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Doctors worry about FDA scrutiny of RSV shots to protect babies
The antibody shots are about 80% effective at preventing babies from ending up in intensive care because of RSV. The drugmakers behind them maintain they're safe.
Author Stephen Graham Jones discusses his writing process
Jones, who has written more than 30 books, will visit Seattle on March 30 for an event with Seattle Arts & Lectures.
NAIC Intensifies AI Regulatory Focus: What Health Insurance Payors Need to Know
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is intensifying its oversight of how insurers use AI — and the pace of regulatory activity shows no signs of slowing. Over the past several…
March Madness 2026: CBS Sports sets viewership records during most-watched first NCAA Tournament weekend ever
The NCAA Tournament delivered on action during its first weekend, and viewers were tuning in by the droves
Some East Grand Forks businesses must register with city to sell low-potency hemp products
Changes in requirements from the state Office of Cannabis Management mean businesses selling these products must now be licensed with the OCM and registered with their local cities.
Arsenal exploring blockbuster summer move for PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Arsenal are exploring a blockbuster summer move for PSG winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (25), according to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney. The winger has proved an immediate hit for Les Parisiens o...
David Ortiz won Boston.com's bracket of the best sports soundbites, and it wasn't close
This is our f****** bracket winner.
A Church Gym's Murals of Biblical Figures Playing Sports Goes Viral
"Pickleball Paul" and "Air Moses" are ballin' in support of the "real Doctor J."
Dogs were man's best friend far earlier than thought
A jawbone found in a Somerset cave rewrites the story of when and how dogs became our best friends.
New records in Trump documents case raise concerns over business conflict, US lawmaker says
Newly released records in the now-dismissed classified documents case against U.S. President Donald Trump raise fresh concerns over national security risks and potential private business motivations, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said.
2026 NCAA Tournament: How every Sweet 16 underdog can pull off an upset, reach Elite Eight
With only one double-digit seed still alive, there are plenty of toss-ups as the NCAA Tournament hits the Sweet 16
Trump Retained Classified Documents Because Of His ‘Business Interests,’ Jack Smith Alleged
Trump allegedly showed a classified map to people aboard his private plane, Smith found during his investigation.
NBA Power Rankings: Wolves are the sleeper to watch (again) as championship hierarchy comes into view
The Nuggets and Lakers are right there, and Detroit will have plenty to say when Cade Cunningham gets back
Player availability report, presented by Orlando Health Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute: Orlando Pride at Chicago Stars
Here is this week's player availability report, presented by Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute, for Friday's home match at Chicago Stars
Jair Bolsonaro granted temporary house arrest in Brazil for poor health
Former President Jair Bolsonaro was moved from his cell to hospital earlier this month with pneumonia.
Health Rounds: Fake X-rays created by AI fool radiologists and even AI itself
Fake X-ray images created by artificial intelligence to resemble true results from human patients can fool not only experienced radiologists but also the AI tools themselves, according to a study that illustrates the potential for manipulation by bad actors.
Fox Sports Host weighs in on the Chiefs acquiring QB Justin Fields
During a recent media appearance, Fox Sports Host Nick Wright weighed in on the Kansas City Chiefs acquiring quarterback Justin Fields | @EdEastonJr
Driver crashes into Garner business
The Renew Day Spa is temporarily closed after a vehicle crashed into the business on Aversboro Road on Tuesday.
Patriots announce updated jersey numbers for signings, returnees
Every player on the Patriots’ roster has now been assigned a number.
Spring sports heat up Tuesday night in the Heartland
The Cape Central Girls Soccer team played its home opener against St. Vincent, while the Notre Dame Boys Baseball team hosted Portageville on Tuesday.
Recap: Martin Nečas scores twice in rout over Penguins
Revenge is so predictable.
Prep baseball: ECR wins first game of series against Birmingham
A five-run first inning propels El Camino Real past Birmingham for first place in West Valley League baseball.
Arkansas baseball run-rules UCA for midweek win
After trailing midway through the fifth, the Razorbacks poured it on the Bears late.
Jay-Z felt 'uncontrollable anger' amid sexual assault, rape lawsuit
Jay-Z has broken his silence about the lawsuit that accused him and fellow music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs of raping a teenage girl more than two decades ago.
Teleportation is no longer just science fiction—at the quantum level
We may never beam ourselves off the planet. But quantum teleportation is poised to bring about a new era of computing—and revolutionize our understanding of the subatomic world.
Joe Flacco returning to Bengals: 41-year-old QB set for 19th NFL season in 2026
Flacco is coming off his first Pro Bowl selection.
Joe Flacco reportedly agrees to return to Bengals
Flacco went 1-5 in his starts with the Bengals and earned a Pro Bowl selection.
Florida company suspended over ‘threat’ to public health and welfare
The company handled claims for Medicare Advantage patients, many of whom have chronic or special needs.
East of Innovation: “They call me robot doctor” — Inside the rise of virtual care in ENC
Programs at ECU Health and CarolinaEast Health System use virtual technology to connect patients with specialists.
Paul George ready to be 'the focal guy' for shorthanded 76ers upon return from suspension
George apologized Tuesday for his failed drug test and how it affected his team's momentum
New Mexico jury finds Meta violated consumer protection law at trial over child safety
A jury in New Mexico has found that social media conglomerate Meta violated state consumer protection law and failed to disclose the risks of its platforms to children.
Gulf State Park brush fire causes closure of Fort Morgan East at Highway 59
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. -- A brush fire at the Gulf State Park has caused closures in the area.
Democrats’ long-shot bid to flip Alaska’s Senate seat
Democrats are hoping for an upset in Alaska’s Senate race. U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, is trying to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. We discuss the major issues at play, plus why Republicans are backing an effort to repeal Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system.This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, and Alaska Public Media Washington correspondent Liz Ruskin.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
These politicians are putting politics over people, Kerri Urbahn says
Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn discusses efforts to stop illegal immigration amid instances of crime from illegal migrants on 'The Story.'
Maine Science Festival returns to Bangor for 11th year
The five-day festival is free to attend and will include over 70 activities in the Bangor area for all ages including workshops, presentations, and exhibits.
Tua Tagovailoa breaks silence on Dolphins exit, addresses lingering injury concerns after signing with Falcons
The former first-round pick signed a one-year deal with Atlanta earlier this month
Hornets eyeing entertainment district around Spectrum Center
That new headquarters and practice facility is supposed to be open by early 2027.
MLB Opening Day 2026: Expert predictions for World Series champion, division winners, surprise playoff teams, Cy Young, MVP and more
Preview: Two injured forwards return for Avalanche in Pittsburgh
The Avs look to get revenge against Pittsburgh tonight.
Lowndes County leaders cut ribbon on medical, mental health jail expansion
The new facility includes 60 cells with a total of 90 beds, according to the county.
Scottie Scheffler withdraws from Houston Open, likely won't play again until 2026 Masters
The World No. 1 withdrew from his Masters tune up event on Tuesday
50 Cent Inks $100M Deal To Launch Entertainment Hub Featuring A Restaurant In Times Square
If you don’t hear from 50 Cent, just know he’s likely closing in on a business deal.
Why going to an HBCU might be better for Black students’ health
A study found correlation between the environment and long-term wellness in sample of 1,978 who attended college between 1940-80
2026 NFL Draft combined rankings: No. 1 overall prospect is a Big Ten star — just not Fernando Mendoza
These Creatures Have One Cell and No Brain. Scientists Just Discovered They Can Learn.
In 1897 Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov proved that animals can be trained using associative learning. A new study finds that even single-celled organisms can behave like “Pavlov's dog.”
US democracy has settled into diminished state, experts find
Bright Line Watch researchers see stabilization in democratic health but at lower levels after sharp decline
Gechter exit sealed? This Bundesliga club is his likely destination
According to a report by 'Sky', Linus Gechter's exit from Hertha is likely a done deal. The 22-year-old Berliner, who is under contract with Hertha until 2028, is reportedly on the verge of moving to ...
New Fathers Face Mental Health Challenges, Study Finds
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, March 24, 2026 (HealthDay News) — New fathers might be proud poppas, but their mental health might be shaky as they adapt to their increased responsibilities, a new study says. Men have a 30% increased risk of depression and stress disorders by the end ...
What’s That Building? South portico of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
The structure’s south entrance will be put to use for the first time in more than a century, just in time for the Obama Presidential Center opening nearby this summer.
Las Vegas talent agency grows as city’s entertainment market expands
As the city continues to grow, more opportunities are coming up for local models and actors.
Advent International Acquires Salt & Stone
The premium body care maker will join the private equity firm’s portfolio, which also includes Olaplex and Parfums de Marly.
High school sports results for Monday, March 23, 2026
MONDAY’S RESULTS Baseball WPIAL CLASS 5A Section 1 Latrobe 13, Penn-Trafford 12 Plum 9, Armstrong 3 WPIAL CLASS 3A Section 3 Deer Lakes 10, Southmoreland...
Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame inducts 12 coaches, administrators in Class of 2026
Inductees selected from slate of 60 nominees.
$5 flat-fee deliveries: A Haverhill business is built on community connection
From restaurant supplies to last-minute hardware runs, Store to your Door is meeting everyday needs
Two-sport athlete Deron Russell gears up for state basketball tournament, but knows college football season isn't far away
Did Dana White want Nate Diaz back in UFC?
Former title contender Nate Diaz will return to MMA for a promotion not named UFC.
Dual-threat Dixon makes an impact beyond his own sport
Few athletes embody their sport and community like senior track and field athlete Ashriel Dixon.
5 ChatGPT Prompts To Start Your Own Business From Scratch
Plenty of people want to work for themselves but never start. Use these ChatGPT prompts to go from idea to business owner today.
Design Files: Mirrodin, Part 4
Mark finishes his trip through Mirrodin's design handoff file with a look at the set's rare artifacts and lands.
"Patriotic Kenny" facing health problems, according to his social media
2026 MLB standings predictions: Expert picks for every division, full projections as baseball season begins
Here are the predictions from our CBS Sports MLB staff for the 2026 season
Exit polls suggest Italy's Meloni has narrowly lost justice referendum vote
Exit polls on Monday suggested Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had narrowly lost a referendum on her flagship reform of the judicial system, dealing a potential blow to the ruling coalition ahead of next year's general election.
Welcome, American scientists: Europe, a haven for researchers struggling under Trump
Initiatives are multiplying in EU countries including France, Germany and Austria to attract the talent being driven away by the US president’s policies
Cowboys mock draft tracker: A trade might make sense early
How interested are you in trading back in the first round?
Cycling, crystals and cutting-edge science: the secrets of Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell’s success
The training duo who oversaw famous medal success in Torun believe the best is yet to come for their athletes
As demand for GLP-1 pills and shots surges, healthy habits are still key
Whether they’re using weekly shots or daily pills, more Americans than ever are turning to anti-obesity drugs to lose weight and boost health.
Register for 25Live trainings at Health Sciences Center
The Facilities Planning and Scheduling team will provide a 25Live training session from 2-3 p.m. April 8 at the Health Sciences Center, Room 2912.
We both lost our jobs. So we started a company.
After being laid off in 2020, my husband and I launched Larroudé from home. Today, the shoe brand employs 600 people and generates millions.
Samsung's Galaxy S26 will get Apple AirDrop support starting today
The feature was first launched on Pixel 10 phones last year.
Sony Is Said to Near $1 Billion Home Entertainment Deal With TCL
Sony Group Corp. is nearing a binding agreement to sell a majority stake in its home entertainment business to Chinese rival TCL Electronics Holdings Ltd. in a deal that may be valued at about $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ambani's Reliance Jio: businesses and investors of the IPO-bound firm
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Platforms is gearing up to file papers seeking regulatory approvals for a Mumbai listing, in what is likely to be the biggest-ever stock offering in the country.
Small swings, high drama: why UK polls are less volatile than they seem
In what is beginning to look like a fragmented five-party system, small swings carry outsized political consequences
‘Anyone but Labour’ or ‘anyone but Reform’? Clash of animosities likely to define May local elections
While Labour braces for a rout that could see off Starmer, a rising drive to keep out Farage is complicating expectations
Dr Liz O'Riordan: Women's health must be taken more seriously
Dr Liz O'Riordan says it is important women seek help from professionals not "Google and Chat GPT".
Incredible offer signals Liverpool are all-in on Rio Ngumoha
An incredible offer of a player signals a real intent from Liverpool to go all-in on teenager Rio Ngumoha.Are Liverpool about to go all-in on Rio Ngumoha? They’ve been reluctant to do so this season...
Experience shone through for Manchester City at Wembley against Arsenal
Manchester City claimed the first piece of silverware for the 2025/26 season with their 2-0 win over Arsenal at Wembley in yesterday’s Carabao Cup final. A second half brace from Nico O’Reilly was...
Historical Wigan cotton mill to reopen as entertainment venue.
Factory Floor is set to open in Wigan's Grade II-listed Eckersley Mill following a £3m revamp.
The Vogue Business Fall/Winter 2026 Size Inclusivity Report
Size inclusivity on the runway fell again this season, highlighting how far the industry still has to go.
California Politics 360 Full Episode | Sexual abuse allegations against César Chávez
Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta broke her silence, saying she was also sexually abused by Chávez. It led to the birth of two children, a secret she kept for 60 years.
A DNA test ruled him out. He was convicted of murder anyway.
Forensics has its share of high-profile problems. There’s phony “junk science,” like bogus bite-mark and blood spatter analyses that have sent innocent people to jail. And there’s the steady drumbeat of lab scandals, where analysts make up results. But there’s a subtler and more pervasive problem at work in many cases: lab analysts and lawyers who take perfectly legitimate science and twist it. Globe Opinion is exploring these distortions with a series we’re calling “Twisted Science.” And there may be no better place to start than with the case of Terrel Barros.
Woman seeks help at Aurora business after suffering serious injuries in shooting
A woman collapsed inside an Aurora business while seeking help after she was shot Saturday night. Police are trying to determine what led up to it.
Educational Service Center awarded Teach Computer Science 2.0 Grant
The Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve has been awarded $584,614 through the Ohio Teach Computer Science 2.0 State Grant, a competitive initiative funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. As part of an $8 million…
Full 7-round Arizona Cardinals mock draft simulation
We have a new 7-round mock draft for the Arizona Cardinals.
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.
Kentucky vs. Iowa State odds, time, March Madness predictions: 2026 NCAA Tournament picks from proven model
SportsLine's model has revealed its Kentucky vs. Iowa State picks for the NCAA Tournament 2026 second-round game on Sunday
The trope of ‘choosing pets over people’ is not new
Letter: The problem isn’t the beaver on the banknote – it’s a politics that no longer recognises what holds value, writes Dr Michael J Richardson
Breaking down Bills’ selections in latest NFL mock drafts
According to the latest NFL mock drafts, the Bills could go wide receiver, linebacker, safety, or defensive linemen at pick 26.
Kathryn Wylde on the business climate in New York City and raising taxes
Bucket hats and home run chains: Getting decked out for baseball season at Poor Boys Sports
From shirts featuring new players to hats in every color, Poor Boys Sports has all your Orioles merch needs for Opening Day.
3 restaurants open in Pittsburgh’s East Carson business district
Pittsburgh city leaders celebrated the opening of three new restaurants in the city’s East Carson business district on Friday.
The best seafood restaurant in every state, according to Yelp
Yelp picked the best seafood restaurant in every state based on customer reviews.
How iNaturalist app users have fun while aiding science
Bucs facing a tough decision with Baker Mayfield in 2026
The Bucs have to get the contract situation with Baker Mayfield solved sooner rather than later.
4 tips for buying a home in a tough market, from the Property Brothers
Drew and Jonathan Scott, AKA The Property Brothers, have a new HGTV show where they guide buyers in a tough market. Here are their best tips.