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Kerala Blasters vs FC Goa in ISL: Indian Sports LIVE, May 18
Here are all the updates from Indian sports on May 18, 2026.
Kerala Blasters vs FC Goa in ISL: Indian Sports LIVE, May 18
Here are all the updates from Indian sports on May 18, 2026.
Former Gov. Christine Gregoire blasts WA Democrats’ tax strategy, warns businesses will leave state
Former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire is publicly breaking with many fellow Democrats over the state’s tax-and-spending strategy, warning lawmakers they risk driving businesses and wealthy residen...
Hearts say ‘shameful’ scenes at Celtic ‘embarrassed Scottish football’
Hearts blasted the ‘shameful, unacceptable’ scenes at Celtic which ‘embarrassed Scottish football’ as their Premiership title dream ended on Saturday.The Jambos lost the crucial away game 3-1 ...
Did You Mean to Share That Selfie? What to Know About Instagram Instants.
Instagram’s new feature blasts photos to your mutual followers or close friends, immediately.
Rory rips PGA Championship course setup and he's not alone
Golfers from Rory to Scottie blast 'absurd' Aronimink course setup at PGA Championship.
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope could reveal millions of invisible neutron stars
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope could expose a vast hidden population of neutron stars lurking unseen across the Milky Way. By detecting subtle shifts in starlight caused by gravity, the mission may identify and even weigh isolated neutron stars that are otherwise impossible to see. Scientists hope the discoveries will reveal how these extreme objects are born and why they are blasted through space at incredible speeds.
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler blasts ‘disgusting’ comments from Sen. Rand Paul’s son
New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler told reporters Wednesday that a Senate colleague’s son verbally accosted him the night before, making antisemitic and homophobic remarks.
ESPN's Tim Hasselbeck slams Bengals' organization, Joe Burrow's health
ESPN NFL analyst Tim Hasselbeck blasted the Bengals for underachieving during quarterback Joe Burrow's injury-plagued career.
Jason Collins, NBA's first openly gay player, dies of brain cancer at 47
Collins announced his diagnosis of stage 4 glioblastoma in December
The First Atomic Bomb Made a Crystal Scientists Had Never Seen Before
Trinitite still holds strange matter forged in seconds by the Trinity blast.
80 years after the Trinity nuclear test, scientists identify new molecule-trapping crystal formed in the blast
Matter behaves strangely under extreme conditions, and often, remnants of these behaviors are left behind even when conditions return to normal. The Trinity nuclear test in 1945 left behind such remnants, ...
Blasters vs Mohammedan, NorthEast vs Chennaiyin in ISL: Indian Sports LIVE, May 10
Here are all the updates from Indian sports on May 10, 2026.
Huge crowd presses for Louisiana to keep two majority-Black districts in pointed hearing
As the Louisiana Legislature races to redraw its voting maps for Congress, voters and advocates blasted lawmakers for pushing to eliminate majority-Black seats.
NFL announces in email blast schedule release "is almost here"
It's an announcement of the announcement of the announcement.
IN8bio Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Recent Business Highlights
Advancing next-generation γδ T cell engager platform with initial animal data expected in 2026Reported glioblastoma (GBM) data showing ~97% improvement in progression-free survival vs. standard-of-care; updated median overall survival (mOS) data to be presented at ASCO 2026Hosting R&D Day on May 21, 2026 in New York City NEW YORK, May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IN8bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: INAB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative gamma-delta (γδ) T cell therapies and γδ
Star Fox Direct sees Fox McCloud and crew prepare for liftoff on Nintendo Switch 2 June 25 - News
All systems go! Moviegoers around the world have seen Fox McCloud take to the skies in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – soon players can blast off with Fox and his allies on the Nintendo Switch 2 system. In today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Ninten…
Ironmouse claims Neverness to Everness lied to her about AI use and cancels sponsorship
VTuber Ironmouse has called out Neverness to Everness after the game was hit with accusations of using AI-generated content.
In fiery Louisiana debate, Julia Letlow and John Fleming clash over who’s most conservative
Sen. Bill Cassidy chose to bypass the debate because the host, conservative talk radio host Moon Griffon, blasts him as “Psycho Bill.”
Zambia blasts the U.S. over a $2 billion health deal in exchange for critical minerals
Zambia accuses the U.S. of linking a $2 billion health assistance deal to access to its rich mineral resources.
Zambia blasts the US over a $2 billion health deal in exchange for critical minerals
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zambia is accusing the United States of tying a $2 billion deal for critical health assistance to access to the southern African nation's rich mineral assets, and calling the outgoing U.S. ambassador's allegations of corruption “mischievous” and “undiplomatic."
Zambia blasts the US over a $2 billion health deal in exchange for critical minerals
Zambia accuses the U.S. of linking a $2 billion health assistance deal to access to its rich mineral resources
The scientist designing a tailored attack on glioblastoma
At UCLA, Dr. David Nathanson develops drugs that target the unique biology of glioblastoma, offering new hope for patients with this aggressive cancer.
Schumer blasts 'reckless war' in Iran as gas prices continue to rise
The average cost of a regular gallon of gas in New York state is currently $4.46, according to AAA.
'The Bean' Sculptor Kapoor Blasts America's 'Politics Of Hate' And 'Warmongering'
Kapoor last year threatened to sue the Trump administration after a group of border patrol agents posed for a photo in front of his Chicago sculpture.
Pittsburgh Irish Festival reveals headlining acts for 35th annual event
The 35th annual event at the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark features a slate of international headliners and local performers.
Is ‘9-1-1’ About to Kill Off Another Major Character?
Plus, Buck gets a blast from his past, then faces a devastating call.
Brain function evaluations to be part of Marine health records
By September, Marines will be screened for blast exposure and overpressure during their periodic health assessments, a Pentagon official said.
Justin Baldoni blasts Blake Lively's 'pie in the sky' damages math
Blake Lively seeks more than $200M from Justin Baldoni at next month's "retaliation" trial. On Tuesday, his side challenged her "pie in the sky" math.
Exclusive | Bruce Blakeman blasts Hochul, Mamdani over pied-à-terre tax proposal: 'Losing businesses and jobs each and every day'
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is currently running for governor, blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax proposal in an interview with The Post.
Trump administration fires all members of US National Science Board
Democrats blast latest move by the administration to radically restructure the federal government.
GOP gubernatorial Bruce Blakeman promises tax relief for restaurants, small businesses as he blasts 'Hochul Special' tax crisis
Trump blasted Obama’s Iran deal. Now he faces similar tradeoffs.
As U.S. envoys pursue peace talks, the president confronts persistent sticking points: sanctions relief, enrichment limits and the risk of empowering Tehran.
Scientists Finally Crack Decades-Old Mystery of “Breathing” Lasers
A new model reveals that two very different laser pulse behaviors are fundamentally connected.
Kentucky governor blasts UK athletics' 'decision-making'
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has publicly questioned the "decision-making" at the University of Kentucky, including the seven-figure gig retiring athletic director Mitch Barnhart was recently given.
Name of Walz's new 3-word PAC draws immediate online mockery
Gov. Tim Walz launches the Small Town PAC to reach rural voters, but conservatives immediately mocked the effort and blasted his record on social media.
Astronomers measure the power and speed of black hole jets for the first time
Scientists for the first time have measured the instantaneous, mind-blowing power of jets blasting from a black hole.
Bill Maher, Woody Harrelson sound off on California business climate, say state deserves to be 's--- on'
Bill Maher and Woody Harrelson blast California on their podcast, saying the state's heavy taxes make their cannabis business hard to sustain.
The Space Sector Prepares to Blast Off
Space companies are buzzing with excitement over a series of tailwinds set to lift juggernaut SpaceX, start-ups and once-struggling legacy players.
FC Goa aim to dent Mumbai City's title hopes, Kerala Blasters take on Jamshedpur in ISL double header: Indian Sports LIVE, April 18
Here are all the updates from Indian sports on April 18, 2026.
FC Goa aim to dent Mumbai City's title hopes, Kerala Blasters take on Jamshedpur in ISL double header: Indian Sports LIVE, April 18
Here are all the updates from Indian sports on April 18, 2026.
Reds, Sal Stewart smash Giants in 8-3 victory
Cincinnati’s rookie 1B launched a pair of 3-run blasts.
Trump threatens to fire Powell, blasts Fed leadership as ‘incompetent’
Trump backs Kevin Warsh to lead the Fed as he threatens to fire Jerome Powell and blasts the central bank’s leadership as “incompetent."
Vaishali in contention to win FIDE Women's Candidates; Kerala Blasters host NorthEast United in ISL: Indian Sports LIVE, April 15
Here are all the updates from Indian sports on April 15, 2026.
NFL Reporter Dianna Russini Resigns Amid Mike Vrabel Photos
Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic following a wave of controversy tied to photos of her with Mike Vrabel. The NFL Reporter Dianna Russini Resigns Amid Mike Vrabel Photos first appeared on The Blast
Critics blast Democrats after Swalwell resignation, say saga shows ‘how politics really works’
Rep. Eric Swalwell's resignation amid sexual abuse allegations draws fierce criticism, with pundits claiming Democrats sat on the dirt for years.
Black hole wakes after 100 million years and erupts like a cosmic volcano
A colossal “cosmic volcano” has erupted in deep space, as a supermassive black hole in galaxy J1007+3540 roars back to life after nearly 100 million years of silence. Astronomers captured stunning radio images showing fresh jets blasting outward while crashing into the intense pressure of a surrounding galaxy cluster, creating a chaotic, distorted structure stretching nearly a million light-years.
SF, California leaders blast Trump for firing Presidio board
State and local leaders condemned the decision to fire all six board members of the Presidio Trust, the federal agency that manages the historic national park.
Artemis II was a product of politics. Then it sent us over the Moon
In both 1968 and 2026, a mission to the Moon offered a refreshing blast of positivity for a conflict-ridden world. So what's different now — and what do we really gain from this new moonshot, five decades after the first?
Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu blasts Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson comes under fire from Chiefs defensive end.
Pro-Palestinian activist refuses to condemn political violence after threat against her is foiled
After a Molotov cocktail plot against a pro-Palestinian activist was foiled, Nerdeen Kiswani refused to condemn political violence, blasting Zionist aggression.
Democrats blast coming congressional redistricting session: ‘This is illegal’
For now, Republicans are pushing forward.
Fans Blast ‘Pokémon Champions’ Game—As Nintendo Wipes ‘Pokopia’ Stock Gains
Nintendo stock dipped Wednesday, closing at its lowest price in a month and erasing gains it made last month after the surprise success of “Pokémon Pokopia.”
Astronaut’s Science Blast empowers kids to reach for their own stars
Students across San Joaquin County recently participated in the annual Science Blast program at University of the Pacific. Here's what to know.
ENC at Three celebrates space in today’s “Blast Off Science” experiments
These experiments are sure to get your kids excited about the Artemis II launch and Project Hail Mary heading to theaters.
‘The View’ Fans Blast Show for Airing a Week of Reruns
'They aren't in school and the news doesn't take a break!'
It’s-a-hit: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ box office blasts off with $372.5 million globally
a e n media-and-entertainment-industry entertainment movies u-s-news general-news | WBEN
It’s-a-hit: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ box office blasts off with $372.5 million globally
a e n media-and-entertainment-industry entertainment movies u-s-news general-news | KNSS Radio
It’s-a-hit: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ box office blasts off with $372.5 million globally
a e n media-and-entertainment-industry entertainment movies u-s-news general-news | 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA
It’s-a-hit: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ box office blasts off with $372.5 million globally
a e n media-and-entertainment-industry entertainment movies u-s-news general-news | KCBS All News 106.9FM and 740AM
It’s-a-hit: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ box office blasts off with $372.5 million globally
a e n media-and-entertainment-industry entertainment movies u-s-news general-news | Talk 1370
It’s-a-hit: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ box office blasts off with $372.5 million globally
a e n media-and-entertainment-industry entertainment movies u-s-news general-news | WWL
It’s-a-hit: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ box office blasts off with $372.5 million globally
a e n media-and-entertainment-industry entertainment movies u-s-news general-news | KCBS All News 106.9FM and 740AM
It’s-a-hit: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ box office blasts off with $372.5 million globally
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has scored the biggest opening of the year for a Hollywood film.
It’s-a-hit: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ box office blasts off with $372.5 million globally
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has scored the biggest opening of the year for a Hollywood film.
Scientists find hidden brain cells helping deadly cancer grow
Scientists in Canada have uncovered a surprising weakness in glioblastoma, one of the deadliest brain cancers. They found that certain brain cells—once believed to only support healthy nerves—can actually help tumors grow by sending signals that strengthen cancer cells. When researchers blocked this communication, tumor growth slowed dramatically in lab models.
Shohei Ohtani Ends Home Run Drought
Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run of the season on Friday, a three-run blast off of Washington Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas.
Pritzker calls on Trump officials to testify over ICE crackdown, White House blasts move as ‘political stunt’
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker calls on Trump administration officials to testify before his commission targeting ICE enforcement operations in the state.
Kyle Shanahan Drops Hot Take on NFC Contender
Shanahan blasts Rams' Australia game request, demanding league fairness and a Mexico matchup for the 49ers rivalry.
Ranking Member Lofgren Blasts Trump Budget Request
The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
Facebook removes page after William Shatner blasts 'horrible' AI-generated 'fake news' posts about him
Facebook removed a page containing AI-generated content after William Shatner blasted the 'horrible' posts circulating 'fake news stories' about him.
Justice Department announces federal charges in Southern California health care, hospice fraud investigation
Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the individuals are accused of running fraudulent hospice care facilities that billed Medicare by using people without terminal illnesses as beneficiaries.
'Spectacular!': BBC science editor reacts to Artemis II launch
Nasa's Artemis II has blasted off and is now orbiting Earth, before continuing on to circle the Moon.
'Spectacular!': BBC science editor reacts to Artemis II launch
Nasa's Artemis II has blasted off and is now orbiting Earth, before continuing on to circle the Moon.
Bednar Blasts Avalanche After Embarrassing Loss To Last-Place Canucks
Artemis II blasts off: Humans are on their way back to the moon
NASA's Artemis II rocket has taken off in a historic launch on Florida's Space Coast, sending humans back to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
Jimmy Kimmel Blasted by Mike Rowe After ‘Plumber’ Comments
The 'Dirty Jobs' host called the jokes 'tone deaf.'
Nintendo's Changing Mario Kart World Again, Rebalancing Items and Adding Bob-omb Blast Battle Mode
Nintendo has released a major new update for Mario Kart World, which rebalances items, adjusts recovery times, and adds another battle mode.
Mario Kart World 1.6.0 update out now, patch notes - Bob-omb Blast and much more
Mario Kart World version 1.6.0 has just gone live with Bob-omb Blast in Battle Mode and much more - read the patch notes here.
A.4 Rapid Response and Novel Research in Earth Science Corrections
A.4 Rapid Response and Novel Research in Earth Science (RRNES) solicits proposals that advance the goals and objectives of NASA's Earth Science Division by
Did the club nod off? Austria boss Rangnick blasts BVB
Only recently, Carney Chukwuemeka chose to represent the Austrian national team and was promptly called up by coach Ralf Rangnick for the friendlies against Ghana (5-1) and South Korea (Tuesday, March...
He wants kids to love science and to see people who look like them who love it, too
Maynard Okereke, the “Hip Hop MD,” will be at San Diego’s Central Library on April 2 to share his book, “Zombie Spiders and Asteroid Blasters: 16 Incredible Ways that Scientists are Changing the World”
Anderson Cooper Details His Dyslexia Diagnosis as He Blasts ‘Cruel’ Trump
The CNN anchor calls the president 'ignorant' for his recent comments.
Byron Donalds blasts partial DHS funding bill and Senate's political games
Rep. Byron Donald, R-Fla., discusses the partial DHS funding deal, new polling showing voter frustration with Washington, and a key GOP House seat flipping in Florida on 'Varney & Co.'
Scientists stunned as Mars dust storms blast water into space
Mars may look like a frozen desert today, but new evidence suggests its watery past didn’t simply fade away quietly—it may have been blasted into space by powerful dust storms. Scientists have discovered that even relatively small, localized storms can hurl water vapor high into the atmosphere, where it breaks apart and escapes.
Top Senate Dems blast proposed ACA rule promoting ‘junk coverage’ that would push estimated 2 million off enrollment
A trio of top Senate Democrats led their colleagues in condemning a proposed rule by the Trump administration that would lift restrictions on the number of non-standardized plans that insurers in t…
'Project Hail Mary' blasts off to record-breaking $80 million, becomes 2026's best premiere
'Project Hail Mary' burned through the outer layer of box office projections this weekend, reaching an astounding $80 million in its domestic premiere and $141 million worldwide.
‘Project Hail Mary’ blasts off with $80.5 million, a best for Amazon MGM, and the year
Studio estimates on Sunday say Amazon MGM's “Project Hail Mary” has topped the North American box office charts with $80.5 million in ticket sales — the second biggest ever for a non-franchise film.
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.
Box Office: ‘Project Hail Mary’ blasts off with $80.5 million, a best for Amazon MGM
Studio estimates on Sunday say Amazon MGM's “Project Hail Mary” has topped the North American box office charts with $80.5 million in ticket sales. It's the biggest opening for the studio and the...
Box Office: ‘Project Hail Mary’ blasts off with $80.5 million, a best for Amazon MGM
Studio estimates on Sunday say Amazon MGM's “Project Hail Mary” has topped the North American box office charts with $80.5 million in ticket sales.
Four truths about covid that have become clouded over time
In the early days, the virus posed a graver threat to people and the health care system, Trump embraced lockdowns he now blasts, and the benefits of vaccines were oversold.
Thune, GOP blast Dems in DHS standoff as Lankford says they fear ICE over Iran
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., accused Senate Democrats of being afraid of ICE than Iran as the DHS shutdown hit its 36th day, as Republicans again offered another compromise deal to reopen.
US House Democrat blasts Commerce's 'highly concerning' $1.6 billion USA Rare Earth deal
A senior House Democrat accused U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday of structuring Washington's $1.58 billion investment into USA Rare Earth in a way that gives the government "highly concerning" leverage over the company while boosting Lutnick's family-run investment firm.
GOP senator warns gutting Senate filibuster to pass SAVE America Act is a ‘foolish and lazy idea’
Sen. Thom Tillis on Thursday blasted talk of ending the Senate filibuster to pass the “SAVE America Act” as a “foolish and lazy idea” and warned his party that pushing the president’s priority through the so-called talking filibuster would hand control to Democrats.