divided over two brewing ballot measures: a one-time tax on billionaires and new rules and procedures to verify voter citizenship.
2 teens killed, more than a dozen sick after meningitis outbreak in UK
Arizona calls Kalshi an illegal gambling business as first state in first state lawsuit against company
“Arizona will not be bullied into letting any company place itself above state law,” Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes said.