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Scientists discover reversible male birth control that stops sperm production
Scientists at Cornell University may be closing in on the long-sought “holy grail” of male contraception: a safe, reversible, nonhormonal method that completely halts sperm production. In a breakthrough mouse study, researchers used a compound called JQ1 to temporarily shut down meiosis—the critical process that produces sperm—without causing lasting harm. After treatment stopped, sperm production bounced back, fertility returned, and the animals produced healthy offspring.
Windass lauded after 'top-class' strike
Phil Parkinson lauded the quality of Josh Windass after the forward's "top-class" goal in Wrexham's 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion. The 32-year-old netted his 12th goal of the campaign across all competitions as the Red Dragons came from 2-0 down to earn a point against the Baggies at The Hawthorns on Friday. "He's a player who can produce big moments and he's done that with a brilliant finish," Parkinson said of Windass.
The brain might not create consciousness after all
Is consciousness something the brain produces, or is it woven into the fabric of reality itself? Renowned neuroscientist Christof Koch is challenging long-held scientific assumptions by confronting the “hard problem” of consciousness — why and how subjective experience exists at all. He highlights growing tensions between neuroscience, physics, and unexplained phenomena like near-death experiences and sudden moments of clarity before death.
Finding my footing at We Mean Business Day
Jessicka Alvarado Morales '26 reflects on building confidence, making connections and navigating the path from uncertainty to opportunity at Salve Regina University’s annual student-produced expo.
Hemp businesses in Mass. unclear on future as federal ban looms
The ban, aimed at wiping out intoxicating “gas station weed,” may also kill a multibillion dollar CBD wellness market, producers warn.
Nearly launched LG Rollable smartphone reveals its innovative internals in teardown video
Even Samsung’s 2026 foldables pale in comparison. If LG had not decided to exit the smartphone business, we could have seen a first rollable smartphone as early as 2021, one that was already more innovative five years ago than anything the foldable phone segment has produced recently, as a teardown shows.
Ithaca College to Award Honorary Degrees to a Visionary Theatrical Producer/Director/Educator and a Longtime Local Health Leader
Degrees will be awarded at Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 17.
Goodwin wants repeat against other half of Old Firm
Jim Goodwin has called on Dundee United to replicate the level of performance they produced in their victory over Celtic as they bid to derail Rangers' Scottish Premiership title bid on Saturday. United defeated the other half of the Old Firm 2-0 at Tannadice in their last match before the international break to leave Martin O'Neill's side five points adrift of leaders Hearts. "We've got to take a lot of confidence out of that Celtic game," manager Goodwin said looking ahead to facing second-top Rangers, with whom they have drawn 2-2 home and away this season.
T-RAN Gilbert Named TN Music & Entertainment Ambassador
Gospel artist, producer and community leader Terran “T-RAN” Gilbert has been appointed as an [...]
Exclusive: ATG Entertainment Launches ATG Live, A Concert, Comedy & Events Divsion Led By SVP Erik Newson
ATG Entertainment, a company that manages or programs 72 venues and produces events, announced the launch of ATG Live, a new division to strengthen its
Potatoes on the moon? Oregon State University scientists show it could work
Researchers grew potatoes in soil that mimics the powdery sediment on the moon's service. With just a little added compost, the plants produced a decent haul of potatoes.
Will the Aurora exit the Lawrenceville stage?
Earlier this year as part of its 30th season, the Aurora Theatre produced “The Play that Goes Wrong,” a farcical “play within a play” where technical mishaps, flubbed lines and
Scientists Engineered a Plant to Produce 5 Different Psychedelics at Once
From plants, mushrooms, and toads.
Scientists Engineered a Plant to Produce 5 Different Psychedelics at Once
From plants, mushrooms, and toads.
Scientists Create Plant That Produces Ayahuasca, Shrooms, and Toad Psychedelics All At Once
The proof-of-concept system produces psilocybin, DMT, and other compounds in leaves of the tobacco plant, potentially easing pressure on wild species and preserving Indigenous traditions.
SHIFT UP acquires Shinji Mikami-led studio UNBOUND
SHIFT UP has fully acquired UNBOUND, the new Tokyo-based game studio founded by Resident Evil creator and Devil May Cry producer Shinji Mikami in November 2022, the company announced.
Alera Group sues former producer for allegedly stealing client data
The filing alleges she emailed protected client lists before joining a direct competitor
‘Change the terrain’ for deliberative democracy
Vince Bzdek’s Gazette piece on James Fishkin’s experiments in deliberative democracy is an interesting read, though the very factors that produced its results — balanced information, expert moderation, and structured discussion — are what everyday politics lacks, and precisely what make these experiments so difficult to scale (“Can deliberation save democracy?” March 8). The processes […]
Food as Medicine: How Trinity Health Is Advancing Health Through Nutrition
Food is Medicine. Health by Food. ProduceRx. The integration of healthy food into healthcare is gaining attention under many names, but the message remains the same: access to healthy foods as a part of care.
Quilty Launches as the Entertainment's Intelligence Platform
Today, Quilty launches as the first unified intelligence platform for the entertainment industry, a new tool set that consolidates creative analysis, writer development, packaging, market forecasting, production planning, industry introductions and legal intelligence. Founded by Simon Horsman, a technology and entertainment lawyer and film, television, and theatre producer, alongside technology entrepreneur and film producer, Daniel Wood, Quilty was created to address the global entertainment in
Cadets focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics • United States Air Force Academy
Cadets focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the U.S. Air Force Academy to produce tomorrow’s problem solvers.
OC Insider: Food, Sports & Entertainment - Orange County Business Journal
In a 2023 profile of TEI Entertainment, the Anaheim-based producer of celebrity-studded entertainment events, CEO and founder John McEntee was asked by Business Journal Editor-in-Chief Peter J. Brennan to name his favorite performer. His answer: Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath.
Column: The time has come to discard California's top-two open primary
We should consider returning to a primary system that produces party nominees — one Democrat and one Republican — to give voters a more varied selection in November.
Apple Reportedly Planning to Launch iMac With OLED Display
Apple is preparing to launch an iMac featuring an OLED panel with higher brightness, according to ZDNet Korea. Apple has apparently requested that Samsung Display, LG Display, and other suppliers produce 24-inch OLED panel samples suitable for a future iMac model using their mass-production facilities. This would be the biggest ever OLED display offered on an Apple device.
Off-farm income supports 30% to 40% of agricultural producers
Many farmers rely on outside income for cash flow, benefits and business growth, but time management and sustainability planning remain critical.
Franciscan Health to host Produce Prescription Program
Franciscan Health and Indy Hunger Network have teamed up to offer the Produce Prescription Program, a six-week program focused on healthy eating options, nutrition education and support.
Nick Cannon Calls the Democratic Party 'the Party of the KKK'
While chatting with Amber Rose, the comedian-producer also said, "I f*** with Trump."
Cajun murder mystery film reflects life experiences of Shreveport native, Lafayette producer
The movie reflects the life experiences of the writers.
The deal with Israel's Rafael: Why is Volkswagen returning to the missile business 81 years after WWII?
Volkswagen, Founded by Hitler and a Producer of Missiles for the Wehrmacht in World War II, Is Set to Have One of Its Plants Manufacture Iron Dome Components for Rafael. After Having Suffered a 44 Percent Drop in Profits Last Year, VW May Be Pivoting Toward the Booming Defense Industry
Scientists say the evidence is clear: E-cigarettes beat patches and gum in helping smokers quit
Nicotine e-cigarettes may be one of the most effective tools yet for quitting smoking, according to a sweeping review of global research. By analyzing findings from 14 major reviews spanning nearly a decade, researchers found consistent, high-quality evidence showing that nicotine vapes outperform traditional methods like patches, gum, and even behavioral support. While some lower-quality studies produced mixed results, the strongest data clearly favored nicotine e-cigarettes.
The geography of science
Scientific activity has historically been concentrated in a small number of advanced economies, but the global landscape of research is undergoing rapid transformation. Using data on 44 million publications from 1980 to 2022, this column examines how the geography of science has evolved along three dimensions: where research is produced, what topics it studies, and where it is consumed through citations. It documents a substantial shift in scientific production from traditional Western leaders s emerging economies. Yet scientific attention and knowledge diffusion remain uneven, revealing a tension between the global expansion of scientific capacity and the continued fragmentation of the knowledge system.
Watch the trailer for Science Saru's Ghost in the Shell anime series
The Ghost in the Shell series is coming to Prime Video this July, produced by Science Saru.
Quincy Jones’s Domed Bel-Air Mansion Gets Another Multimillion-Dollar Price Cut
The enormous house built for the music producer is now asking $39.995 million
Solar cells just did the “impossible” with this 130% breakthrough
A new solar breakthrough may overcome a long-standing efficiency barrier. Researchers used a “spin-flip” metal complex to capture and multiply energy from sunlight through singlet fission. The result reached about 130% efficiency, meaning more energy carriers were produced than photons absorbed. This could lead to much more powerful solar panels in the future.
Ashley Benson Signs With Strand Entertainment
EXCLUSIVE: Strand Entertainment has signed Ashley Benson, an actress and producer whose work spans studio features, independent film, and television, for management. Benson was most recently seen star...
"Godfather of Bay Area sports producers," former KPIX producer Art Dlugach dies in Texas
Feature: "Virtua Fighter Really Needs To Run At A Steady 60fps" - Producer Seiji Aoki On Bringing An Iconic Series To Switch 2
"I see this game as the foundational product for the future"
Glass Threads Spun From a Volcano’s Bubbly Magma
A volcanic formation known as Pele’s hair is produced when air-filled magma is stretched, according to a new study by a team of scientists and glass artists.
AI researchers are coming: What will happen to science?
A fully automated AI researcher has produced a paper that meets scientific standards. This could accelerate scientific discovery — but not without a cost.
Good Morning, Nashville! Talking Immigration Data Politics at Vanderbilt University
After a busy day on Capitol Hill yesterday, I landed in Nashville, Tennessee, last night for an exciting two days on campus at Vanderbilt University. Carwil Bjork-James, an anthropologist whose creative use of database construction to support critical scholarship resonates strongly with my own work, generously invited me to give a talk today about the politics of immigration data and to join a Wikipedia edit-a-thon tomorrow on the topic of immigrant detention. I encourage you to check out Carwil’s database project “Ultimate Consequences” about political deaths in Bolivia after 1982, and his book The Sovereign Street: Making Revolution in Urban Bolivia. My talk today is titled “Untangling the Messy Politics of Immigrant Detention Data.” I’ll focus on how immigrant detention data (not just detention centers themselves) become sites of controversy—from the collection and classification choices that shape what we can know, to the strategic withholding and distortion of data for political ends. Drawing on research spanning multiple administrations, I’ll trace how current data controversies in the second Trump administration connect to long-standing tensions in how we measure, interpret, and communicate about immigration. My goal is to move beyond simple partisan narratives and offer a practical guide for anyone working with immigration data to explore both the pitfalls to avoid and the creative opportunities for more transparent, rigorous public communication about immigration realities. If you are on campus, please stop by. Tomorrow I will join Carwil and Vanderbilt students for a Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon to edit and update Wikipedia entries related to immigrant detention with the latest robust information and data. This event is designed to orient participants into how to edit on Wikipedia, provide them with data-driven starter templates on detention facilities, and allow each person to produce an initial article on one element of the network of ICE facilities or one death in custody this year. The workshop is also a demonstration of how to use open data sources to build public knowledge—something I am deeply passionate about. Thank you to Vanderbilt University, the Spatial Histories series, and Carwil for hosting me. I would love to be a part of conversations and workshops related to immigration data on your campus. Students are really eager these days to have informed, critical, and data-driven explorations of our current immigration system. Reach out anytime if you want to discuss the possibility of bringing me to your campus. Subscribe
Quantum computers take a step into real materials science
An IBM quantum computer reproduced experimental signatures of real materials, according to a new preprint from IBM and researcher partners.
An Artist Lecture and a ‘Science on Screen’ Film Series: 4 Arts Picks for Your Week
Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
State of Tennessee Honors Gospel Artist T-RAN as Ambassador of Music & Entertainment
Nashville, TN — Gospel recording artist, producer, and creative visionary Terran “T-RAN” Gilbert has been officially honored with a state resolution from the Tennessee House of Representatives, recognizing his outstanding contributions to music, culture, and community impact. As part of this distinction, he has been formally recognized as an Ambassador of the Music and Entertainment
Sonja O'Hara Developing 'Slay' With Producer Scott Glassgold (EXCLUSIVE)
Screenwriter Sonja O'Hara is developing her feature 'Slay' with producer Scott Glassgold following a competition win, Deadline can report exclusively.
Glyphosate: A story of science, risk, and nuance
In the summer of 2014, a California groundskeeper named Dewayne Johnson started noticing patches of raw, weeping skin spreading across his body. He had spent years applying Roundup, Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide, for a school district, sometimes drenched in it when equipment malfunctioned. By 2014, he had a diagnosis: non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2018, a jury awarded him $289 million in damages, later reduced on appeal. Tens of thousands of lawsuits followed. The story hasn’t quieted down. It’s all over the internet, swinging between “this will kill you, buy organic” and “relax, you’re fear-mongering.” Some of that recent chatter stems from an Executive Order protecting glyphosate and its production, which set off intense infighting within the MAHA movement. Some of it reflects a deeper truth: Americans genuinely care about harmful chemicals in their environment (see poll below). And the conversation isn’t going anywhere, with a Supreme Court case involving Monsanto set for this April. Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. But does glyphosate cause cancer? And how much exposure is actually risky? With so much mistrust in institutions and corporations (and some genuine conflicts of interest), making sense of the actual scientific evidence is genuinely hard. Here is a translation of what the scientific evidence actually says. Does glyphosate cause harm? Glyphosate is an herbicide that kills most plants it contacts rather than targeting specific species. It works by blocking an enzyme pathway (EPSPS) that plants and many microorganisms need to produce essential amino acids. Without those amino acids, the plant can’t grow and dies. Glyphosate was first developed by Monsanto in the 1970s and became ubiquitous after the company introduced “Roundup Ready” crops in the 1990s. In 2024, Bayer removed glyphosate from residential Roundup-branded products due to litigation pressure. But today it is still the most widely used herbicide in the world. Farmers also discovered they could spray it directly on crops like oats, lentils, beans, and peas just before harvest to dry them out faster and make harvesting easier. Because of its widespread use, it’s obviously really important to understand if it’s harmful to humans. The key principle: The dose makes the poison The most important concept in toxicology is that “the dose makes the poison.” Sixteenth-century physician Paracelsus articulated what remains the foundational principle of toxicology: sola dosis facit venenum. Water will kill you if you drink enough of it. Aspirin saves lives at 81 milligrams and causes internal bleeding at higher chronic doses. So, at what dose is glyphosate poisonous? The LD50 in rats (the dose that kills half the test animals) is around 5,600 mg/kg body weight. Table salt is roughly 3,000 mg/kg. By that classic measure, glyphosate is less acutely toxic than salt. But some people are exposed to a lot of glyphosate through their work. And among the general public, there are many questions about low-dose, cumulative exposure from multiple sources over long periods. Does glyphosate cause health problems? Cancer Correlation maps are striking, with one analysis finding that 60% of counties that spray the most glyphosate have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma rates above the national average. But correlation alone doesn’t establish cause, which is why animal and human studies matter. In animals: Rat studies are typically what most fear is rooted in, but most people don’t know the study details on the dosage given to rats. A pooled analysis of the 13 most rigorous rat studies found evidence that very high doses, around 55,000 times greater than typical food residue exposure, can cause certain cancers. In humans: One of the strongest studies followed 55,000 herbicide users over 20 years and found no overall increased cancer risk. There was one signal: among those with the highest use, rates of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) appeared elevated. A broader meta-analysis of 18 human studies also found no overall cancer risk, though a separate meta-analysis focused specifically on non-Hodgkin lymphoma found that people with high cumulative glyphosate exposure faced a 41% higher relative risk compared to those with low or no exposure. These human studies are observational studies (randomized controlled trials would be unethical), and meta-analyses are only as reliable as the studies they pool. But the story seems consistent: at very high exposure levels, there may be some cancer risk. But that’s about as far as the science currently takes us. Emerging research: gut and reproductive health Gut: Because glyphosate targets a pathway that exists in some gut bacteria, scientists have questioned whether it could affect the microbiome. In mice, a 2023 University of Iowa study found that glyphosate altered gut bacterial composition and raised markers of intestinal inflammation. A 2024 systematic review found similar patterns: disrupted gut bacteria and problems with the mucus layer that protects the intestinal wall in mice. Whether this translates to humans is an open question. The human gut is highly variable and resistant, and we don't yet have strong studies confirming the same effects in people. Reproductive health: Animal studies have found that glyphosate-based herbicides can interfere with reproductive hormones, including disrupting egg cell development in mice and reducing the number of eggs available in sheep’s ovaries. However, the doses used in these experiments were high, so it’s not yet clear whether the same effects would occur in humans. On the human side, a 2021 pilot study led by Mount Sinai researchers tested urine samples from pregnant women across the U.S. and found glyphosate in 95% of them. The study also found a possible connection between higher glyphosate exposure during pregnancy and a subtle physical difference measured in female newborns. That said, some connections weren’t statistically reliable and this was a small study. The researchers themselves said more and larger studies are needed before drawing firm conclusions. What do regulators say about glyphosate safety? In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans" (Group 2A). The classification is worth taking seriously. But, there’s an important distinction: IARC classifies hazard, meaning the potential to cause harm under some conditions. It does not assess risk, which accounts for actual exposure levels and the real-world probability of harm. The U.S. EPA, the European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada, and regulatory agencies in Australia and Japan have all concluded that glyphosate is “unlikely to be carcinogenic to humans” at realistic exposure levels. They’re asking a different question: given how much of this people actually encounter, what is the probability of harm? Your actual exposure is what determines your actual risk. What does glyphosate mean for your daily life? At the grocery store: Food residues are small. The EPA’s acceptable daily intake is 1.75 mg/kg of body weight per day. To hit that threshold from oatmeal alone, a 150-pound adult would need to eat roughly 50 pounds of oats every day. But this calculation addresses only one pathway (food), and we don’t yet have robust tools to measure people’s actual total exposure. If reducing exposure matters to you, organic certification prohibits synthetic herbicides, and organic oat products generally test at lower or undetectable levels. Either way, a diet rich in whole grains, conventional or organic, is far better for your health than one that omits them out of fear of residues. On the farm: Occupational exposure is orders of magnitude higher than consumer exposure. Farmers and farm workers who mix, load, and apply glyphosate-based herbicides, especially without protective equipment, face meaningfully different risk profiles. Proper PPE isn’t optional. Integrated weed management strategies that rotate chemical modes of action are also worth taking seriously, both for health and for long-term effectiveness. If you live near a farm: Spray drift is real. Concentrations near field edges can spike during and after application, particularly on windy days. This is an area where I think public health could really step up and empower rural communities with buffer zones, rather than placing the onus on individuals. But for now, knowing your local agricultural calendar and keeping windows closed during application are the first steps. Bottom line Dewayne Johnson was exposed to glyphosate at levels most people will never encounter, and a jury decided he deserved compensation. That outcome is not evidence that the oatmeal in your pantry is dangerous. But it is a reminder that the dose, the context, and the person doing the exposing all matter enormously. Glyphosate is a chemical tool with benefits, trade-offs, and genuine open scientific questions. Learning to hold that complexity without collapsing into panic or dismissal is, honestly, one of the most useful and hardest things to do in navigating modern health science. Love, YLE Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is founded and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, wife, and mom of two little girls. Hannah Totte, MPH, is an epidemiologist and YLE Community Manager. YLE reaches more than 425,000 people in over 132 countries with one goal: “Translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Subscribe
Do you love sleeping with your pet? Science reveals there’s a tricky trade-off
Co-sleeping with your pet produces a paradox: it feels beneficial — enhancing connection, comfort and emotional safety — but it objectively disturbs your sleep, and eventually you’re overall well-being.
Consumer Sleep Technology Can Support Better Sleep, With Limits
A commentary Miller School of Medicine researchers underscores that pairing sleep and exercise may produce greater health benefits.
Democracy Depends on Science—So Scientists Need to Show Up for Democracy
A shared commitment to facts and knowledge, produced independently from political interference, is critical to democracy—and worth fighting to protect.
Imaging manufacturer Guerbet faces financial challenges following recent FDA warning
Regulators recently scolded the France-based pharmaceutical firm for safety issues that occurred at its plant in Raleigh, North Carolina, which produces imaging contrast agents.
Vince Vaughn Calls Out Late-Night Comedians for Becoming Too Political
The actor-producer told Theo Von that the late night shows "started feeling like I was in a f***ing class I didn’t want to take."
'The Pitt' Star Noah Wyle Talks Universal Health Coverage, Season 3
The hit drama took the London spotlight ahead of the U.K. launch of HBO Max, as Wyle shared how his years of TV doc experience helped when the producer of 'KPop Demon Hunters' needed a medical hand this awards season.
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.
Prologue Entertainment Taps Ken Segna As Head Of Television Development
EXCLUSIVE: Prologue Entertainment, the independent film and television studio that produced Netflix thrillers Zero Day and A House of Dynamite, is expanding its ranks, naming Ken Segna as Head of Tele...
OPB Science Reporter/Producer Jes Burns wins 2026 Gracie Award
OPB science reporter and producer Jes Burns wins 2026 Gracie Award
2026 ‘Dirty Dozen’ produce: Nearly 100% tested positive for pesticides, including ‘forever chemicals’
The 2026 “Dirty Dozen” list of most contaminated produce has a worrisome finding. Many of the most common pesticides are also potentially toxic “forever chemicals.”
Veterinary Science Certificate Program promotes early steps on career path
Rural communities face a growing shortage of veterinary professionals, creating challenges for pet owners and livestock producers alike.
Linden Entertainment Signs ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’, ‘Tow’ Director Stephanie Laing
EXCLUSIVE: Linden Entertainment has signed Emmy-winning director, writer, and producer Stephanie Laing for management. Laing is coming off the theatrical release of her new film, Tow, a comedy-drama s...
WSU launches bilingual video series to help beekeepers improve colony health
Researchers with WSU's Honey Bee and Pollinators Program have produced a new video series giving novice keepers a strong introduction to best practices and the science of apiculture, in both Spanish and English.
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.
Capcom celebrates Resident Evil's 30th anniversary by promising "even more wonderful experiences" are coming, but doesn't confirm when
Resident Evil series executive producer, Jun Takeuchi, has written to Resident Evil players across the world, thanking …
Oscar-Winning Alumnus Returns to Pasadena’s ArtCenter for Entertainment Design Expo
One week after winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, KPop Demon Hunters co-director Chris Appelhans returns today to ArtCenter College of Design, the Pasadena campus where he studied illustration, for the college’s third annual Entertainment Design Expo. The expo, known as ENTX, opens the Hillside Campus to the public for a full day of gallery exhibitions, game playtesting, animation screenings and interactive experiences featuring work from more than 200 ArtCenter students and alumni. General admission is free with advance registration. Two industry panels — including Appelhans’s talk — require $15 tickets. Appelhans, who graduated from ArtCenter with a bachelor of fine arts in 2002, co-directed KPop Demon Hunters with Maggie Kang. The animated film, produced by Sony Pictures Animation and released on Netflix, became the streaming platform’s most-watched film in history, according to Netflix, and swept awards season with wins at the Golden Globes, the Annie Awards and the Grammys before taking the Oscar on March 15. His talk and audience Q&A is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. in the Ahmanson Auditorium. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. The film’s ArtCenter ties extend beyond its co-director. Art director Angela Sung, cinematographer Gary H. Lee, visual development artist Celine Kim and painter Simon Baek are all ArtCenter graduates who worked on the production, according to the college. The free portions of ENTX include a concept design showcase, a production design gallery, a model gallery, a stop motion studio preview, an alumni gallery and a KPop Demon Hunters fan art gallery. Visitors can also playtest games designed by ArtCenter students. An Animation Shorts Showcase runs from 2 to 3 p.m. and includes “Boy, I’m Scared,” a capstone short by ArtCenter graduate Lindsey Tenaglia that was named a semifinalist for the 2025 Student Academy Awards in the animation category. Also screening
Mainieri out as South Carolina's baseball coach in 2nd season
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Scientists turn probiotic bacteria into tumor-hunting cancer killers
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Another Planet Entertainment Producing Free Show Celebrating 30 Years of OM Records
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Reverb is all about values | Produced by Seattle Times Marketing
Employees stay because they feel trusted, supported and connected to meaningful work.
How did these flowers evolve to survive a megadrought?
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Fusion scientists face challenges in effort to produce reliable energy source
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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
Del Monte Foods Successfully Completes Sale Transactions Across All Business Segments
/PRNewswire/ -- Del Monte Foods Corporation II Inc. (the "Company" or "Del Monte Foods"), a leading producer, distributor, and marketer of premium quality,...
'Dark oxygen' discovery on the seafloor is 'fundamentally at odds with thermodynamics' and should be retracted, experts say
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Science explains why removing adhesive tape makes that unbearable squeaky noise
Scientists discover why adhesive tape makes that squeaking noise when peeled off: tiny shock waves produce the high-pitched sound.
Tubi and TikTok are partnering to produce long form series
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Sandhills Calving System continues to protect calf health, ranch profitability
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FNC acquires McPherson-based farm management business
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Cash Crunch Drives Nigerian Power Producers Out of Business
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The race for a safe Democratic House seat offers clues about the party’s future
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Amid Iran war, Democratic Senate hopeful tries to win back Arab American voters
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A Rare Peek Behind the Curtain of Washington Spycraft
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This is your brain on pleasure (even the guilty kind)
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Egypt’s Mixed Signals: Activist Releases Amid Crackdowns Signal Fragile Politics
2026 began uneasily for Syrians in Egypt. In Rehab City, an upscale suburb east of Cairo that became home to many Syrians fleeing civil war under the Assad regime, security officials entered a crowded restaurant and asked diners to produce their residency permits. Scenes like this have become increasingly common in Egypt, alongside a malicious…
Emotional Abuse in College Sports
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Scientists Solve a 70-Year Mystery Behind the Universe’s Strange Magnetic Fields
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"Suck it up, Buttercup:" Executive Producer discusses new documentary about rising healthcare costs
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How often do people really fart? Scientists built smart underwear to find out
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Leaked audio appears to reveal Rebel Wilson's PR team plotting smear campaign against 'The Deb' producer
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Labrinth blasts entertainment industry, 'Euphoria' in cryptic post
Singer and record producer Labrinth, who composed the score for \
Should the U.S. be in business of assassinating foreign leaders?
In the opening strike of their war on Iran, the US and Israel killed the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is an exceedingly rare instance of democracies killing a foreign head of state.It’s not the first time the United States has been involved in the killing of a foreign leader, but it’s something U.S. leaders and the American public have long wrestled with. NPR’s Ryan Lucas reports. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Mallory Yu and Erika Ryan, with audio engineering by Jay Czys.It was edited by John Ketchum and Anna Yukhanov. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
These swing voters don’t like or understand the reason for the war in Iran
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Oscars preview: Producers tease ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and ‘Sinners’ celebrations
“Sinners” is this year's leading nominee
Fremantle Revenues Falls Nearly 10% To $2.4B In 2025
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Depression may start with an energy problem in brain cells
Researchers have discovered a surprising change in how cells produce energy in people with depression. Brain and blood cells in young adults with major depressive disorder produced more energy molecules at rest but had trouble increasing energy production when needed. Scientists believe this imbalance may contribute to symptoms such as fatigue and low motivation. The finding could help pave the way for earlier diagnosis and more personalized treatments.
The toll the war in Iran has on the U.S. economy
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Hidden Majoritarianism Hinders Women's Political Careers -
In the APSA Public Scholarship Program, graduate students in political science produce summaries of new research in the American Political Science Review. This piece, written by Ximena Caló, covers the new article by Daniel M. [...]
Scientists Just Used Some of Earth’s Worst Chemicals to Produce Battery-Grade Lithium
A new method transforms a "persistent environmental liability" into a much-desired resource, the researchers say.
A surprising percentage of produce from the nation’s largest supplier contains ‘forever’ pesticides
Nearly 40% of California-grown nonorganic produce has residues from pesticides made from potentially toxic PFAS chemicals that can remain in the body for years.
Scientists control 'free-flowing' electric currents with light
By controlling magnetic fields using light, a team of researchers led by NTU scientists has solved a long-standing challenge to precisely direct electric currents produced by quantum materials. Their ...
ICE is keeping tabs on American citizens
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HOMETOWN ENTERTAINMENT: Roanoke native shares experience as executive producer of “Comics Unleashed”
Roanoke native Dylan King is an executive producer of CBS late-night comedy show Comics Unleashed.
A particle accelerator helped scientists create stunning 3D ants
Researchers have developed a high-tech system that rapidly scans ants and converts them into detailed 3D models. Using a synchrotron accelerator, X-ray imaging, robotics, and AI, the team scanned 2,000 specimens in just a week and produced models of 800 species. The images reveal microscopic anatomy that was previously difficult to study. The growing Antscan database could become a powerful digital library of biodiversity.