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Data Is at the Heart of What Public Health Does
Data is key to protecting the health and safety of a community, from identifying and tracking disease outbreaks to ensuring that water is safe to drink. Data is also vital to understanding where resources are most needed. This value is especially apparent to the officials charged with protecting public health, such as Dr. Janet Berreman, Kauai’s (Kauaʻi’s)* district health officer.
Free sports physicals return for public school students in Flagler and Volusia counties
Thousands of middle and high school students in public schools across Volusia and Flagler counties can receive free sports physicals this spring as AdventHealth helps young athletes prepare safely for the upcoming season.
Trump visits Memphis to tout crime-fighting efforts as Iran war lingers
His talk on crime and immigration marks a return to an issue that he hopes will resonate with voters.
Grub Lab: $6 Million Raised To Bring Sports And Entertainment IP To Independent Restaurants Nationwide
Grub Lab, an Australia-founded restaurant technology startup, announced it has raised $6 million in funding from Quantaco to accelerate its expansion across the United States and support a national rollout tied to major sports leagues and entertainment studios. The company is positioning itself as a modern solution to help independent restaurants compete for family dining traffic through interactive, branded experiences.
The debate over Trump’s mental health: ‘Malignant narcissist ’ or ‘superhuman president’?
While some warn of the danger of having someone suffering from ‘cognitive decline’ in the White House, his inner circle attributes his outbursts to his iconoclastic personality
Here are nearly 100 local high school spring sports stars to watch
Spring sports are rich with talented athletes. From baseball to track and soccer to swimming, here are nearly 100 Fort Collins-area stars to watch.
Illinois, the youngest team in Women's NCAA tournament, proving age is just a number
No. 7 seed Illinois faces No. 2 seed Vanderbilt in Nashville in the second round of the Women's NCAA Tournament.
Peace of mind was Mikaela Shiffrin's biggest victory in 2026 Winter Olympics
Olympic legends Mikaela Shiffrin and Simone Biles are fierce advocates for athletes prioritizing their mental health.
Sony Is Said to Near $1 Billion Home Entertainment Deal With TCL
Sony Group Corp. is nearing a binding agreement to sell a majority stake in its home entertainment business to Chinese rival TCL Electronics Holdings Ltd. in a deal that may be valued at about $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Banijay Entertainment Dials Up Global Scripted with Premium Series Mania Slate
Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay Entertainment, today unveils its premium scripted offering for Series Mania, showcasing a broad range of high-end drama from across its global portfolio. As the number one European studio in scripted, with more than 100 titles launching each year, the company continues to demonstrate its scale, creative strength, global reach and […]
Health care advisory Chartis brings AI development engine in-house to build tools for clients
With the acquisition of artificial intelligence incubator Leap AI, Chicago-based Chartis’ health care advisers will move from making suggestions about AI to rolling up their sleeves and building custom AI solutions.
'BTS: The Return' review: The world's biggest boy band, without a clear direction
The documentary is an intimate, surprisingly revelatory look at BTS in transition — and the complicated process of figuring out who they are now.
A Look At PENN Entertainment (PENN) Valuation As Expansion Projects And New Financing Move Ahead
Expansion plans and fresh financing reshape the PENN Entertainment story PENN Entertainment (PENN) has put expansion and balance sheet moves front and center, with new casino and hotel projects in Aurora and Columbus alongside a fresh US$600 million senior notes offering. See our latest analysis for PENN Entertainment. Despite the new projects and financing, PENN’s 1 year total shareholder return of 21.21% and 5 year total shareholder return of 86.08% sit well behind peers. A recent 4.99% 1...
Mailer in Germantown school election has one big problem
An outside political group urges Germantown School District voters to re-elect a candidate who isn't on the ballot.
Vanderbilt’s historic gym takes center stage for Women's NCAA Tournament
Opening in 1952, Memorial Gymnasium is the oldest arena in the SEC. It had been 14 years since the Commodores last hosted the NCAA Tournament.
2026 NFL mock draft: Surprises in top 10 of latest first-round projection
The 2026 NFL Draft is just a month away, and our latest mock draft features a few surprises materializing in the top 10 picks.
Data centers under scrutiny by California lawmakers as fears rise about health and energy impacts
Due to health and energy concerns, the California Legislature is considering bills to prohibit data centers from being exempted from the state's stringent environmental law and impose new tariffs on new major energy users that strain power supplies.
OpenAI talent flow: See who's feeding into and hiring away employees
Big Tech, particularly Google, was a huge feeder for OpenAI. Many employees landed at smaller startups after they left Sam Altman's AI giant.
'A towering figure in French politics': reactions to Lionel Jospin's death pour in
Lionel Jospin, Socialist prime minister of France from 1997 to 2002, has died.
Ambani's Reliance Jio: businesses and investors of the IPO-bound firm
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Platforms is gearing up to file papers seeking regulatory approvals for a Mumbai listing, in what is likely to be the biggest-ever stock offering in the country.
Noah Hiles: What I’m hearing on Pirates, Konnor Griffin extension talks
BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pirates reassigned Konnor Griffin to minor league camp Saturday, ending any hope that the game’s top-rated prospect would...
Berrien County Health Department will hold free hearing, vision screenings for kids
The Berrien County Health Department will offer free hearing and vision screenings for kids throughout spring break.Clinics will be held March 30 at the departm
Scouting Michigan State basketball Sweet 16 matchup with UConn
Get a first glimpse at the NCAA Tournament East region Sweet 16 semifinal matchup between 3-seed Michigan State basketball and 2-seed UConn.
Ohio State vs Notre Dame predictions, picks, odds for NCAA Tournament Second Round
Our March Madness experts pick the winner for No. 3 Ohio State vs No. 6 Notre Dame in the 2026 women's NCAA Tournament on March 23
UConn vs Syracuse predictions, picks, odds for NCAA Tournament Second Round
Our March Madness experts pick the winner for No. 1 UConn vs No. 9 Syracuse in the 2026 women's NCAA Tournament on March 23
Where to watch South Carolina vs. USC in March Madness Second Round: Time, TV Channel
The No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks face the 9 USC Trojans in the Second Round of the women's NCAA Tournament. Here's how to see all the action.
Science should guide Florida’s pesticide conversations
The science on glyphosate exposure is extensive, and the levels reported in bread testing fall well below thresholds associated with harm.
Florida dogs featured in TCPalm articles for National Puppy Day
National Puppy Day is March 23. TCPalm has articles, videos and photo galleries about dogs. Do you have a dog? What's their name?
Palm Beach County high school sports weekly schedule for March 23-28
High school sports are back in full swing in Palm Beach County. See the full schedule for baseball, softball, lacrosse and more.
Brevard County high school sports weekly schedule, Week of March 23-29
Brevard County high school sports schedule for the week of March 23-29, 2026.
Fertilizer prices bring more pain for American farmers amid war in Iran
The war in Iran is pushing up prices for already-strained farmers, with higher costs for fertilizer and energy on top of last year’s tariffs. And the increasing pressure on American agriculture could lead to even bigger price tags at the grocery store.
Rising Health Costs Push Some Middle-Aged Adults To Skip the Doc Until Medicare
Adults ages 50 through 64 faced some of the steepest increases in out-of-pocket costs for Obamacare plans after a set of federal subsidies expired at the end of December. Some say they are putting off care or considering dropping health insurance coverage until Medicare picks up the bill.
Stamford cites serious health violations at nine entities in January
Of the more than 30 Stamford businesses inspected in January, nine were cited for serious violations during health inspections, reports show.
Ballard set to miss Northern Ireland's Italy play-off
Dan Ballard is set to miss Northern Ireland's crucial World Cup play-off semi-final against Italy on Thursday because of a hamstring injury.
Volunteer US and UK fighters in Ukraine face hidden health crises, new study suggests
Former soldiers who have served as volunteer fighters in Ukraine experience high levels of mental and physical health difficulties yet are rarely able to access the health care they need, either during ...
Turning coal to medicines: Chinese scientists bring a 160-year-old dream to life
Study cracks a puzzle that has baffled scientists and will reshape modern medicine production as the world reels from a global oil shortage.
TCU completes comeback, avoids Washington's NCAA Tournament upset bid
TCU women's basketball’s 62-59 overtime win over Washington in the second round of March Madness wasn’t pretty, but it was resilient.
St. Louis Blues Weekly Prospect Report (March 22)
Jiricek has big scoring week; McIsaac announces future plans; Ralph, Michigan State head to NCAA Tournament with Mayich, Clarkson University eliminated; Peterson scored pair, including a SH beauty for Springfield
Galaxy S27 Ultra may not bring major S Pen reforms
It was rumored that the Galaxy S27 Ultra could bring a major S Pen change, but that doesn't seem to be happening.
Costco Expands Member Offerings With Fertility Care And In Store Events
Costco Wholesale has partnered with Sesame and IVI RMA North America to offer U.S. members access to advanced fertility care with exclusive pricing and coordinated services. The retailer is also rolling out a national outdoor cooking roadshow in warehouses, featuring multiple brands and on site experiences for members. These moves extend Costco’s reach further into healthcare services and experiential retail beyond its traditional bulk merchandise model. For investors tracking...
Trump’s new red line could set the Iran war on a fateful course
On Friday, President Donald Trump said he was considering “winding down” his war with Iran. But a day later, he threatened to “obliterate” the country’s power plants in an escalation that could further tip the conflict out of control.
Everything you need to know about 'BTS: The Return,' the new Netflix documentary
On Friday, Netflix will release a documentary about the biggest band in K-pop, BTS. It is titled “BTS: The Return.” It is from director Bao Nguyen. He is known for his work on “The Stringer”...
Everything you need to know about 'BTS: The Return,' the new Netflix documentary
On Friday, Netflix will release a documentary about the biggest band in K-pop, BTS. It is titled “BTS: The Return.” It is from director Bao Nguyen. He is known for his work on “The Stringer”...
The Christian Science Monitor Daily for March 23, 2026
Rethink the news: Reducing news to hard lines and side-taking leaves a lot of the story untold. Progress comes from challenging what we hear and considering different views.
Norman City Council to consider ordinance repeal related to Rock Creek Entertainment District
Norman City Council will consider repealing an ordinance related to the Rock Creek Entertainment District during its Tuesday meeting, according to a council member’s social media post.
Yankees set to leave Florida in good health one year after spring from hell with one question looming
And just like that, Camp Snooze is over — at least the Florida portion.
Executive Council seeks greater role in half-billion-dollar rural health initiative
New Hampshire executive councilors are seeking a greater role in a $640 million rural health initiative after initially delaying approval and securing more oversight.
These Michigan U.S. Senate candidates took money from ICE contractors
Anti-ICE messaging is expected to be featured prominently in Michigan's hotly contested U.S. Senate Democratic primary.
Samsung reverses big S Pen change for Galaxy S27 Ultra after bold experiment fails
Samsung has backed away from one of its more ambitious S Pen experiments for next year’s Galaxy S27 Ultra, choosing to stick with its long-standing digitizer-based input system after testing a radically thinner alternative. According to ETNews, Samsung had been exploring a new pen technology that could eliminate the digitizer layer inside the display. The […]
Kansas coach Bill Self non-committal if he'll return next year due to health concerns
Hall of Fame Kansas basketball coach Bill Self said after a crushing loss to St. John's that he hasn't decided if he'll be back next season or retire.
A DNA test ruled him out. He was convicted of murder anyway.
Forensics has its share of high-profile problems. There’s phony “junk science,” like bogus bite-mark and blood spatter analyses that have sent innocent people to jail. And there’s the steady drumbeat of lab scandals, where analysts make up results. But there’s a subtler and more pervasive problem at work in many cases: lab analysts and lawyers who take perfectly legitimate science and twist it. Globe Opinion is exploring these distortions with a series we’re calling “Twisted Science.” And there may be no better place to start than with the case of Terrel Barros.
Florida basketball stunned by Iowa in March Madness Round 2 upset
Florida basketball was stunned by Iowa, ending its hopes to repeat as national champions in the Men's NCAA Tourrnament.
US soccer legend Landon Donovan opens up on mental health struggles, redefining success
American soccer legend Landon Donovan opened up about mental health struggles and reconfiguring what success meant to him. He releases "Landon: A Memoir" this week.
Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training Gameday Thread, #30 @ Padres
Roster moves The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves and have 33 players in camp. Optioned to Triple-A Reno: Reassigned to Minor League camp: The first of these is a bit of a surprise. Only yesterday, I was noting how Abner seemed to have the inside track for left-handers job, after the recent meltdowns […]
Vermont may look across borders to help bring in business
House passes bill to create sister state program for economic development.
Joe Kent says he wants Donald Trump to hear MAGA opposition to Iran war
It’s a concerted effort, Kent said, to rally members of the president’s Make America Great Again movement and ensure he hears dissenting voices.
A promising fatty liver treatment may raise cancer risk
A surprising new study reveals that blocking a supposedly protective enzyme, Caspase-2, could actually backfire—raising the risk of chronic liver damage and cancer over time. Researchers found that without this enzyme, liver cells grow abnormally large and accumulate genetic damage, leading to inflammation, scarring, and eventually tumors, especially with age. While inhibiting Caspase-2 may offer short-term benefits, such as reducing fatty liver disease, the long-term consequences appear dangerous.
Science diplomacy, research and global health
Nature Microbiology - As a young scientist from the global south, engaging in science diplomacy has brought greater purpose and meaning to my career, writes Delfina Fernandes Hlashwayo.
Spring Health Fair delivers commitment to student wellness
The Student Wellness Advisory Committee hosted their annual Spring Health Fair on Friday afternoon where students were able to gain free tote bags, learn from live simulations and gain insight on new clubs and organizations centered on wellness.
Science diplomacy, research and global health
Nature Microbiology - As a young scientist from the global south, engaging in science diplomacy has brought greater purpose and meaning to my career, writes Delfina Fernandes Hlashwayo.
Samsung Brings AirDrop Support to Quick Share with Galaxy S26 Series
Samsung is introducing AirDrop support to the Galaxy S26 series, making it easier for users to share content between devices using Quick Share. The feature will begin rolling out from March 231, starting in Korea and expanding to more regions including Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Latin America, North America, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan. AirDrop support […]
9/11 survivors’ health care secured for next 15 years
The World Trade Center Health Program secures funding for 15 more years, ensuring healthcare access for 9/11 survivors and victims' families.
Woman seeks help at Aurora business after suffering serious injuries in shooting
A woman collapsed inside an Aurora business while seeking help after she was shot Saturday night. Police are trying to determine what led up to it.
Arizona vs Utah State live updates: Prediction, how to watch March Madness Round 2 game
Folks were gushing about Jerrod Calhoun and Utah State's offense in Round 1. Arizona is a whole different obstacle. Follow March Madness Round 2 game.
iRacing on Vision Pro bringing 'immersion and fidelity never before seen in sim racing'
iRacing on Apple Vision Pro will bring a “level of immersion and fidelity never before seen in sim racing,” says...
Nasal swab may catch Alzheimer's disease earlier — here's how it works
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 ...
CBS analyst picked against Purdue basketball. Here's what he thinks of Sweet 16 vs Texas
Boilermakers fans were critical of Seth Davis for his pick proven wrong after Purdue beat Miami. Here's what he thinks of the Sweet 16 game vs Texas.
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 […]
Welcome to allergy season. Here's how to protect yourself
Where you live, what you're allergic to and your lifestyle can make a big difference when it comes to the severity of your allergies.
Israel Thought It Could Spur Rebellion Inside Iran. That Hasn’t Happened.
President Trump’s hopes that an Israeli plan to ignite an internal uprising against Iran’s theocratic government could bring the war to a swift end have so far been dashed.
Florida vs Iowa live updates: Prediction, how to watch March Madness Round 2 game
Defending national champion Florida didn't need a warm-up to get going in their NCAA title defense. Will Iowa provide any resistance in March Madness?
'Disgusting.' Democratic senator slams Trump's reaction to Mueller's death
Sen. Chris Murphy called President Donald Trump's response to the death of Robert Mueller "disgusting."
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.
Are spring temperature swings hurting your health? Yes, here's how
Weather swings affect your physical health in a variety of ways.
US, Iran threaten more energy strikes as gas prices surge. What to know
As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran enters its fourth week, the economic consequences continue to rattle markets.
What’s happening in Vegas arts entertainment this spring
Festivals, concerts, sporting events and more: Make plans with our entertainment calendar.
Bucket hats and home run chains: Getting decked out for baseball season at Poor Boys Sports
From shirts featuring new players to hats in every color, Poor Boys Sports has all your Orioles merch needs for Opening Day.
Messi expected to play, NYCFC vs. Inter Miami live updates
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami shift their focus to MLS play with a matchup against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, March 22.
Team USA flag football team should consider these 12 NFL stars ... but not Tom Brady
These NFL players should consider making a run at Team USA inclusion in order to earn the first football gold medal in Olympics history.
The Cincinnati's Favorite Beer 2026 winner is ... (drumroll please)
Our new beer bracket champ had a difficult path to the crown. The final suds match was Vlad (Fretboard) vs. Dunkel (Hofbrauhaus). So, who won!?
Purdue vs Miami live updates: Prediction, how to watch March Madness Round 2 game
Braden Smith has the NCAA assists record, now he can focus on his main goal: a championship. Miami stands in Purdue's way in Round 2 of March Madness.
Drew Barrymore says talk show audience member once criticized her dating profile
Drew Barrymore is remembering the time an audience member on her talk show gave his honest thoughts about her dating profile: 'I would probably run away.'
Tusk claims no surprise over alleged Hungarian leaks to Moscow
Polish Prime Minister said suspicions had long made him keep quiet during EU Council talks
Cuba Says Its Military Is Prepared as Trump’s Threats Multiply
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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
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