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More concussions equal worse brain health 5 years after college sports
New concussion study deviates from the norm; most research in this space examines people in their 50s or 60s — decades after sport participation. Instead, this U-M study looks at college athletes in their 20s, and researchers already see the impact of concussion, which enables early intervention.
New Congressional bill targets sports team relocations
More than 40 years after the Colts left Baltimore for Indianapolis like thieves in the night, those in a profession that enjoys nearly the same level of respect are trying to prevent it from happening again.
Oscars to leave Hollywood's Dolby Theatre in 2029
In addition to the physical relocation, the Oscars will shift to YouTube, a major reset as the show looks to expand its reach after years of declining TV audiences.
As sports betting booms in North Carolina, so do gambling problems
Two years after North Carolina legalized mobile sports betting, counselors say they are seeing the fallout: drained bank accounts, strained relationships and young people — especially young men — spiraling into anxiety and depression after losing more than they can afford.
Michigan cities that feel like Europe: Germany, Netherlands
I've lived near Michigan in the Midwest for 24 years. I've found a few cities, including Holland and Frankenmuth, that feel just like Europe.
Fathom Entertainment Announces Upcoming Retirement of CEO Ray Nutt
Specialty distributor Fathom Entertainment CEO Ray Nutt has shared with the company’s Board of Directors his plans to step down from his role and retire later this year after serving as the company’s lead executive for the past nine years. Currently anticipated to depart Fathom later this year, Nutt is expected to play an active […]
Florida congresswoman faces a rare public hearing on ethics charges. Threat of expulsion vote looms
The House Ethics Committee is holding a rare public hearing into alleged ethics violations by Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. The hearing Thursday pushes into the open a yearslong investigation into how...
Letter | Abused Ridglan dogs are not good for science
Dear Editor: I am a professor and data scientist with over 25 years of experience in biomedical data collection and analysis, including studies that employ animal models for research. The
Former Powhatan sports academy owner found guilty of 12 child sex crimes
A jury found the former owner of Fast Feet Sports Academy in Powhatan County guilty of 12 out of 18 total child sex crimes. He could face a sentence of up to 240 years in prison.
Is New York's cannabis business really flying high?
Five years after it was legalised, cannabis is seemingly everywhere in New York, but business owners say that many legitimate businesses are struggling.
Epstein files shed new light on what prison officials were doing the night he died
In the years since disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead from what was ruled a suicide in his prison cell on August 10, 2019, conspiracy theories have abounded about whether the convicted sex offender actually killed himself.
Frame Art & Design celebrates 30 years of business
Frame Art & Design is celebrating more than 30 years of expert framing and fine art services.
Liverpool announce ticket price increases for next three seasons
Fenway Sports Group had frozen prices in eight of the last 10 years but Kop seats will now get more expensive for the first time since 2010.
In Rural Ukraine, Basic Health Care Is a Casualty of War
Elderly people in isolated villages are going without medicine. One woman said she hadn’t seen a doctor in four years.
As political winds shift, this Louisiana renewable energy venture shoots for the stars
"We've spent years figuring out how to make wind blades lighter, stronger and cheaper — and we're set up at a facility that will allow us to expand quickly into production and shipping at scale. Now we're ready to apply those strengths to booming sectors of the economy."
PhysioNet as a global platform for biomedical research
Nature Health - Twenty-five years after its first public repository was established, the PhysioNet resource for biomedical and clinical data has enabled tens of thousands of research papers....
Patrons celebrates Science Central’s planetarium grand opening
Science Central celebrated the grand opening of its planetarium on Wednesday: a project years in the making.
Multiple family centers in N.Y. could close after funding cuts
Opened about two and a half years ago, EPIC’s Niagara County Family Opportunity Center has served more than 700 families.
Greenville women’s health clinic closing after nearly 40 years
Physicians East announced that Greenville Women’s Care, located on Stantonsburg Road, will close on June 1, 2026.
New studies of old dogs help scientists understand where they came from
Using the oldest dog genes studied so far, scientists are finding more evidence that our furry friends have been our companions for thousands of years. Scientists think dogs descended from an ancient...
Humans Had Dogs Before They Had Farming, Ancient DNA Confirms
New research pushes the first genetic evidence of dogs back by 5,000 years and suggests that hunter-gatherer groups may have acquired dogs from one another.
Critically endangered hare spotted in surprising location for the first time in 40 years — but it was already dead
Scientists in China have announced the first confirmed sighting of the critically endangered Hainan hare in part of its native range in four decades, after spotting its completely flattened carcass on a roadside.
Glyphosate: A story of science, risk, and nuance
In the summer of 2014, a California groundskeeper named Dewayne Johnson started noticing patches of raw, weeping skin spreading across his body. He had spent years applying Roundup, Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide, for a school district, sometimes drenched in it when equipment malfunctioned. By 2014, he had a diagnosis: non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2018, a jury awarded him $289 million in damages, later reduced on appeal. Tens of thousands of lawsuits followed. The story hasn’t quieted down. It’s all over the internet, swinging between “this will kill you, buy organic” and “relax, you’re fear-mongering.” Some of that recent chatter stems from an Executive Order protecting glyphosate and its production, which set off intense infighting within the MAHA movement. Some of it reflects a deeper truth: Americans genuinely care about harmful chemicals in their environment (see poll below). And the conversation isn’t going anywhere, with a Supreme Court case involving Monsanto set for this April. Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. But does glyphosate cause cancer? And how much exposure is actually risky? With so much mistrust in institutions and corporations (and some genuine conflicts of interest), making sense of the actual scientific evidence is genuinely hard. Here is a translation of what the scientific evidence actually says. Does glyphosate cause harm? Glyphosate is an herbicide that kills most plants it contacts rather than targeting specific species. It works by blocking an enzyme pathway (EPSPS) that plants and many microorganisms need to produce essential amino acids. Without those amino acids, the plant can’t grow and dies. Glyphosate was first developed by Monsanto in the 1970s and became ubiquitous after the company introduced “Roundup Ready” crops in the 1990s. In 2024, Bayer removed glyphosate from residential Roundup-branded products due to litigation pressure. But today it is still the most widely used herbicide in the world. Farmers also discovered they could spray it directly on crops like oats, lentils, beans, and peas just before harvest to dry them out faster and make harvesting easier. Because of its widespread use, it’s obviously really important to understand if it’s harmful to humans. The key principle: The dose makes the poison The most important concept in toxicology is that “the dose makes the poison.” Sixteenth-century physician Paracelsus articulated what remains the foundational principle of toxicology: sola dosis facit venenum. Water will kill you if you drink enough of it. Aspirin saves lives at 81 milligrams and causes internal bleeding at higher chronic doses. So, at what dose is glyphosate poisonous? The LD50 in rats (the dose that kills half the test animals) is around 5,600 mg/kg body weight. Table salt is roughly 3,000 mg/kg. By that classic measure, glyphosate is less acutely toxic than salt. But some people are exposed to a lot of glyphosate through their work. And among the general public, there are many questions about low-dose, cumulative exposure from multiple sources over long periods. Does glyphosate cause health problems? Cancer Correlation maps are striking, with one analysis finding that 60% of counties that spray the most glyphosate have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma rates above the national average. But correlation alone doesn’t establish cause, which is why animal and human studies matter. In animals: Rat studies are typically what most fear is rooted in, but most people don’t know the study details on the dosage given to rats. A pooled analysis of the 13 most rigorous rat studies found evidence that very high doses, around 55,000 times greater than typical food residue exposure, can cause certain cancers. In humans: One of the strongest studies followed 55,000 herbicide users over 20 years and found no overall increased cancer risk. There was one signal: among those with the highest use, rates of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) appeared elevated. A broader meta-analysis of 18 human studies also found no overall cancer risk, though a separate meta-analysis focused specifically on non-Hodgkin lymphoma found that people with high cumulative glyphosate exposure faced a 41% higher relative risk compared to those with low or no exposure. These human studies are observational studies (randomized controlled trials would be unethical), and meta-analyses are only as reliable as the studies they pool. But the story seems consistent: at very high exposure levels, there may be some cancer risk. But that’s about as far as the science currently takes us. Emerging research: gut and reproductive health Gut: Because glyphosate targets a pathway that exists in some gut bacteria, scientists have questioned whether it could affect the microbiome. In mice, a 2023 University of Iowa study found that glyphosate altered gut bacterial composition and raised markers of intestinal inflammation. A 2024 systematic review found similar patterns: disrupted gut bacteria and problems with the mucus layer that protects the intestinal wall in mice. Whether this translates to humans is an open question. The human gut is highly variable and resistant, and we don't yet have strong studies confirming the same effects in people. Reproductive health: Animal studies have found that glyphosate-based herbicides can interfere with reproductive hormones, including disrupting egg cell development in mice and reducing the number of eggs available in sheep’s ovaries. However, the doses used in these experiments were high, so it’s not yet clear whether the same effects would occur in humans. On the human side, a 2021 pilot study led by Mount Sinai researchers tested urine samples from pregnant women across the U.S. and found glyphosate in 95% of them. The study also found a possible connection between higher glyphosate exposure during pregnancy and a subtle physical difference measured in female newborns. That said, some connections weren’t statistically reliable and this was a small study. The researchers themselves said more and larger studies are needed before drawing firm conclusions. What do regulators say about glyphosate safety? In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans" (Group 2A). The classification is worth taking seriously. But, there’s an important distinction: IARC classifies hazard, meaning the potential to cause harm under some conditions. It does not assess risk, which accounts for actual exposure levels and the real-world probability of harm. The U.S. EPA, the European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada, and regulatory agencies in Australia and Japan have all concluded that glyphosate is “unlikely to be carcinogenic to humans” at realistic exposure levels. They’re asking a different question: given how much of this people actually encounter, what is the probability of harm? Your actual exposure is what determines your actual risk. What does glyphosate mean for your daily life? At the grocery store: Food residues are small. The EPA’s acceptable daily intake is 1.75 mg/kg of body weight per day. To hit that threshold from oatmeal alone, a 150-pound adult would need to eat roughly 50 pounds of oats every day. But this calculation addresses only one pathway (food), and we don’t yet have robust tools to measure people’s actual total exposure. If reducing exposure matters to you, organic certification prohibits synthetic herbicides, and organic oat products generally test at lower or undetectable levels. Either way, a diet rich in whole grains, conventional or organic, is far better for your health than one that omits them out of fear of residues. On the farm: Occupational exposure is orders of magnitude higher than consumer exposure. Farmers and farm workers who mix, load, and apply glyphosate-based herbicides, especially without protective equipment, face meaningfully different risk profiles. Proper PPE isn’t optional. Integrated weed management strategies that rotate chemical modes of action are also worth taking seriously, both for health and for long-term effectiveness. If you live near a farm: Spray drift is real. Concentrations near field edges can spike during and after application, particularly on windy days. This is an area where I think public health could really step up and empower rural communities with buffer zones, rather than placing the onus on individuals. But for now, knowing your local agricultural calendar and keeping windows closed during application are the first steps. Bottom line Dewayne Johnson was exposed to glyphosate at levels most people will never encounter, and a jury decided he deserved compensation. That outcome is not evidence that the oatmeal in your pantry is dangerous. But it is a reminder that the dose, the context, and the person doing the exposing all matter enormously. Glyphosate is a chemical tool with benefits, trade-offs, and genuine open scientific questions. Learning to hold that complexity without collapsing into panic or dismissal is, honestly, one of the most useful and hardest things to do in navigating modern health science. Love, YLE Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is founded and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, wife, and mom of two little girls. Hannah Totte, MPH, is an epidemiologist and YLE Community Manager. YLE reaches more than 425,000 people in over 132 countries with one goal: “Translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Subscribe
Meta layoffs hit Reality Labs, recruiting divisions
Meta's latest wave of job cuts follow years of the company pushing to become more efficient and going all in on AI.
Abbott legal brief criticizes Paxton’s rushed lawsuit against Harris County’s immigrant legal fund
“Perhaps the Attorney General only recently learned of this program; perhaps the office’s attention was focused elsewhere,” lawyers for Abbott wrote, noting the fund has existed for five years.
Palace Theatre to feature family entertainment with the two Kennys
After years of talking about performing a double header, two of the area’s nationally recognized entertainers will bring their acts to the Historic Palace Theatre on April 4. Ventriloquist and comedia...
From idea to publication: How RISE Ambassadors are impacting science education
When Sara Brownell began the RISE Ambassadors program three years ago as part of her Charter Professorship, she hoped to make a positive impact on STEM learning environments by empowering undergraduate students to have greater agency in both the research conducted and its translation into meaningful change.
PISC Reimagined: Where Global Business Begins
For more than 50 years, the American Feed Industry Association’s Purchasing and Ingredient Suppliers Conference (PISC) has been a staple of doing business within the animal food industry.&n
RPI Athletics Celebrates 50 Years of Women's Sports
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute proudly celebrates 50 years of women's varsity athletics—a milestone that reflects decades of progress, achievement, and opportunity for generations of student-athletes. What began as a commitment to expanding access in intercollegiate athletics has grown into a vibrant and competitive tradition that continues to shape the RPI community today.
Amex Makes Its Biggest Commercial Bet in Years With ‘Business Membership’
Watch more: Need to Know With American Express’ Raymond Joabar The corporate card has been a remarkably stable product for decades. It processes, tracks
The Selfish Gene: Still one of the most thrilling evolution books ever
Fifty years ago, Richard Dawkins shared an irresistible scientific metaphor with the world that modernised and democratised evolutionary biology. Half a century on, The Selfish Gene remains powerfully insightful, finds Rowan Hooper
Amex floats first new business card in 7 years
The bank is betting that a card without preset spending caps, plus 2% cash back, will win over businesses.
Wisconsin passes legislation requiring insurers to cover supplemental breast imaging
Dubbed "Gail's Law" after a breast cancer care advocate, the passage follows years of advocacy from radiologists and patients.
Asking Eric: I love my brother, but I don’t agree with his politics
Dear Eric: I am questioning my decision on whether to go to my brother’s daughter‘s wedding. They live two states away, and I have not seen them for a few years. I love my brother, but I don’t respect or agree with his political choices and…
This Unique Diet Could Slow Your Brain Aging by Over 2 Years, Study Suggests
Food for thought.
Trump votes by mail amid his push to end mail-in ballots
President Donald Trump cast a ballot by mail in the March 24 special election in Palm Beach, Florida, even though he has spent years attacking mail-in ballots as susceptible to fraud.
Hubert Davis out as UNC coach after five years, ushering in historic break from Carolina family tradition
A stunning NCAA Tournament collapse, eroding donor support and mounting internal pressure culminated in North Carolina cutting ties, a move that breaks the program's 70-year coaching lineage
Commentary: When conservation becomes entertainment
My parents love to tell the story about the time I protested going to the aquarium when I was eight years old.
'The Pitt' Star Noah Wyle Talks Universal Health Coverage, Season 3
The hit drama took the London spotlight ahead of the U.K. launch of HBO Max, as Wyle shared how his years of TV doc experience helped when the producer of 'KPop Demon Hunters' needed a medical hand this awards season.
ICE detains longtime Kearney business owner and entrepreneur
Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a Kearney business owner on March 11. Carlos Godinez, the owner of Nick’s Gyros for the past 15 years, is currently at the Hall County Department of Corrections on an ICE hold.
Scientists discover mirror of our solar system in 2 exoplanets forming around a star
Astronomers have spotted two planets forming around a distant infant star, offering a time capsule into see what the solar system looked like billions of years ago.
Las Vegas Science and Technology Festival celebrates 15 years
The15th Annual Las Vegas Science & Technology Festival and Giant Expo is set for April 24-May 2.The event provides accessible, engaging, and educational progra
Comella’s closes Melrose location after 13 years in business
The family-run Massachusetts Italian chain continues to operate its 10 other locations.
Blaise Ingoglia targets Citrus County for 'wasteful' spending
'That’s an amazing amount of government growth in six years.'
Trump and Republican National Committee Lean Toward Dallas for Unusual 2026 GOP Midterm Convention
Parties normally hold conventions every four years to nominate presidential candidates, but Republicans hope to hold one this year in the face of midterm headwinds.
5 seriously strange ways wildlife is changing inside Chernobyl | BBC Science Focus Magazine
Forty years after the reactor explosion, the wildlife around Chernobyl has recovered in strange and unexpected ways.
Charlie’s Beat: A healthy life, well lived
Today’s story comes from a personal perspective, about a person who’s been in my life for close to 50 years. Bryant Stamford was the Fitness & Nutrition columnist for the
Whole Hog Politics: The political establishment thrives in our broken primary system
Nothing lasts forever, but a Senate seat from Illinois is pretty darned close. Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin is retiring after 30 years, and he is only the third person to hold that seat in 60 years. Sometimes...
AI compressed billions of years of evolution into seconds to create 'Lego-like robots' that can recover even when they lose limbs
Modular robots are easily expandable, know when they're upside down or stuck, and can march forward across all kinds of terrain.
Subtle health changes may signal progressive supranuclear palsy years in advance
Drawing from UK Biobank data, Mass General Brigham researchers have uncovered specific health factors linked to higher or lower risk of developing progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare but devastating ...
With Guatemala’s Democracy at Stake, Arévalo’s Reformist Push Enters a Critical Phase
Bernardo Arévalo was elected president of Guatemala to tackle elite impunity. After two years on the job, it’s still an uphill climb.
What's for Lunch? 25 Years of Inspired Science in Schools
The Sisters in Science student organization has quietly shaped young learners in Kalamazoo by presenting hands-on experiences in schools.
Louisiana mourns loss of health care pioneer Ruth Kennedy
Ruth Kennedy, former Medicaid Director for the Louisiana Department of Health, passed away on March 20 after dedicating over 40 years to expanding health care access in the state.
Health care is reshaping the labor market
These days, health care is about more than caring for patients. In the past two years, this service industry has become the economy’s biggest creator of U.S. jobs.
Alliant Private Client Strengthens Entertainment Practice with Addition of Michelle Quintero
IRVINE, Calif., March 24, 2026--Michelle Quintero has joined Alliant Insurance Services as Executive Vice President with Alliant Private Client. Based on the West Coast and recognized by Risk & Insurance® as a 2026 Entertainment, Hospitality & Gaming Power Broker®, Quintero brings more than 25 years of technical acumen and delivers tailored solutions to high-profile and celebrated individuals in music, film, and live events.
Notre Dame, NBC Sports panel reflects on 20 years of ‘What Would You Fight For?’ storytelling
On Thursday (March 19), the University of Notre Dame hosted an event celebrating 20 years of storytelling through the “What Would You Fight For?” (WWYFF) campaign. Part of the 2025-26 Notre Dame Forum, the panel discussion brought together leaders from the University and NBC Sports to reflect on the impact and evolution of this storytelling platform.
‘Corpus Christi’ returns to the Bartell, years after protests
StageQ, Madison’s LGBTQ community theater, stages Terrence McNally’s controversial retelling of Jesus’ life and crucifixion through Easter weekend.
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.”
Milledgeville teen runs car detailing business in school, wins $1,000 in chamber contest
At 19 years old, Kyan Silas has started a successful business and received second place in the youth entrepreneur program, landing him a $1,000 prize.Kyan Sila
Stopping GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic erodes heart health benefits quickly, new study finds
Stopping GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic quickly erodes heart protection, with two years off the medication raising cardiovascular risk by 22%, a new study finds.
Scientists found a rhino in the Arctic and it changes everything
Scientists have uncovered a new species of rhinoceros in the Canadian High Arctic, revealing that rhinos once lived far farther north than expected. The fossil, dating back 23 million years, is unusually complete and has helped reshape ideas about how these animals migrated between continents. Evidence suggests rhinos crossed from Europe to North America more recently than scientists once thought.
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
Randy Bennett agrees to take ASU basketball job
Randy Bennett is returning to the Valley as the Arizona State men's basketball coach after leading Saint Mary's for the last 25 years.
Louisiana's health secretary wants AI on the phones and the website
Louisiana residents may see changes in calling the state health department or using its website if it turns to artificial intelligence to save money. The department is examining how it can implement AI over the next few years to make residents’ experiences more efficient and reduce spending, Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein said […]
Cincinnati hires Jerrod Calhoun: Utah State coach leaving after two years to guide his alma mater
The Bearcats have agreed to a six-year deal with the 44-year-old coach, a source told CBS Sports
Rock and roll icon to perform in central Pa. concert this summer
The tour is in support of his new album, “Automatic,” his first original release in five years.
Rock Island Bridge announces grand opening after years of planning
A long-awaited entertainment district above the Kansas River has set an opening date.
STC HVACR student turns childhood lessons into vision for future business
Currently pursuing an associate degree in Heating, Ventilation, AC and Refrigeration (HVACR) at South Texas College, Cesar Bernal III said he was just 12 years old when he began watching his father turn determination and hard work into a small but thriving air-conditioning business in Weslaco.
Crab Nebula Expansion over 25 Years
These two Hubble images compare the Crab Nebula in 1999 to 2024, revealing its expansion over the years.
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.
'ET's' archive has William Shatner on a whale and a young Taylor Swift
'Entertainment Tonight' is digitizing and preserving its archive of 45 years of interview set visits and red carpet walks, which include gems like George Clooney's first interview.
Energy Attacks in War on Iran Could Turn Economic Shock Into Long-Term Damage
A new phase targeting oil and gas infrastructure in the Persian Gulf threatens to hurt businesses and customers around the world for months or even years.
Scientists See Converging Evidence of Antarctic Ice Retreat
A sediment core spanning millions of years and new modeling studies point to significant ice retreat under temperatures similar to today.
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.
Funding for populist-right ‘media-political complex’ exceeded £170m in five years, research finds
Handful of billionaires gave huge sums in particular to media organisations that boosted rightwing politicians, says Liam Byrne MP
BUSINESS MONDAY: Spotlight on Sarah's Cheesecakes & Cafe in Pittsfield
The small family-owned and -operated operation is celebrating its 20th anniversary—and looking forward to many more years to come.
California Politics 360 Full Episode | Sexual abuse allegations against César Chávez
Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta broke her silence, saying she was also sexually abused by Chávez. It led to the birth of two children, a secret she kept for 60 years.
Iranian Missile Strikes Are Costing Big Oil Billions in Lost Revenue
Damaged energy infrastructure is likely to take years to come back online, but a surge in oil-and-gas prices is helping to offset some of the lost production for now.
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.
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.
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