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UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital treats first clinical trial participant in novel cancer study - UT Health San Antonio

Milestone paves the way for advancements in cancer care, innovation and patient care in San Antonio and South Texas. UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital has enrolled and treated its first clinical trial participant in a novel cancer study, marking a pivotal moment for science and patient-centered cancer care in San Antonio and […]

Mar 24 • 1:40 PM EDT • Health • news.uthscsa.edu

Tesla Book Covers Business Principles

McNeill’s book outlines Musk-inspired principles: question rules, simplify processes, optimize systems, automate last, and accelerate growth.

Mar 24 • 9:36 AM EDT • Business • forbes.com

CT bill seeks to reduce business tax on energy, boost state tourism and international trade

State lawmakers are considering a wide-ranging proposal aimed at reducing business costs, increasing municipal revenue and expanding international trade.

Mar 24 • 9:28 AM EDT • Business • hartfordbusiness.com

12 Life Science Startups Named to SLAS Europe 2026 Innovation Showcase Program

SLAS has named the 12 companies selected to participate in its Innovation AveNEW program at the SLAS Europe 2026 Conference and Exhibition.

Mar 24 • 9:27 AM EDT • Science • clpmag.com

SGMC Health Honors Luna with DAISY Award

SGMC Health recognized Anabell Luna, RN, Labor & Delivery, as the latest recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

Mar 24 • 8:39 AM EDT • Health • sgmc.org

Salamander Migration Has New Citizen Science Component

Each spring, blue-spotted salamanders emerge from their underground burrows at Presque Isle Park in Marquette and venture across the road to lay their eggs. Northern Michigan University students have been involved in conservation, data collection and public education efforts for this annual event, but this year, the general public is invited to play a more active role in salamander migration research. Northern Michigan University Biology Department Head Jill Leonard encourages community members to participate in the Marquette Citizen Science Project.

Mar 24 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • news.nmu.edu

Carbonsphere launches for carbon science and net-zero solutions

Tsinghua University Press is pleased to announce the launch of Carbonsphere, a new open-access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to carbon science, technology, and policy. Sponsored by Qinghai University and Tsinghua University and published by Tsinghua University Press, the journal creates a new interdisciplinary platform for research spanning natural systems, engineered systems, and human systems.

Mar 24 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • eurekalert.org

Ecological and demographic drivers of Oropouche virus transmission

Nature Health - Nationwide analysis of 30,086 confirmed Oropouche virus cases in Brazil between 2014 and 2025 shows that rural municipalities had over 11-fold-higher incidence than urban areas and...

Mar 23 • 8:00 PM EDT • Health • nature.com

UFL 2026: Joel Klatt, Curt Menefee Return To Headline FOX Broadcast Team

Joel Klatt and Curt Menefee will once again lead FOX Sports' broadcast coverage for the highly anticipated third season of the UFL.

Mar 23 • 6:16 PM EDT • Sports • foxsports.com

Babson and Microsoft Team Up to Help Small Businesses with AI  · Babson Thought & Action

Students from The Generator, Babson’s interdisciplinary AI lab, worked with small business owners to give feedback on a Microsoft AI tool.

Mar 23 • 3:52 PM EDT • Business • entrepreneurship.babson.edu

Melton Little lands Jack May's endorsement in open HD 71 race

'I know he will fight for conservative principles.'

Mar 23 • 9:51 AM EDT • Politics • floridapolitics.com

How to beat Gigantamax Pikachu: Best Counters & Guide

Gigantamax Pikachu is a Tier 6 Max Battle in Pokémon GO. It will cost 800 Max Particles to participate in this Max Battle, which will only be consumed if you defeat Pikachu successfully. Gigantamax Pikachu can be shiny from Max Battles. Being an type, it is only weak to type moves. Pikachu can be caught […]

Mar 23 • 6:02 AM EDT • Technology • pokemongohub.net

Toto Wolff: Mercedes team principal wary of 'politics' as Charles Leclerc makes 'extremely strong' Silver Arrows claim

Mar 23 • 2:00 AM EDT • Politics • skysports.com

French Local Elections Are Yardstick for Far Right. Initial Results Are Mixed.

France’s municipal elections ended on Sunday evening. Full results were not expected for hours, but the first projections suggested the far right may not have made major gains.

Mar 22 • 5:03 PM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

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.

Mar 22 • 2:18 PM EDT • Health • erictopol.substack.com

Immigration crackdown impact on local Latino-owned businesses

Latino business owners told WRAL News that fear and uncertainty following a nationwide crackdown in immigration enforcement are keeping some families out of public spaces, leaving small businesses struggling to survive. This story was written by Oriana Torre, a senior graduating journalism student at the University of Florida, participating in the CBC-UNC News Media Multiplatform Fellowship.

Mar 22 • 1:39 PM EDT • Business • wral.com

We Took Our Three-Year-Old On A Long Haul Flight, And It Was Amazing!

We took our three year old on his first long haul flight in nearly two years. It went so much better than I could have anticipated!

Mar 22 • 6:50 AM EDT • Technology • onemileatatime.com

The Antidote to Our Growing Crises Must Transcend Politics

Each day, the challenges in our nation pile up. In just recent weeks, there has been the ongoing war in Iran and the Middle East, and ongoing debates about the growing negative impact of the Internet, looming AI challenges, and the Epstein files. The anticipation of divisive, even ugly, midterm elec...

Mar 22 • 1:40 AM EDT • Politics • thefulcrum.us

Black Family Wellness Expo returns to Wichita, promotes health awareness for second year

Organizers say more than 40 different vendors participated in the expo.

Mar 21 • 10:46 PM EDT • Health • kwch.com

Warriors' Stephen Curry set for major checkpoint in injury recovery

According to Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors star, Stephen Curry will participated in a scrimmage on Sunday, March 22.

Mar 21 • 8:30 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Milwaukee stair climb raises awareness for lung health and firefighters

The American Lung Association hosted its 18th annual stair climb in Milwaukee, where participants, including firefighters, climbed 30 stories to raise funds and awareness for lung health.

Mar 21 • 6:59 PM EDT • Health • wisn.com

Democrats block SAVE America Act amendment to bar transgender athletes in women’s sports

Senate Democrats voted Saturday to defeat a Republican-sponsored amendment to the SAVE America Act that would prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls’ or women’s sports, an …

Mar 21 • 1:57 PM EDT • Sports • thehill.com

Big changes ahead for State Health Plan as trustees work to lower costs

The State Health Plan hopes to save significant money by steering plan participants to preferred providers.

Mar 21 • 4:00 AM EDT • Health • northcarolinahealthnews.org

Downtown Chico business owner voices concerns over street closures for events

A DOWNTOWN CHICO MERCHANT IS EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER THE IMPACT OF STREET CLOSURES FOR EVENTS -- ON THEIR BUSINESS. ACTION NEWS NOW REPORTER BELLA BARBOSA REPORTS FROM DOWNTOWN CHICO { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Downtown Road Closure Dilemma", "description": "A DOWNTOWN CHICO MERCHANT IS EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER THE IMPACT OF STREET CLOSURES FOR EVENTS -- ON THEIR BUSINESS. ACTION NEWS NOW REPORTER BELLA BARBOSA REPORTS FROM DOWNTOWN CHICO", "thumbnailUrl": "https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/actionnewsnow.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/47/c47e26d6-03c3-5f35-bf49-37925ab603d7/69bdedc4eb57d.image.jpg", "uploadDate": "2026-03-20T17:45:00-07:00", "contentUrl": "https://cdn.field59.com/KHSL/1774053903-6e1ef36dd09fbebf020833aee86b60da3b3cca3f_fl9-720p.mp4" } CHICO, Calif. - A downtown Chico business owner is voicing concerns about the impact of street closures for events on local shops. Leann Powell, owner of The Peddler’s Closet, expressed concern about events closing down streets downtown and bringing in food trucks and other shops’ products that directly compete with the brick-and-mortar stores in downtown Chico.Powell said an upcoming event held on a Saturday has brought up concerns for her and other business owners downtown, due to it being a busy day for businesses. "We're already struggling, and then to bring in more businesses on top of our businesses and shut our streets down is absolutely devastating," said Powell.Powell noted a decline in business during events like the Thursday Night Market, where street closures allow outside vendors to set up shop. She shared that while organizers for these types of events often offer booths to local businesses, it does not alleviate the burden."I don't really feel like that's a solution because you're bringing in other businesses, you're shutting the streets down. Yes, we can go down and set up a space, but then you've gotta pay somebody to run that space, plus run your own business for the day, and it's really not, it's really not helpful for us," said Powell.Applying for a street closure permit in Chico involves approval from the Public Works Department, the Chief of Police, and the Fire Chief. Permits can be denied only under a handful of circumstances, such as interference with first responders, previously scheduled construction, or existing permits for the same space.Mayor Kasey Reynolds addressed the issue, saying the city council has tasked staff with reviewing the municipal code for street closure permits with the goal of finding ways to minimize negative impacts on local businesses during events.Reynolds mentioned that any recommended changes might require further direction from the city council, depending on the extent of any changes recommended. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1514992'); });

Mar 20 • 8:45 PM EDT • Business • actionnewsnow.com

Press Release - Girls in STEM Program from Keystone Science School

Delivered in an all-girl+ learning environment, Keystone Science School’s Girls in STEM programs encourage participation, collaboration, leadership, and confidence.

Mar 20 • 7:45 PM EDT • Science • yellowscene.com

Evaluating the science behind nutrition

Evidence Center director touts multidisciplinary focus for new discoveries at national food policy conference.

Mar 20 • 9:05 AM EDT • Science • agrilifetoday.tamu.edu

Towards responsible AI for mental health and well-being: experts chart a way forward

On 29 January 2026, WHO‑supported experts met at a TU Delft workshop to address the rapid, largely untested use of generative AI for mental health support. Participants warned of risks to well‑being, especially for young people, and called for stronger governance.

Mar 20 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • who.int

“Loyal Slaves” and Campfire Entertainment in Frank Vizetelly’s Confederate Camp

Frank Vizetelly’s illustration titled “Night Amusements in the Confederate Camp” appeared in the Illustrated London News on January 10, 1863. It was one among a number of wartime scenes that Vizetelly captured for the newspaper. Subscribe Following the war, the illustration appeared in a number of books, including John O. Casler’s Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade (1893) and Campfires of the Confederacy (1898) by Ben La Bree. The scene depicts a Confederate camp at night with an enslaved man, most likely a camp servant, performing a dance around a fire with the music provided by a soldier playing a banjo. Another enslaved man looks on at the right. Vizetelly likely witnessed the scene—one that would have been common throughout the war. It’s a wonderful example of the way in which Confederates—slaveowners and nonslaveowners alike—experienced the presence of slave labor in the army. Vizetelly was deeply sympathetic to the Confederate cause. His depiction of the enslaved man as more than happy to entertain the very people who were fighting to keep him enslaved was precisely the kind of image designed to reassure a British audience that slavery was benign, and by implication, that Britain need not feel morally troubled about recognizing or supporting the Confederacy. Share Just as importantly, the sight of a dancing slave reassured Confederates themselves that the institution of slavery remained secure even after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. I’ve come across this illustration many times before and I plan on using it in my next book project on the role of enslaved labor in the Confederate army during the Gettysburg Campaign, but this is not the reason I am sharing it with you today. It has to do with where I recently found it, which came as a complete surprise and is incredibly revealing. Let’s take a look.

Mar 20 • 6:43 AM EDT • Entertainment • kevinmlevin.substack.com

Sense of belonging predicts who stays in science

New research shows that feeling connected to a scientific community may be key to reducing attrition, with professional societies positioned to strengthen belonging across disciplines.

Mar 19 • 7:01 PM EDT • Science • news.vt.edu

Markiplier to Microdramas: The Ankler x NAB Show’s Future of Entertainment

Share Subscribe Vegas, baby! The Ankler is heading back to NAB Show for a second year in a row — and doubling down on conversations with the smartest people in the industry. From April 18–22, we’re partnering again with the industry’s biggest media and tech gathering to break down the Business of Media and Entertainment as it’s actually evolving: faster, riskier and increasingly driven by new formats, new audiences and new power players. This curated series will bring together top creators, executives and innovators to tackle the forces reshaping the industry — from the AI disruption of Hollywood’s creative ecosystem to the rise of the creator economy, shifting audience behavior and the changing economics of production. We’ll be rolling out more programming in the coming weeks — including top speakers from leading AI studios, prediction markets and beyond — so keep an eye on the Business of Media and Entertainment hub. But first up, we’re announcing two panels about what’s actually working in Hollywood: The Scary-Smart Business of Horror A good scare has become one of the entertainment economy’s most reliable engines. With disciplined budgets, built-in fandoms and global box office upside, horror consistently outperforms. From theatrical releases to streaming-first originals and creator-driven IP, the genre is artistically flexible and financially durable — and one of the last truly communal experiences for Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences. Join YouTube creator Mark Fischbach, aka Markiplier, whose independent feature Iron Lung earned more than $50 million at the global box office, Atomic Monster president Michael Clear and screenwriter Akela Cooper (M3GAN, Malignant) for a conversation moderated by Like & Subscribe’s Natalie Jarvey about why horror travels so effectively across platforms and borders, how studios and independents are building sustainable genre pipelines and why the next wave of breakout franchises may emerge from unexpected sources. Inside the Microdrama Boom Short-form serialized storytelling is having a major moment. Microdramas, social-native series and creator-led narratives are capturing massive audiences with low-cost, rapid production cycles and direct-to-fan distribution. What was once dismissed as niche or experimental is now attracting major platform investment. Moderated by Jarvey, this panel of microdrama creators and executives — including one of the format’s top stars and producers, Kasey Esser, and Dhar Mann Studios’ head of vertical content, Erin McFarlane — examines how format innovation, fandom dynamics and algorithmic discovery are reshaping the economics of scripted storytelling and what traditional studios can learn from these agile models. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Lynne@theankler.com Share

Mar 19 • 6:34 PM EDT • Entertainment • theankler.com

Credit Acceptance Appoints Steffen Schumann as Chief Business Officer

New Role Strengthens Enterprise Business Planning, Pricing Strategy, and Performance Management to Support Disciplined GrowthSouthfield, Michigan, March 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Credit Acceptance Corporation (Nasdaq: CACC) (referred to as the “Company”, “Credit Acceptance”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) today announced that Steffen Schumann has joined the Company as Chief Business Officer, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Vinayak Hegde. In this newly created role, Schumann will help drive growth

Mar 19 • 4:02 PM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

Be counted among the Capital Region’s top private companies

Each year, Business Report ranks the Top 100 Private Companies in the Capital Region — one of our most anticipated and widely read features. It’s the definitive look at the companies driving growth, investment and job creation across our market. If your company is privately held and headquartered in the Capital Region, we want to […]

Mar 19 • 3:31 PM EDT • Business • businessreport.com

German Health Minister Nina Warken and WHO Hub in Berlin highlight 2025 achievements

Germany’s Federal Minister of Health, Nina Warken, visited the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin today to review progress and launch its 2025 Annual Report. The report highlights advances in using artificial intelligence, data science and pathogen genomics to strengthen global preparedness for future pandemics.In 2025, the WHO Hub in Berlin worked with more than 160 Member States and over 190 partners to help countries and organizations develop new systems and tools to detect and understand new public health threats as quickly as possible, whenever and wherever they occur.BMG to confirm whether they wish to contribute a quote. “Detecting outbreaks early is one of the most effective ways to save lives and prevent epidemics from becoming global crises,” said Federal Minister of Health Nina Warken. “Germany is proud to host and support the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. Its work strengthens our safety at home and helps protect people worldwide.”Artificial intelligence is increasingly transforming the detection of outbreaks. In 2025, the Hub launched an upgraded version of the Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) system, which uses enhanced AI functions to scan global online information in real time and help experts quickly identify unusual health events. The system is now used by 120 countries.To better anticipate health threats, countries need information beyond traditional health data. The Hub supports countries in implementing Collaborative Surveillance, which integrates data on climate, animals, travel, and population movement to provide a more comprehensive and real-time understanding of health threats.The Hub also expanded global access to pathogen genomics, which helps scientists detect new pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, understand how they spread and how dangerous they may become. Through the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN), the WHO Hub in Berlin worked with 309 partners in 101 countries to expand access to these technologies.“We are in a new era of global health threats, and we need new tools to face tomorrow’s challenges,” said Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. “The WHO Hub in Berlin helps countries use data and technology more effectively so they can identify risks earlier and respond faster. No country can address these threats alone. Strong cooperation remains our best defence.”“Berlin offers an ideal environment for our work. We collaborate closely with world-leading institutions such as the Robert Koch Institute and the Charité Center for Global Health,” said Dr Oliver Morgan, Head of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. “Germany has supported the WHO Hub since its establishment, and we are pleased to welcome Federal Minister Nina Warken to the Hub today. This strong partnership helps us advance innovation in pandemic and epidemic intelligence and better support countries to prepare for future health threats.”The Hub is expanding the use of advanced analytics and mathematical modelling to forecast how outbreaks may develop and to assess which response measures are most effective. Through its Collaboratory, the Hub connects modelers and analysts with governments to ensure their work addresses real public health needs. In 2025, the community grew to 1300 members from 50 countries and 200 institutions. An AI-powered pandemic simulator, currently in the prototyping phase, will help decision-makers compare outbreak scenarios and help identify effective disease control measures.

Mar 19 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • who.int

Trump may push Japan for help with Iran war in White House meeting

U.S. allies such as Germany, Italy and Spain have ruled out participating in any Gulf mission.

Mar 19 • 7:36 AM EDT • Politics • detroitnews.com

DarkSword iOS Exploit Kit Uses 6 Flaws, 3 Zero-Days for Full Device Takeover

DarkSword exploit targets iOS 18.4–18.7 using 6 flaws and 3 zero-days, enabling rapid data theft from iPhones across multiple countries.

Mar 19 • 5:14 AM EDT • Technology • thehackernews.com

Alumna supports students through sports

Alumna Chrystal Starling has built a dynamic career combining sports, education, and youth development. From Hokie student athlete to professional basketball player to assistant principal at a New York charter school, Starling credits writing and the influence of Nikki Giovanni for helping her find her voice and her purpose.

Mar 18 • 7:02 PM EDT • Sports • news.vt.edu

Ski For Life: Oregon adaptive sports program opens slopes to students with disabilities

An Oregon Adaptive Sports program allows young people with disabilities to participate in outdoors sports by providing them with adaptive equipment.

Mar 18 • 1:27 PM EDT • Sports • oregonlive.com

Looking for leverage: China keeps close eye on US politics after summit delay

Beijing seeks to decipher effect of Iran war on US midterms and best way to apply pressure when Trump meets Xi

Mar 18 • 11:25 AM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com

Mark Travis Joins the IBG Business Leadership Team

Today, IBG Business, an award-winning M&A advisory firm, announces that Mark Travis has joined the firm's leadership team as its newest Principal and Managing Partner. Mr. Travis is the founder of Skylight Intermediaries, a Certified Merger & Acquisition (M&A) Advisor, and manages IBG's New York office.

Mar 17 • 4:00 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

POLITICO Correspondent reports the WH wants countries to ‘participate performatively’ in Strait of Hormuz

Mar 17 • 12:52 AM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

The top 2026 Las Vegas residencies you don’t want to miss: How to purchase the best tickets

Several artists across multiple genres are planting temporary roots in Las Vegas for some upcoming and highly anticipated Las Vegas residencies at venues including the Sphere, The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and more.

Mar 16 • 6:30 PM EDT • Entertainment • al.com

Call for Entries: Globee® Awards for Business Invite Local and Small Businesses Across the United States to Nominate Their Achievements

The Globee® Awards for Business, part of the Globee Awards' portfolio of merit-based and data-driven business recognition programs with worldwide participation, are now accepting entries and invite local and small businesses across the United States to nominate their achievements.

Mar 16 • 11:20 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

New Grant to Grow Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Master’s Program

Dontae Mosley wasn’t sure graduate school was within his reach due to financial constraints, but thanks to the Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Master’s Program, he was able to pursue his master’s degree and launch his career in the biotech industry. Now, more biochemistry graduate students will have the same opportunity through a new grant from the National Science Foundation.

Mar 16 • 10:25 AM EDT • Science • cals.ncsu.edu

Bad vs. worse in politics

If you ever thought the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party is bad, well the Democrats are worse. The Democrats lack politically astute leaders, as well as vision and discipline. They seem incapable of being on offense and are always on defense where it is difficult to score points and win. Only 37 percent of Americans […]

Mar 15 • 8:00 PM EDT • Politics • minotdailynews.com

Confidential Report Calls for Sweeping Changes to Track Covid Vaccine Harms

A federal work group says Covid vaccine injuries deserve urgent attention, even as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shifts away from talking about vaccine policy.

Mar 15 • 6:51 PM EDT • Health • nytimes.com

Scientists discover AI can make humans more creative

Artificial intelligence is often portrayed as a tool that replaces human work, but new research from Swansea University suggests a far more exciting role: creative collaborator. In a large study with more than 800 participants designing virtual cars, researchers found that AI-generated design galleries sparked deeper engagement, longer exploration, and better results.

Mar 15 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Will the Indus Valley script ever be deciphered?

The Indus Valley script dates back around 4,000 years but has yet to be deciphered. Can AI help decode it?

Mar 15 • 5:00 AM EDT • Science • livescience.com

Paseo Pottery to launch Pitch Night to help Santa Fe nonprofits

The event will have a Shark Tank-like atmosphere, except participants will compete for the right to a pottery fundraiser.

Mar 15 • 1:30 AM EDT • Business • santafenewmexican.com

Hundreds of students compete in Regeneron Westchester Science and Engineering Fair

Participants get the opportunity to showcase their research and have their work judged by local experts in the field.

Mar 14 • 11:03 AM EDT • Science • westchester.news12.com

Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City (YZBSTC) Shines at Oceanology International 2026

30 Deep-Sea "Hard-Tech" Innovations Debut on the Global StageLONDON, March 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On March 10 (local time), the Oceanology International 2026 (Oi2026), the world's premier ocean technology exhibition, officially opened in London, UK. Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City Administration, together with China Merchants Sanya Deep-Sea Technology City Development Co., Ltd., led a delegation of marine enterprises and institutions from YZBSTC to participate in this key glob

Mar 14 • 5:33 AM EDT • Science • finance.yahoo.com

Insight: How China is wooing Paraguay’s political class away from longtime ally Taiwan

When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taiwan over Beijing - a message participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials.

Mar 14 • 5:04 AM EDT • Politics • reuters.com

Boebert challenger Eileen Laubacher joins lawsuit aimed at blocking her from Democratic assembly

A Denver District Court judge on Thursday permitted Democratic congressional candidate Eileen Laubacher to join a lawsuit filed by one of her primary opponents seeking to prevent Laubacher from participating in the party’s assembly process in a bid to qualify for Colorado’s primary ballot. Laubacher is one of four Democrats running for the nomination to […]

Mar 13 • 10:59 PM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

Is Wartime The Worst Time For UFC’s White House Card?

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is ramping up all efforts to stage the upcoming Freedom Fights 250 card on the White House lawn this June, but is it the right time to host such an event? The anticipated UFC White House card has been in planning for well over six months and is gearing up to […]

Mar 13 • 8:30 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Drake University’s Zimpleman College of Business Announces 2026 Social Impact Award Winners

Drake University’s Zimpleman College of Business today announced the recipients of the 2026 Social Impact Awards for Research and Outreach. These annual awards, valued at $5,000, recognize faculty and staff who model positive societal impact through work that aligns with the College’s “North Star” mission: ensuring business education serves as a force for good. To...

Mar 13 • 12:40 PM EDT • Business • news.drake.edu

Business selling its 39-acre Birmingham campus after 47 years as it moves into new headquarters

The sale comes in anticipation of the company’s plans to relocate to its new corporate headquarters and sales center.

Mar 13 • 10:02 AM EDT • Business • al.com

Ward Melville, Great Neck teams win LI Science Bowl

The contest tested teams' knowledge on science disciplines including biology, chemistry and physics.

Mar 13 • 5:00 AM EDT • Science • newsday.com

Japan PM Takaichi’s Health Draws Concerns Ahead of Trump Meeting

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi canceled her participation in some official events Thursday due to poor health, days before she’s scheduled to depart for a trip to the US to meet with President Donald Trump.

Mar 12 • 9:40 PM EDT • Health • bloomberg.com

Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly and Nebraska Business Development Center Recognize 2025 Business Award Winners

Thursday, Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly joined the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) in recognizing recipients of the 2025 Business Awards, honoring entrepreneurs and businesses that are strengthening communities and expanding economic opportunity across the state.

Mar 12 • 7:21 PM EDT • Business • unomaha.edu

Anthropic's Claude Can Now Create Interactive Visuals Directly in Conversations

Anthropic's Claude chatbot has been updated with support for inline visual content that will help it provide clearer answers. Claude can now create custom visuals like charts, graphs, and diagrams. Visual content will be used when it better conveys an answer than plain text, and visual aids can also include real-world data like weather and recipes as long as web search is enabled. The visuals that Claude creates are distinct from Artifacts, and use HTML and SVG rather than image generation.

Mar 12 • 6:41 PM EDT • Technology • macrumors.com

Vaxart Provides Business Update and Reports Full Year 2025 Financial Results

Topline data from 400-person sentinel cohort of the Phase 2b COVID-19 trial anticipated early Q2 2026 Published positive clinical results in the first quarter of 2026 demonstrating oral norovirus vaccine candidate was safe and immunogenic in lactating women and resulted in passive transfer of antibodies to their infants via breast milk Cash, cash equivalents and investments of $63.8 million as of December 31, 2025; Runway into second quarter of 2027 Conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET Live sto

Mar 12 • 4:05 PM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

Aging could slow down with one common daily habit: 'Live longer and better'

Daily multivitamin use slowed biological aging by about four months in a two-year study of nearly 1,000 participants, with the biggest benefits in older adults.

Mar 12 • 2:37 PM EDT • Health • foxnews.com

New environmental justice track brings new perspectives and methods to environmental science

KINGSTON, R.I. – March 12, 2026 – With a world facing numerous challenges that affect not only the environment but the people within it, there is a growing need for innovative, interdisciplinary, and collaborative approaches to addressing global crises. However, there remains a gap between the scientists and the communities they aim to help, who […]

Mar 12 • 1:11 PM EDT • Science • uri.edu

Century Therapeutics Reports Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Business Updates

CNTY-813, lead beta islet cell therapy program as a potential functional cure for type 1 diabetes, in Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies; IND submission expected in 4Q 2026 to support anticipated initial clinical data in 2H 2027CNTY-308, a CD19-targeted CAR-iT cell therapy engineered with Allo-Evasion™ 5.0, on track to enter the clinic in 2026Strengthened balance sheet and cash runway extended into 1Q 2029 from oversubscribed $135 million private placement in January 2026 PHILADELPH

Mar 12 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

The Neighborhood Politics of a Massive Home Addition

As municipalities encourage more housing density, neighbors debate what kind of construction should be allowed.

Mar 12 • 5:01 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

Diamondbacks Reacts Survey: Closing time

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Diamondbacks fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. It looks as if, once again, the Diamondbacks will be going into the season without a […]

Mar 11 • 10:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Severe weather closes schools, businesses for March 11

Butte School District 1 schools closed for Thursday, Friday was a previously scheduled closure.Blackfeet Community College posted the following: Due to anticipa

Mar 11 • 4:30 PM EDT • Business • nbcmontana.com

12 High-Fiber Breakfast Recipes Recommended by Dietitians

These recipes are sure to help you reach your fiber goals.

Mar 11 • 12:26 PM EDT • Health • today.com

Iran cannot participate in the FIFA World Cup, sports minister says

Iran says 'under no circumstances' will it participate following the US-Israeli attacks that killed its supreme leader.

Mar 11 • 9:27 AM EDT • Sports • aljazeera.com

Iran cannot participate in World Cup, sports minister says

Iran cannot participate ​in the 2026 ‌World Cup after the ​United States ​killed their leader ⁠Ayatollah Ali ​Khamene, sports ​minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday.

Mar 11 • 9:05 AM EDT • Sports • reuters.com

How to Solve One of the Most Expensive Problems in Employer Healthcare

A small share of employees drives a disproportionate share of employer health-care spending: They are patients whose complex conditions go undiagnosed as they cycle through a fragmented care system. A diagnostic-focused “center of excellence” model—such as the Mayo Clinic Complex Care Program—offers a different approach: coordinated, multidisciplinary evaluations that identify the right diagnosis quickly. Evidence from employer claims shows that earlier, accurate diagnoses can improve outcomes, reduce unnecessary procedures, and lower costs by shifting care from repeated testing toward targeted treatment.

Mar 11 • 8:05 AM EDT • Health • hbr.org

Laying the Foundations for an Americas Mental Health Policy Innovation Hub | Johns Hopkins Center for Global Mental Health

The project “Laying the Foundations for an Americas Mental Health Policy Innovation Hub,” led by Dr. María Cecilia Dedios and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Mental Health, aims to establish a regional platform that connects academics, policymakers, and civil society to advance collaborative mental health policymaking across the Americas. The initiative focuses on strengthening intersectoral approaches to population mental health and embedding meaningful community participation and lived experience into policy processes. Through a pilot consensus-building effort with decision-makers in Bogotá, Colombia, the project has begun testing methods for cross-sector collaboration to address shared priorities such as loneliness and underage substance use. Ultimately, the Hub seeks to foster regional learning and develop more participatory, coordinated, and socially responsive mental health policies.

Mar 11 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • publichealth.jhu.edu

CERN Science Gateway celebrates its 1000th science show

CERN Science Gateway has reached another milestone: the delivery of its 1000th science show! Since opening its doors in October 2023, Science Gateway has welcomed nearly 900 000 visitors of all ages to explore the fundamental questions of the Universe. Among its most popular activities are the science shows – dynamic, interactive demonstrations led by CERN guides and tailored to a broad audience of different age levels, including school groups, families and the general public. Designed to make complex scientific concepts accessible and entertaining, these live shows combine spectacular experiments, multimedia elements and audience participation. From the physics of particle collisions to the properties of superconductivity, electromagnetism and cryogenics, the science shows translate the research carried out at CERN into engaging visual experiences. Visitors might see superconductors levitate, follow particles through different detector layers or discover the beauty in phase transitions. Each demonstration is carefully crafted to spark curiosity while maintaining scientific accuracy. Members of the CERN community are of course warmly invited to visit CERN Science Gateway with their family or friends and attend one of the science shows. To register, please visit this page, and don’t forget to check the programme for the coming days. Become a CERN guide and run your own super-cool science show (and more)! To become a CERN guide, you can join the introduction course held every 3–4 weeks, which will give you an overview of what being a CERN guide entails. From there, further courses are available depending on what type of guide you would like to be. Because, of course, CERN guides are needed everywhere at CERN. If you imagine yourself as a more ‘traditional’ guide, you should know that there are currently more than ten exciting visit points in CERN’s visits portfolio, such as the Antimatter Factory, the ALICE experiment (surface), the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) control room, the ATLAS experiment (surface), the CERN Control Centre (CCC), the Data Centre, the LHCb experiment (surface), the Synchrocyclotron (SC), the SM18 test facility and the newly inaugurated Linac2 visit point. Indeed, CERN’s Visits Service and Visual Impact and Exhibitions Section recently collaborated on redesigning the Linac2 visit tour, which has just reopened to the public after several months of renovation work. The new tour offers visitors and guides alike an enriched, more immersive experience, designed to highlight the history and scientific significance of this major facility. So, fancy becoming one of the insiders? Join the introduction course, check the guides website or contact guides.manager@cern.ch. And remember, becoming a guide can benefit you, too.

Mar 11 • 7:28 AM EDT • Science • home.cern

Minerva Neurosciences Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results and Business Updates

Initiation of confirmatory Phase 3 trial with roluperidone for negative symptoms of schizophrenia is planned for Q2 2026, with topline data anticipated in 2H 2027BURLINGTON, Mass., March 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: NERV), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies to treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today provided business updates and reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended Decembe

Mar 11 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

‘Be Amazing’ business-supported fundraiser to be held Thursday

More than 50 businesses are participating the 9th ‘Dine out and Shop Around’ fundraiser for Be Amazing.

Mar 10 • 11:15 AM EDT • Business • wsaw.com

Mental health solutions for the digital age

Ask the digital natives of Gen Z about the source of their biggest mental health challenges, and most will say social media and AI.Several of the nearly 400 guests at the third annual Gen Z Wellness Summit, presented by the Friends of Semel Teen Advisory Council at UCLA on March 8, explicitly named the endless stream of content on their phones as serious stressors. “Everybody is addicted to (Tik Tok) as if they were addicted to substances,” said Jantin Asmar, 17, a senior at Virtual Academy in Antelope Valley. “We’re always chasing that dopamine. We’re expecting that dopamine rush and it’s really decaying our interactions with others.” High school student Jantin Asmar was among nearly 400 people who attended the third annual Gen Z Wellness Summit. (Photo by Sandy Cohen) Even young teens feel pressure to be on social media constantly, both to consume content and collect “likes,” said 13-year-olds Chloe and Sophia, both students at Brentwood School. “Everyone’s always on, and you miss stuff if you’re not on it,” Chloe said, adding that social media’s emphasis on appearances is leading to eating disorders: “That’s a big thing for our generation.”The incessant influx of images and updates creates expectations that “weigh teenagers down,” said Linda Kou, 16, a junior at San Gabriel High School.Even though digital spaces allow people to connect with others beyond their immediate surroundings, it doesn’t always translate to real-life community, said Kelah Morgan, 17, a senior at Animo South Los Angeles Charter High School. High school students Kelah Morgan, left, and Linda Kou, shared about the challenges presented by social media. (Photo by Sandy Cohen) “Even if you see people saying that they relate to you online, it might be hard to find people in your personal life who you see every day who you feel comfortable enough to say, ‘You see me online, but this is me in real life and what I’m actually going through,’” she said.Solutions for our digital timesThe Gen Z Wellness Summit was intentionally designed as a free, in-person gathering where young people interested in mental health from across the southland could meet in person. “Peer support is the most important element of maintaining our mental health in community,” said Helena Hansen, MD, PhD, director of UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.Keynote speakers at the summit addressed AI, social connection and self-empowerment, while breakout sessions included discussions about eating disorders, dating, substance use, phone detox and breathwork. Here are some of the day’s top takeaways:Beware of FOPO: Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD, a psychology professor at Columbia University, said that rather than FOMO, or fear of missing out, we ought to be more aware of FOPO: fear of people’s opinions. “Just think about how much your FOPO might be holding you back in your life,” Dr. Kaufman said. “And just that inner contemplation should be enough for you to change your life, because there’s so many things we don’t go after because we have debilitating FOPO.”We don’t need to feel like we’re the best – or what he called “narcissistic self-esteem” – but it’s helpful to acknowledge our own worth, recognize our good qualities and develop self-belief in the skills and talents we’ve cultivated. When we have that – dignity and self-respect, without needing everyone to like us – FOPO is less of a concern.Self-reflection is most effective in community: “When we try to self-reflect alone, we sometimes ruminate,” said Ira Bedzow, PhD, executive director of the Emory University Purpose Project. “But when we self-reflect with people that we trust … (it) allows us to hold ourselves accountable to different ways of seeing and different ways of hearing and different ways of being.”Opening up about our experiences and listening to others are skills we can develop, Dr. Bedzow said.He invited students to participate in what he called a “fishbowl exercise,” where four students sat in a small circle, surrounded by a dozen or so students forming a larger circle. Those in the inner circle answered such questions as: “What stops you from being you today?” and “What helps you feel most like you?”Within minutes, the group in the small circle (the fishbowl), were sharing intimately about their life challenges as those in the outer circle nodded in understanding.After the exercise, one participant said, “I felt like I wasn’t alone, that it wasn’t just me who feels that way.”Another remarked on how “personal” it felt to share face-to-face with others, even strangers.Don’t let AI crush your creativity: Theoretical neuroscientist Vivienne Ming, PhD, has been studying artificial intelligence for more than 20 years. And while she said “it’s reasonable to be concerned” about the fast-growing technology, it can also help humans become better problem-solvers when used strategically.“The smartest thing on the planet today are humans and machines working together creatively,” Dr. Ming said. “What gets more valuable in humans as machines get smarter? Our ability to explore the unknown.“Your unique voice is literally your value to the world … but most of us for most of our lives have been taught to not be unique,” she continued. “Be your own person. Celebrate being different. It is genuinely, measurably, truly valuable.”In a breakout session called “Phone Detox? IYKYK: Living Your Story IRL” led by Don Grant, PhD, students shared their frustrations with AI compromising academic work, art and creativity.“Art is a translation of human experience,” one participant said. “When people use AI, they diminish their own human experience.”Dr. Grant urged them, as “the last generation to remember a world before AI,” to remember the power of imagination and creativity – and to act on it.Remember that social media distorts perceptions: Stuart B. Murray, PhD, PsyD, who directs the Eating Disorders Program and Translational Research in Eating Disorders Program at UCLA, asked the students in his breakout session to take a spontaneous selfie and edit it to conform with society’s beauty standards. All 20 girls in the room immediately got to work, thickening their hair, slimming their faces, plumping their lips.“The pressure to look like what we present on social media can be crippling,” Dr. Murray said. “We now know that social media use is part of a causal pathway into an eating disorder.”Adolescents and young adults are most at risk of developing an eating disorder, he said, with one in three students on college campuses exhibiting clinically meaningful eating-disorder symptoms. More than 4 million people in California will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.Even for those who don’t develop anorexia or bulimia, the ubiquity of modified images online distorts what we consider normal, making us feel worse about ourselves. Remembering that, he and other speakers said, might inspire us to log off occasionally and spend time in the real world with people who love us as we are.

Mar 10 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • uclahealth.org

Validating Generative AI-Based Social Science

On Feb. 20, the Center for Human-Computer Interaction + Design convened an interdisciplinary group to discuss the validity and trustworthiness of social and behavioral data simulated by large language models.

Mar 10 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • mccormick.northwestern.edu

Something big is changing in auditing

"We’re already seeing the rise of the 'AI Auditor,'" says Steve Soter, VP and industry principal at Workiva.

Mar 10 • 7:44 AM EDT • Business • fortune.com

Slide Raises $70 Million Series B Led by General Catalyst to Expand Its Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) Platform for Managed Service Providers

Company Announces UK Office Opening & Immediate Availability in EMEANORWALK, Conn., March 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Slide, the modern, security-first Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) platform built exclusively for Managed Service Providers (MSPs), today announced it has raised $70 million in Series B funding led by General Catalyst, with participation from Base10, Outsiders Fund, futurepresent, Vine Ventures, Glynn Capital Management, Benchstrength, Top Down Ventures, and Conn

Mar 10 • 3:00 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

AFSCME Sues to Stop Politically Motivated Termination of Public Health Grants

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and its Illinois affiliate, AFSCME Council 31, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s directive.

Mar 9 • 8:00 PM EDT • Health • afscme.org

Fox Cities business anticipates increased revenues this year

A little more than 16% of Fox Cities businesses expect entering new markets will be central to their primary growth in 2026.

Mar 9 • 5:30 PM EDT • Business • spectrumnews1.com

Myomo and Elevance Health Agree to Contract for Multi-State Network Participation

BURLINGTON, Mass., March 09, 2026--Myomo, Inc. (NYSE American: MYO) ("Myomo" or the "Company"), a wearable medical robotics company that offers increased functionality for those suffering from neurological disorders and upper-limb paralysis, announced today it has entered into its first among a series of expected network participation agreements with Elevance Health. The contracts, which include the Anthem-affiliated Commercial, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid plans are expected to become effec

Mar 9 • 4:05 PM EDT • Health • finance.yahoo.com

Entertainment Media Market Anticipated to Touch USD 6,165.06 Billion by 2035, Driven by Streaming Platforms and Digital Content Consumption | Research by SNS Insider

The Entertainment Media Market is expanding as streaming, gaming, and on-demand digital content reshape consumption patterns, with the U.S. segment growing from USD 971.77 billion in 2025 to USD 1,430.10 billion by 2035.Austin, March 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Entertainment Media Market size was valued at USD 3235.49 Billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 6165.06 Billion by 2035 and grow at a CAGR of 6.67% from 2026 to 2035. The global market for entertainment media is steadily growi

Mar 9 • 6:15 AM EDT • Entertainment • finance.yahoo.com

This Overlooked Health Condition Could Raise Your Risk of Death by 83%

A study following more than 5,000 participants for 12 years found that straightforward clinical measurements can help identify sarcopenic obesity without relying on complex imaging methods such as MRI and CT scans. Researchers from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in Brazil, working

Mar 8 • 8:38 PM EDT • Health • scitechdaily.com

What's the big idea? If you've got it, World Business Chicago wants to know

The organization is calling for architects, designers, neighborhood groups, artists, innovators and interdisciplinary teams to submit visionary ideas that explore what Chicago could look like in 2050.

Mar 8 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • wbez.org

New Mexico students compete in Regional Science Bowl

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – This weekend, high school students from around the state participated in a battle of the minds for this year’s Regional Science Bowl. Saturday was the annual event …

Mar 7 • 8:01 PM EST • Science • krqe.com

Ben-Gurion University study discovers hidden value of long-term ‘yo-yo dieting’

Even after regaining weight, study participants saw better metabolic markers and reduced visceral fat, highlighting the benefits of sustained healthy habits.

Mar 7 • 7:12 PM EST • Health • jpost.com