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WATCH: 'We negotiate with bombs,' Hegseth says of U.S. air campaign in Iran
President Donald Trump has listed five objectives that the U.S. wants to achieve before ending its war with Iran. Now, as he suggests the U.S. may soon be “winding down” the operation after three and a half weeks, some of his key aims remain undefined or unfulfilled.
Rural health care providers can now apply for $50M to stabilize access - New round of health care funding builds on record $146M investment - Office of the Governor
SANTA FE – New Mexico’s rural health care providers can now apply for a share of $50 million in health care funding as part of the State of New Mexico’s three-year, $146 million investment that has helped recruit more than 800 health care workers to underserved communities. The funding comes from New Mexico’s Rural Health […]
Accelerating Innovative and Effective Pediatric Health Care Delivery Systems: Interventions and Value-Based Care Models for Children with Chronic Health Conditions and Complex Social Needs
Children, youth, and families have unique health needs, which set the foundation for health across the life course; chronic conditions now affect nearly one in three U.S. children, with disproportionate prevalence in those enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.
Google TV's new Gemini features keep fans updated on sports teams and more
Three Gemini-powered features are coming to your Google TV. This includes visual responses, deep dives, and sports briefs.
The politics of public health from Obamacare to COVID
The last three presidents — Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Donald Trump — have all had to deal with health care in America. And along the way, they've clashed with how politics works in Washington D.C. This created today’s environment where the understanding of science is scorned, medical disinformation thrives and creating a nation unprepared for the next health crisis.
Senate Democrats Urge Kennedy to Stop Hindering Key Health Panel
The health secretary has canceled or postponed three meetings of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which shapes health care coverage for Americans.
Ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO said doctors "better find me incompetent"
The prison recording emerged during a three-day competency hearing over the ability of Michael Jefferies to stand trial for sex trafficking.
Marathon has sold 1.2M copies across Steam, PS5, and Xbox
Alinea Analytics estimates show that Marathon has generated gross revenues of $55M via 1.2M copies sold on Steam, PS5, and Xbox: Looking at the split between Steam, PS5, and Xbox, Steam is clearly the main platform for Marathon, accounting for a little under 70% of the audience (800K copies sold). Meanwhile, PS5 takes about 19% (217K) and Xbox (including console, PC, and cloud) accounts for a bit over 11% or 133K. Marathon is technically a first-party Sony title, so seeing the home console struggle to break 20% of the volume is a notable data point for the ongoing platform-agnostic debate. PlayStation Studios online games will almost certainly continue being multiplatform (despite Sony reportedly pulling back on PC releases). Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe As for Marathon, the consensus among hardcore players who pushed through the awkward onboarding phase – myself included – is that it’s fantastic. The gunplay, aesthetic, and presentation are among the best in the shooter genre. A great game doesn’t always equal an immediate hit, though, as shown by our estimates. Things are looking lukewarm right now. But this might be one of those marathon-not-a-sprint situations. Had to, didn’t I? Why wasn’t Marathon a hit on the same level as Arc Raiders? One topic that came up in a lot of conversations at GDC this year was why Marathon hasn’t hit the same stratosphere as Arc Raiders. On paper, they’re both extraction shooters, and Marathon has the Bungie pedigree – the house that built the gold standard for gunplay in Halo and Destiny. Marathon’s neon-futuristic aesthetic also distinguishes itself from the gritty realism of Tarkov or the post-apocalyptic hope of ARC Raiders. But vibes can only get you so far for first impressions if the onboarding feels like a brick wall. Marathon is a sweaty PvP-focused experience with a first-time user experience and UI that I can only describe as dreadful. Players are dropped into a complex ecosystem where the UI, though visually striking, is functionally uninformative, forcing users to manually hover over nondescript, identical icons just to identify basic gear or weapon mods. This lack of clarity is compounded by punishing mechanics like a severe heat gauge for movement and a scarcity of vital resources, all without a clear tutorial or a low-stakes mode to learn the ropes. Most people – even top streamers and veteran shooter players – have no idea what’s going on in Marathon at first. Arc is on the complete other end of the spectrum. As we covered here and here, Arc Raiders offers a more collaborative, approachable loop where players often work together toward shared goals. And the objectives are instantly clear. To many players, this contrast only emphasised Marathon’s issues, especially during the testing period. Players understand the Arc Raiders loop within 30 minutes, while Marathon acts as a massive filter, chewing up newcomers and spitting them out before they can experience the depth of Bungie’s signature gunplay. What I’m getting at here is that the poor first-time user experience of Marathon’s Server Slam likely stifled launch sales, while the opposite was true for Arc. Let’s look at the pre-launch copies sold for each game during their respective Server Slams (launch-aligned) : Looking at the trajectory: Arc Raiders saw a massive 80% jump in copies sold during its three-day Server Slam (day -13 to -11). Players jumped in, realised the water was fine, and immediately opened their wallets. Marathon, meanwhile, saw a 49% increase in the four days following its Slam (Day -7 to -3). At the time of each game’s respective launch, Arc Raiders had nearly double the Steam footprint of Marathon – and word of mouth only continued to grow. Bungie could have had more time to fix the onboarding process had the beta happened earlier. But Marathon launched three days after the beta finished. These factors limited the launch sales quite a bit, I reckon. Marathon has found a niche audience, though Despite the friction-heavy start, the data suggests that those who survived Marathon’s onboarding are loving life. We’ve been tracking cross-platform DAUs, and while there’s the expected post-launch leakage, many players are sticking with it. After peaking at 478K total DAUs on its first Saturday, Marathon has settled into a respectable rhythm, holding 345K DAUs as of yesterday and averaging 380K DAUs across the weekend. Steam continues to do the heavy lifting here, consistently accounting for the lion’s share of the daily players. Players have been putting in the hours, too: On Steam, Marathon’s average playtime has climbed to 27.8 hours, significantly outpacing the console averages on PS5 (16.5h) and Xbox (17.3h). Even more telling than the averages: 22% of the Steam audience has surged past the 50-hour mark, and nearly 7% have already logged over 100 hours. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe This data suggests that once the Bungie magic clicks, it hooks players deeper than the average extraction shooter. There’s also started to be a shift in the game’s discourse. Marathon launched as one of those games that’s cool to hate. But as Marathon’s 100-hour club grows, we’re seeing conversations around its mechanical merit outweigh the negativity. Several high-profile creators, who were initially vocal critics, have spent the last week coming around on the mechanical depth of the endgame. It’s a subtle but positive signal; the hate train is losing steam, and a new narrative about the game is emerging. Bungie faithfuls unite Another interesting metric in Marathon’s first few weeks is who, exactly, is playing. Bungie leans heavily on its prestige as the “makers of Halo and Destiny,” in its marketing, and that message has clearly hit the mark. On Steam, the gravity (hammer) of Bungie’s previous work is unavoidable. A staggering 78.2% of Marathon players also played Destiny 2. The trend carries across other platforms, with 74.2% of PS5 players and 82.7% of Xbox players also having played Destiny 2. The Halo legacy lives on, it seems. More on that in a bit. While Destiny 2 went free to play, these numbers still represent a high-intent migration of a fanbase that trusts Bungie’s specific brand of kinetic gunplay and cryptic world-building. The Xbox data adds another layer of legacy. About 85.7% of Marathon players on Xbox have played Halo Infinite, while over half of the Steam audience has spent time in Halo Infinite and 36.1% in the Master Chief Collection (a paid collection of the old Bungie-made legacy games). Interestingly, we see a 55.9% overlap with ARC Raiders on Steam. Overlap is even higher there on PlayStation (60.5%) and Xbox (66.5%). And there’s also significant crossover with Helldivers 2 on all platforms, too. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe Bungie has found some of its fans with Marathon, and the challenge now is keeping this engaged in a high-stakes PvP environment when they’ve spent the last decade primarily enjoying the power fantasies of PvE. On that note… Go the full 26 miles? Or cut and run? Time for some could’ve, should’ve, would’ve. These things would have improved Marathon’s performance at launch: A more robust onboarding process, perhaps in the form of a short single-player/PvE campaign. We know Bungie fans love this stuff. A traditional arena-based mode akin to Destiny’s Crucible could have been a bridge for the cautious players who’d have been otherwise deterred by the Server Slam. It’s also a great palate cleanser after getting merked. Introducing a dedicated PvE environment would have similarly diversified the conversation and lowered the barrier for the Bungie faithful who found the pure PvP extraction loop too abrasive. PvE is safer than PvP these days. There’s an argument that a thin PvE mode would have just felt like a budget Destiny, potentially hurting the brand more. But given how dire the FTUE is, I think it would have been a net positive. Any kind of tutorialised loop that demystifies the stakes, really. While there is merit in a studio sticking firmly to a singular creative vision, and going all in on the hardcore extraction loop. Less forgiving is the technical reality is that the user interface and first-time user experience (FTUE) were not at a commercial standard for launch. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe In a landscape where player time is oversaturated and the most contested currency, a flawed FTUE is a critical failure point. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as Marathon has an incredible, unique gameplay loop, suggesting that financial success is still attainable if Bungie can pivot effectively. Bungie and PlayStation now face a difficult strategic crossroads, though – one within a challenging games market. They could: Double down on Marathon with a long-term Rainbow Six Siege- or No Man’s Sky-style recovery plan, which is something I heard Last Stand Media’s Chris Maldonado mention last week. While this could be a sunk-cost fallacy in action, it could eventually yield the audience the game’s mechanical depth deserves. Shift focus toward the inevitable Destiny 3 or another project, mitigating the escalating opportunity cost and cutting their losses, so to speak. Doing both is an expensive proposition, given the high overhead and burn rate of operating out of Bellevue, Washington. With Sony recently demonstrating a lower threshold for underperforming studios and projects, the margin for error has vanished. Whatever happens, the next six months will determine whether Marathon becomes a cornerstone of Sony’s live-service portfolio or a cautionary tale of vision exceeding accessibility. I’m hoping it’s the former, because Marathon rocks. As always, hit subscribe to get updates on Marathon and other relevant games. Subscribe Want to get your hands on our data for yourself – for free? We’re offering a free trial of our platform for games companies. Send us a message here, or reply to this email, and we’ll set you up. The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]
Three new Gemini features come to Google TV
AI-powered visual help, deep dives and sports briefs arrive in the US.
Inside the DOCS Community Health Leadership Conference at the Miller School of Medicine
Medical students at the Miller School lead the DOCS Community Health Leadership Conference, showcasing student‑run projects.
Three Hawks Named to College Sports Communicators Women's Basketball Academic All-District Team
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - On Tuesday, the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District women's basketball teams were announced with three members of the Hartford volleyball team featured.
4 Pitt people were named Pittsburgh Business Times 2026 Women of Influence
The awards recognize the region’s businesswomen, including one Pitt dean and three alumnae, who make impactful change by leading organizations.
Helping seniors thrive through connection
ETSU is one of three universities nationwide selected to develop senior nutrition programs.
A three-generation store in business for 100 years is expanding in CT. Owner says they, ‘nailed it.’
The father-son business team says they plan to continue to grow, as “one of the satisfactions of our job is we’re helping people.”
Magic face urgency to end skid vs. rising Cavaliers
James Harden and Donovan Mitchell took turns rescuing the Cavaliers on their three-game road trip, allowing Cleveland to sweep the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Pelicans.
Denon expands its multi-room speaker lineup with the Home 200, Home 400 and Home 600
Denon takes on Sonos with three new speakers that are powered by HEOS wireless multi-room streaming.
Nets' struggles continue after blowout loss to Trail Blazers
Toumani Camara had career highs of nine three-pointers and 35 points to help Portland beat the Brooklyn Nets 134-99 on Monday night, the Trail Blazers’ largest margin of victory this season.
Corona Santiago hands Corona its first baseball defeat behind Troy Randall
Corona Santiago baseball takes the first game of three-game series over Corona with a 6-2 victory.
Freeway series game II chat
The Dodgers play their first game at Dodger Stadium since Game 5 of last year’s World Series on Monday, hosting the Angels for the second of a three-game exhibition series. Roki Sasaki goes for the Dodgers against left-hander Reid Detmers. MONDAY GAME INFO
From One Major to Three in Four Years: Connecting Data Science, German and Linguistics at Montclair
In a German language program for local children and on an archive translation project, Isabella Zarate Gonzalez shows how Montclair’s mix of STEM, world languages and community engagement helped her connect her interests into a single path
Knicks go for 7th straight win, face improved Pelicans
The New York Knicks are surging as the NBA regular season enters its final three weeks.
'Sled head': Lawsuits against USA Bobsled/Skeleton allege brain injury
Three personal injury lawsuits have been filed on behalf of elite bobsledders who claim officials intentionally concealed evidence that the sport causes brain injuries.
Meet Three Sagehens Playing Spring Sports in 2026 | Pomona College in Claremont, California
The spring sports season offers a smorgasbord of options for Sagehens fans, with teams taking to the diamond, track, pool, field and golf course to test their mettle against Division III athletes from across the country.
Women's March Madness results so far: Scores from Monday's NCAA Tournament
Three No. 1 seeds are in action today as the Women's NCAA Tournament whittles the field down to the Sweet 16. See who's primed to survive and advance.
MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers open 2026 season as best team (again) with a World Series three-peat on the line
Ready for another MLB season? How many teams can win the World Series?
NCAA Tournament: Iowa's stunning upset of No. 1 Florida caps off thrilling weekend of March Madness
Only three of the four top seeds in the men’s bracket will be playing in the Sweet 16.
Inside the Turmoil at RFK Jr.’s CDC, as Told by Current and Former Employees
Forty-three current and former C.D.C. employees on the changes they say are replacing science with ideology — and making Americans more vulnerable.
Three Years on, What Have We Learned From the Vogue Business Size Inclusivity Report?
Vogue Business began recording size inclusivity on the runway three years ago. Today, mid and plus-size representation is at an all-time low.
Power Play Primed – Hurricanes 5, Penguins 1
The Carolina Hurricanes scored three power play goals and dominated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-1 on Sunday afternoon in the Steel City. The Canes controlled the puck most of the game and were holding the Pens to a paltry 12 shots on goal until the Pens finally found some offense with five minutes and change to […]
Notre Dame men join women in winning inaugural three-weapon title
Notre Dame's Ahmed Hesham won the men's saber Sunday, and the Fighting Irish men joined the women in winning the inaugural three-weapon national championship at the Joyce Center.
Minnesota Wild, NHL mourn hockey writer Jessi Pierce after death in house fire
Pierce and her three children were killed in a house fire outside of Minneapolis early Saturday morning.
Michael McCarthy Considering Three Races As Options For Journalism's Return
After Journalism worked five furlongs in company Sunday at Santa Anita, trainer Michael McCarthy said he is looking at three potential races to kick off the colt’s 4-year-old campaign. Journalism could return in either the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) or Ben Ali (G3) at Keeneland, both on April 18, or ...
Student researchers bring Kentucky State University science to Posters-at-the-Capitol
With lawmakers just steps away, three Kentucky State University undergraduates presented research on cattle health, soil amendments and food safety at the Capitol Annex on March 5, bringing student-led agricultural […]
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.
Apple’s busy March continues with three notable arrivals this week
Apple has had a jam-packed March so far after launching seven new products and surprisingly announcing an eighth. Looking ahead,...
3 restaurants open in Pittsburgh’s East Carson business district
Pittsburgh city leaders celebrated the opening of three new restaurants in the city’s East Carson business district on Friday.
UF students celebrate ‘women supporting women’ through new mental health group
According to the Healthy Minds Network’s data interface, a little more than one in three female college students suffered from anxiety in 2025, compared to a little under one in four male students.
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!
The war on Iran is in its fourth week. Here’s what to know
Three full weeks of the war the US and Israel launched against Iran have shocked the world oil market, pierced a sense of safety in parts of the Middle East, and claimed the lives of US service members and civilians in multiple countries.
Coaches in elite company clash when Kansas faces St. John's
SAN DIEGO -- Only three active head coaches in Division I college basketball have won multiple national championships. Two of them meet for a berth in the Sweet 16 when Bill Self's No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks face Rick Pitino's No. 5 St. John's Red Storm on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament East Region.
Islanders @ Canadiens [Game #70 thread]
The Islanders have a big one tonight in Montreal, where the Canadiens are in a three-way tie for the Atlantic’s third playoff spots (84 points, same as wild card occupants Detroit and Boston but with a game in hand) while the Islanders begin a night of play on the outside looking in for the first […]
The US Senate could soon set a historic first: Three Black women serving at the same time
In the days after winning the Democratic nomination for Senate, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton spoke to the two women with whom she could make history next year.
Long-vacant city-owned lot on edge of French Quarter to become mixed-income apartment building
The design calls for three buildings with 50 apartments between Esplanade Avenue and Kerlerec Street.
Early Menopause Linked to 40% Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Women who go through natural menopause before age 40 face a 40% higher lifetime risk of coronary heart disease. Black women are three times as likely to experience early menopause as white women.
Thompson makes 30 stops in Capitals win over Devils
Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, extending his point streak with three goals and four assists over his last seven games. Jake Allen stopped 26 shots. It was the third meeting between the teams and the first that didn't require extra time.
Lakers release injury report for Saturday's game versus Magic
One of the Lakers' three stars could miss Saturday's game against the Magic.
Exclusive: Dimer Health raises $13.5M for patient discharge
The round gives Dimer approximately three years of runway, though it will begin having initial conversations about its next round soon.
Apple explains why M5 chips have three different core types in new interview
Apple explains M5's three core types: super cores for single-thread tasks, performance cores for multi-threading, and efficiency cores.
Private mental health hospital 'failed women who died'
Three women died at a private clinic where staff were not carrying out proper checks.
Pentagon orders 2,500 troops, 3 warships from California to the Middle East
The Pentagon deployed three warships and roughly 2,500 Marines to the Middle East from the California-based USS Boxer amphibious ready group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Jefferson Health hit with $108 million verdict in Einstein birth injury case
The verdict is the biggest medical malpractice verdict in the city since a record-setting $183 million award against Penn Medicine three yeas ago in another birth-injury case.
Claimants drop lawsuit against Gerry Adams over IRA bombings
Three people were suing ex-Sinn Féin leader for liability over IRA bombings in UK which left them injured
What doctors wish patients knew about social media’s health impact
From mere FOMO to anxiety and depression, social media platforms can pose harms and benefits. Three physicians discuss how to balance the positive and negative impacts.
How did these flowers evolve to survive a megadrought?
A multi-year megadrought in the Western U.S. has claimed untold populations of wild plants. Amid the conditions, some have survived. Scientists have produced a stunningly complete picture about how populations of one particular flower – the scarlet monkeyflower – made it through. In a new study published in the journal Science, a team of scientists spent decades studying and sampling select populations of scarlet monkeyflowers in California and Oregon. Through genetic sequencing, the team discovered that the populations that did best went through genetic changes in a short time period. This is known as rapid evolution. The team found that three of the populations that recovered the BEST adapted their stomata to open less, so they could conserve more water. Stomata act like a plant’s pores, managing gas exchange and water loss. This allowed the scarlet monkeyflowers to hunker down in the drought and survive. Interested in more stories about rapid evolution? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre, Rachel Carlson and Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Rebecca Ramirez. Aru Nair checked the facts. The audio engineers were Becky Brown and Robert Rodriguez.
Knights finish critical homestand on down note
Three goals on its first three shots propel Utah to a 4-0 win and a 2-2 homestand for Vegas.
Brandon Woodruff wraps up his spring training. What's next?
After Brandon Woodruff threw three innings, we await word on his next step
Trump is dismantling democracy at 'unprecedented' speed, global report finds
Three major new studies on democracy and freedom all find the U.S. is slipping further away from democracy. Leaders of two of those studies say President Trump's goal is to rule as an autocrat.
4 flight attendants injured on Delta flight to Sydney after plane experiences 'brief turbulence'
Four Delta Air Lines flight attendants were injured during turbulence on a flight bound for Sydney, with three hospitalized but no passengers hurt.
Virginia Tech adds commitment from EDGE Alexander Taylor
Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy edge rusher Alexander Taylor committed to Virginia Tech on Thursday. The three-star prospect announced the decision on X. Taylor is the second commit in the Hokies’ 2027 recruiting class, joining three-star edge rusher Andrew Rogers.
Michigan declares 1st measles outbreak as cases spread 'like wildfire'
All three measles cases reported in March in Michigan are linked to a person in Washtenaw County who likely contracted it on a trip to Florida.
Hermès doesn’t include a power adapter with its $5,150 charging case
You can charge your Apple Watch and iPhone for the cost of three MacBook Pros.
What Americans are giving up to afford ACA health insurance, according to a new poll
A new KFF survey shows many Americans who had Affordable Care Act marketplace health insurance last year are struggling with high health costs. The findings come three months after the expiration of enhanced tax credits that had offset most enrollees' monthly premiums.
1,800-year-old nails discovered in 3 burials in Roman necropolis, possibly to 'protect' both the living and the dead
Archaeologists excavating in Rome's Ostiense necropolis found three skeletons with iron nails on their chests, hinting at a ritual to prevent restless spirits.
Premature Menopause Increases Heart Disease Risk
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterTHURSDAY, March 19, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Premature menopause can increase a woman’s long-term risk of heart disease from clogged arteries by 40%, a new study says. This risk is particularly important among Black women, as they are three times more likely to ...
Researchers surveyed by STAT detail the scientific and personal toll of grant cuts: ‘This can't be how it ends’
STAT interviews with 30 respondents brought the unmistakably human impacts of federal science policy into sharp focus. Here are three of those stories.
SK pharmteco Reaffirms Three-Business-Unit Strategy, Strengthens Global Gene Therapy Business Unit with Funding Commitment
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., March 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SK pharmteco today announced a significant funding commitment to support strategic initiatives within its viral vector business, while reaffirming its long-term growth strategy across three business units: small molecule, peptides, and viral vectors. SK pharmteco is sharpening its strategy to provide pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners with the financial strength, technical rigor, and operational infrastructure needed for long-term
76ers hoping for Joel Embiid's return against Kings
The Philadelphia 76ers hope to have Joel Embiid back in the lineup when they continue a three-game Western swing with a matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.
Beach parking, money in politics and more: Four San Diego measures move one step closer to November ballot
Support was unanimous for three of the measures, but the committee vote was only 3-2 in favor of a measure to ban paid parking at beaches and bays.
Cavs at Bulls: How to watch, odds, and injury report
The Cavaliers will look to pick up their second win on this three-game road trip.
Mullin under microscope by Senate colleagues over temperament, stolen valor and ICE in tense DHS confirmation hearing
A typically friendly setting for one of their own turned tense on Capitol Hill Wednesday with senators grilling Markwayne Mullin for roughly three hours as he vies to become President Donald Trump’s next Department of Homeland Security chief.
APSA Announces Renewed Partnership with Cambridge University Press -
The American Political Science Association (APSA) is pleased to announce that we have renewed our partnership with Cambridge University Press for the publication of the three member-wide APSA journals and six organized section journals: American [...]
Takeaways from intelligence officials’ testimony to lawmakers amid war with Iran
Top Trump administration officials testified publicly Wednesday for the first time since the launch of the Iran war three weeks ago.
Lenovo brings retro arcade cabinet gaming to high-end Android tablets with new releases
Lenovo has released a new set of accessories for its compact gaming tablets. Compatible with multiple tablet generations, the Legion Y700 Arcade Dock comes in three finishes with dedicated SNK versions too.
Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance 'SEGA Villains Stage' DLC Arrives Next Month
Three familiar faces join the fight
Apple highlights 13 enhancements coming to iPhone with iOS 26.4
Apple has released the first iOS 26.4 RC build, highlighting 13 enhancements coming to your iPhone, and that means three...
Tom Brady Reveals the Sneaky Way He’s Able to Watch His Kids’ Sports Games in Person
Tom Brady shared how he avoids being recognized while cheering for his three kids at their sports games, opting to keep the focus squarely on them “where it should be.”
Fragmenting Comet C/2025 K1
This animation steps through the three Hubble images of the fragmenting comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), or K1, taken on Nov. 8, 9, and 10, 2025.
European groups join aid convoy to Cuba amid crippling oil blockade
Millions have been plunged into darkness in Cuba as the US's total blockade has meant no fuel shipments in three months.
Tiger Woods provides health update as he eyes return at The Masters
We are three weeks away from The Masters, and we still aren’t certain if the greatest golfer of all time will be teeing it up at Augusta National. Tiger Woods underwent his seventh back surgery towards the end of 2025, and did not lay out a timeline for his return.
How sports traditions like March Madness can support brain health
Three experts from the University of Kentucky say the answer may be yes. Research shows that staying mentally, socially and emotionally engaged can help support long-term brain health. Activities tied to sports — like predicting tournament outcomes, reminiscing about past games or gathering with friends and family to watch — can stimulate memory, strengthen cognitive skills and foster meaningful social connections.
Tireless Advocates for Health
Three Gonzaga alumni are strengthening Washington’s community health network, supporting 28 systems and 400+ clinics that provide essential care regardless of insurance, income or circumstance.
Arizona baseball loses at home to New Mexico
Though it lost two of three at Utah last weekend in its first Big 12 series, Arizona showed plenty of fight by tying or taking the lead in the 9th inning of each game. Unfortunately, that kind of effort didn’t come back with the Wildcats from Salt Lake City. The UA lost 6-3 to New […]
Juliana Stratton wins Democratic primary, set to become Illinois’ second Black woman senator
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is all but certain to make history, becoming one of three Black women to serve in the Senate at the same time.
Islanders 3, Maple Leafs 1: Ritchie shines in homecoming
Ritchie picked up a goal & an assist in his Toronto homecoming, while Mat Barzal notched an assist on all three goals.
Douglas County Commissioner Mary Ann Borgeson reflects on 32 years in politics
As Women’s History Month highlights the achievements of women in society and culture, one woman has served the metro area community for more than three decades.
The race for a safe Democratic House seat offers clues about the party’s future
It’s Primary Day in Illinois, where 15 Democrats, spanning three generations, are vying to succeed longtime Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky in the state's 9th Congressional District. We discuss what the race tells us about the future of the Democratic Party.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political reporter Elena Moore, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.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.
Amazon launches 1-hour and 3-hour delivery options with new tiered pricing structure for customers
Amazon has launched ultra-fast one-hour and three-hour delivery in hundreds of cities, and Prime members save big on delivery fees for instant shopping.
After three months, Samsung is ending sales of the $2,899 Galaxy Z TriFold
Samsung didn't offer an explanation for its decision, but it's not exactly a surprise.
Penguins Foundation and UPMC Western Behavioral Health to Host 3rd Annual Mental Health and Student-Athletes Symposium on April 15
On April 15, 2026, the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation in collaboration with UPMC Western Behavioral Health, UPMC Sports Medicine, and the Citrone Thirty-Three Foundation, will host its 3rd Annual Mental Health and Student-Athletes: Managing the Invisible Injury—a free educational symposium at PPG Paints Arena. The event will bring together coaches, athletic
Samsung stops selling $2,899 TriFold phone after just three months
Samsung Electronics Co. is winding down sales of its Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone after roughly three months on the market, suggesting the $2,899 device was always intended as more of a technological showcase than a cornerstone of the company’s mobile lineup.
Billy Porter Opens Up on Health Scare, New Children's Book, More
Billy Porter joins TODAY and opens up about having a serious medical emergency that left him in a coma for three days. “It is a gift to be alive,” he says. He also talks about his new children’s picture book called “Songbird in the Light,” the inspiration behind it and how it honors his late mother.
Samsung to Discontinue Galaxy Z TriFold After Just Three Months
Samsung is set to discontinue the Galaxy Z TriFold globally after just three months on sale (via Bloomberg). The company will start by ceasing sales of the device in Korea, where it has been on sale since December. Samsung plans to discontinue the device in the United States once it clears its inventory. Samsung's website already lists the TriFold as "sold out," but customers are still able to buy the device at Samsung stores.
Dell's workforce quietly shrank 10% in the last year
Dell's employee headcount has fallen by 27% in the last three years, the tech giant's latest 10-K filing showed.
'Probably the softest second booking I can remember seeing'
Who does not love a trip down to London? This felt like a fantastic opportunity for us to close the gap on Crystal Palace and pick up three points that some of the teams around us in the relegation fight failed to get. Fair play to West Ham for taking a point off Manchester City - although, if I am being honest, I would have preferred they did not.
Samsung discontinues its Galaxy Z TriFold after just three months
It didn’t Tri for very long.
The Morning After: Apple's surprise AirPods Max refresh
The biggest news stories this morning: Samsung ends Galaxy Z TriFold sales three months after launch, NVIDIA and Bolt team up for European robotaxis, Samsung Galaxy S26 review.
Gettysburg College Adds Three Women’s Varsity Sports
Gettysburg College is proud to announce the addition of three new varsity sports over the next two academic years: women's wrestling, women's acrobatics and tumbling, and women's flag football.
Morning Sports: March 17, 2026
Sheridan HS Boys Basketball: It takes a team effort to win a state championship in a team sport such as basketball. Twenty-three different teams wore Sheridan Bronc jerseys since SHS last won a boys basketball state championship in 2003 and this year’s team put it all together and ended the slump. Head Coach Jeff Martini […]
Where's the exit? For Trump, harder to get out of the Iran war than into it
On week three of the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, the war is expanding and the consequences are intensifying, including at the gas pump.
Chelsea vs PSG – Match preview and team news
Chelsea welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Stamford Bridge tonight, needing a miracle to overturn a daunting three-goal deficit against the Champions League holders.The Blues arrive following a bruising 5...