Mukherjee describes correlational CT-scan analysis where thymus presence tracked with fewer diseases including cancer

What was said

"And they found one marker. And it was the presence or absence of an organ called the thymus."

Siddhartha Mukherjee says he recently heard a talk about using AI to analyse CT scans for features that correlate with outcomes such as longevity and disease. He says one reported marker was the presence or absence of the thymus, adding that in the work he described, people with an “intact thymus” tended to have fewer diseases including cancer, while emphasising the result was correlational rather than causal.