Health
AI tool scans faces to predict biological age and cancer survival
A simple selfie could hold hidden clues to one’s biological age — and even how long they’ll live.
That’s according to researchers from Mass General Brigham, who developed a deep-learning algorithm called FaceAge.
Using a photo of someone’s face, the artificial intelligence tool generates predictions of the subject’s biological age, which is the rate at which they are aging as opposed to their chronological age.
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FaceAge also predicts survival outcomes for people with cancer, according to a press release from MGB.
A simple selfie could hold hidden clues to one’s biological age — and even how long they’ll live. (iStock)
The AI tool was trained on 58,851 photos of “presumed healthy individuals from public datasets,” the release stated.
To test the tool’s accuracy, the researchers used it to analyze photos of 6,196 cancer patients taken before radiotherapy treatment.
Among the people with cancer, the tool generated a higher biological age that was about five years higher than their chronological age.
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The researchers also tested the tool’s ability to predict the life expectancy of 100 people receiving palliative care based on their photos, then compared it to 10 clinicians’ predictions. FaceAge was found to be more accurate than the clinicians’ predictions.
The researchers’ findings were published in The Lancet Digital Health.
Mass General Brigham developed a deep-learning algorithm called FaceAge, which generates predictions of the subject’s biological age from a photo. (Mass General Brigham)
“We can use artificial intelligence to estimate a person’s biological age from face pictures, and our study shows that information can be clinically meaningful,” said co-senior and corresponding author Hugo Aerts, PhD, director of the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) program at Mass General Brigham, in the release.
“This work demonstrates that a photo like a simple selfie contains important information that could help to inform clinical decision-making and care plans for patients and clinicians,” he went on.
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“How old someone looks compared to their chronological age really matters — individuals with FaceAges that are younger than their chronological ages do significantly better after cancer therapy.”
The goal is for the tool to help eliminate any bias that may influence a doctor’s care decisions based on the perception of a patient’s appearance and age.
“While FaceAge may outperform clinicians in some survival predictions, it should augment human judgment, not override it.”
The researchers noted that more research is needed before the tool could be rolled out for clinical use.
Future studies will include different hospitals and cancer patients at various stages of the disease, according to the release. Researchers will also evaluate FaceAge’s ability to predict diseases, general health status and lifespan.
To test the tool’s accuracy, the researchers used it to analyze photos of 6,196 cancer patients taken before radiotherapy treatment. (iStock)
“This opens the door to a whole new realm of biomarker discovery from photographs, and its potential goes far beyond cancer care or predicting age,” said co-senior author Ray Mak, MD, a faculty member in the AIM program at Mass General Brigham, in the release.
“As we increasingly think of different chronic diseases as diseases of aging, it becomes even more important to be able to accurately predict an individual’s aging trajectory. I hope we can ultimately use this technology as an early detection system in a variety of applications, within a strong regulatory and ethical framework, to help save lives.”
ER physician on AI
Dr. Harvey Castro, a board-certified emergency medicine physician and national speaker on artificial intelligence based in Dallas, Texas, was not involved in FaceAge’s development but shared his comments on the tool.
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“As an emergency physician and AI futurist, I see both the promise and peril of AI tools like FaceAge,” he told Fox News Digital.
“What excites me is that FaceAge structures the clinical instinct we call the ‘eyeball test’ — a gut sense of how sick someone looks. Now, machine learning can quantify that assessment with surprising accuracy.”
Among the people with cancer, the tool generated a higher biological age that was about five years higher than their chronological age. (iStock)
Castro predicts that FaceAge could help doctors better personalize treatment plans or prioritize palliative care in oncology — “where resilience matters more than a birthdate.”
The doctor emphasized, however, that caution is key.
“AI models are only as good as the data they’re trained on,” Castro noted. “If the training data lacks diversity, we risk producing biased results.”
“While FaceAge may outperform clinicians in some survival predictions, it should augment human judgment, not override it.”
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Castro also cautioned about potential ethical concerns.
“Who owns the facial data? How is it stored? Do patients understand what’s being analyzed? These questions matter as much as the technology itself,” he said.
“AI can enhance our care — but it cannot replace the empathy, context and humanity that define medicine.” (iStock)
There is also a psychological impact of the tool, Castro noted.
“Being told you ‘look older’ than your age could influence treatment decisions or self-perception in ways we don’t yet fully understand,” he said.
“We need clear consent, data privacy and sensitivity. No one wants to be told they look older without context.”
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The bottom line, according to Castro, is that AI can enhance a doctor’s judgment, but cannot replace it.
“AI can enhance our care — but it cannot replace the empathy, context and humanity that define medicine.”
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Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27.
In a post on Substack titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” she detailed a sudden episode that left her unable to recall the current month, year and president.
“I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president,” she wrote.
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The event occurred while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, during which she participated in two public panels — one on AI and one on journalism — both of which she cannot remember at all.
“I have no idea what we talked about, or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27. (Getty Images)
John Molner — Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels — also shared his account.
After the event, someone told Molner that Katie wasn’t feeling well. When he reached her, an EMT and a doctor were tending to her. “I could tell something was off,” he wrote. “It could have been altitude sickness, but Katie was definitely not all there.”
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At the hospital, when Couric struggled to recall the year, the president and her grandchildren’s names, doctors began checking for a stroke.
An MRI revealed no signs of stroke, which was a relief, but “Katie’s ‘fog’ became a lot more apparent,” Molner wrote.
John Molner, Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels, also shared his account. (Getty Images)
“She repeatedly asked me the same questions: ‘What was I doing before we got to the hospital?’ ‘Why am I at the hospital?’”
Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that prevents a person from forming new memories and may also erase some recent memories, according to Mayo Clinic.
“The cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself.”
It is not caused by a stroke, seizure or head injury, and it usually resolves completely within 24 hours.
“[It’s] just a very weird neural episode that’s pretty uncommon and, at least in most cases, is a ‘one and done’ experience,” Molner said.
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Couric said she finally began feeling “like herself” again around 9 p.m. and went to sleep at 2 a.m.
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.”
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.” (Getty Images)
Data shows that approximately three to eight people per 100,000 will have an episode of transient global amnesia, with people 50 years of age and older at higher risk.
The specific cause of TGA is not known, but some experts believe it stems from a “temporary dysfunction in the brain’s hippocampus — the area responsible for creating new memories,” Couric shared.
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“Doctors believe this is driven by brief interruptions in blood or oxygen flow, or microscopic spasm in the blood vessels.”
Episodes could potentially be triggered by intense physical exertion, emotional distress, extreme temperature changes or migraines, experts say.
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Approximately 15% of patients will have a recurrence 10 years later.
“Why did this happen to me? Was the altitude an issue? Was I dehydrated? Tired? Stressed? The literature doesn’t seem to indicate that these are contributing factors, but the cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself,” Couric wrote.
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise. (iStock)
“All I know is that those hours will be forever lost. Someone described it as my brain failing to hit the ‘record button.’”
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“While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious. So ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise.
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Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers.
That’s according to a recent study led by Stony Brook Medicine in New York, which evaluated the cognitive function of 4,000 adults 80 and over who participated in multiple aging and longevity studies over several years.
Among this group, 6% to 10% were classified as super movers, which means they walk at a much faster pace than others of the same age and gender — at speeds comparable to people three decades younger.
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The super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology on June 16.
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers. (iStock)
“The study reinforces that mobility and brain health are closely connected,” lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, told Fox News Digital. “This suggests that preserving mobility may be an important marker of healthy brain aging and resilience.”
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The most intriguing finding, according to Verghese, was that super movers maintained cognitive function despite having similar dementia-related brain changes as their peers.
In postmortem brain analysis, there was no difference in dementia-related pathologies between the super movers and the slower walkers, the study stated.
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“This suggests they may possess resilience mechanisms that help preserve brain function even in the presence of age-related changes,” he said. “Understanding these resilience factors could lead to new strategies for promoting healthy brain aging.”
As the study was observational, there were some limitations, and it does not prove that walking faster prevents dementia, the researchers noted.
Super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed. (iStock)
“Other factors, such as cardiovascular health, physical fitness or genetics, may also contribute to both faster walking and better cognitive outcomes,” Verghese said.
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This study adds to growing evidence that what’s good for the heart and muscles also benefits the brain, he noted, adding that “staying physically active remains one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.”
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment.”
“The broader message is that physical activity is important at any age,” Verghese said. “Walking is an easy step-up point because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it inside or outdoors, and you can do it on a regular basis. You can walk with a dog, you can walk with a friend.”
Any activity is beneficial if it’s done regularly and with the right intensity, he added.
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Rather than just trying to walk faster, the neurologist recommends that seniors focus on maintaining mobility through regular physical activity, strength training, balance exercises and good cardiovascular health.
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment,” Verghese noted.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking. (iStock)
This can be achieved by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or about 20 to 25 minutes most days. Another option is to engage in shorter sessions that add up over the day.
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“You have to do it within your health limitations and medical conditions,” Verghese advised. “So if there are any medical concerns, I would get your physician to clear you before starting exercise.” The good thing about walking, he added, is that you can start at a slow pace and then gradually build up to a brisker pace.
“And then adding on strength and balance training, whatever age you are, I think is also important.”
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