As Canadians brace for “vitamin D winter”—months when the sun’s angle is too low to produce the vitamin in the skin—a McGill University study explains why vitamin D deficiency early in life is associated with a higher risk of autoimmune diseases.

During childhood, the thymus helps train immune cells to distinguish between the body’s own tissues and harmful invaders. A vitamin D deficiency at that stage of life causes the thymus to age more quickly, the researchers discovered.

The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

Oh, simple thing, where have you gone? I’m getting old, and I need something to rely on.

Keane.

A study says live gigs could increase well-being by 21 percent.

A simple cheek swab test called CheekAge may be able to predict a person’s increase in mortality risk, according to its developers.