Overlooked Immune Organ Predicts Longevity and Disease Risk in Adults
Scientists have long dismissed the thymus, a small gland in the chest that trains immune cells, as irrelevant in adults because it shrinks and turns to fat with age. New research challenges that assumption, finding that adults with healthier thymus glands live longer and face lower risks of lung cancer and heart disease. Using artificial intelligence to analyze routine chest scans from over 27,000 people, researchers tracked thymus health across two major studies. Those with better thymus health had significantly lower death rates over 12 years, even after considering age, smoking, and other illnesses. The findings suggest this shrunken organ continues regulating inflammation and metabolism throughout life. Lifestyle factors like exercise, weight, and smoking appear to influence thymus health, offering new ways to extend healthy years.
Assessing thymic function and health has highlighted the lifelong importance of the thymus as an organ that could be targeted to improv











