aging news stories on Newser

Why I Want My Mother to Die

Kate Schwartz — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:59:11 CDT

Brace yourself: In a remarkable cover piece for New York , Newser founder Michael Wolff invites us into his "unimaginable life"—a reality that's as ubiquitous as it is heart-wrenching. Wolff, in his 50s, has had a front-row seat to his 86-year-old mother's "horror show" for the past year and a...

Forensic Science Could ID Mystery Portraits

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 20 May 2012 16:06:31 CDT

A California professor is bringing CSI techniques to the art world: Conrad Rudolph of UC Riverside has obtained funding to apply advanced facial recognition technology to famous paintings like Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring , the Guardian reports. Such mystery portraits could finally be identified—if, that is, measurements can...

MIT Creates Suit That Makes You Feel Old

Kevin Spak — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:36:22 CST

Ever wondered just how much it sucks to be your grandmother? Well thanks to the folks at the MIT AgeLab, you don’t have to wonder anymore. They’ve created a suit called AGNES—short for “Age Gain Now Empathy System”—that simulates the trials and tribulations that come with your average...

Fountain of Youth for Your Brain: Slashing Calories

Mark Russell — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:26:07 CST

Scientists have long known that calorie-restricted diets— as in 30% fewer calories than normal —are a key to living longer and keeping your brain healthier. But now, for the first time, they think they know why: Apparently extreme calorie restriction triggers a brain protein, CREB1, that unlocks good genes and...

Long Live the Chief: Presidents Usually Do

John Johnson — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:01:04 CST

President Obama's graying hair has set off the typical chatter that serving as president is so stressful it's bound to take years off a person's life. Not so, says a longevity expert in the Journal of the American Medical Association . In fact, our presidents tend to live longer than the...

Scientists: We Can Destroy 'Aging Cells'

Mark Russell — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:55:28 CDT

It's not the fountain of youth ... yet . But scientists think they have taken a major step toward staving off some of the conditions of aging by removing senescent cells—cells that have stopped dividing—from mice, reports the Wall Street Journal . In the study, rapidly aged mice were given a...

Stop Picking On Sinead O'Connor

John Johnson — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:59:57 CDT

Catch those new photos of Sinead O'Connor performing in Ireland? (See the video in the gallery at left for a sample.) She is, gasp, no longer the slim, bald 20-something who captivated fans, and the Internet has not been kind in pointing this out. Lay off, write Mimi Turner...

Fountain of Youth Drug Found on Easter Island

Kevin Spak — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 07:29:17 CDT

Scientists think a drug derived from a chemical found in the soil of Easter Island may be able to slow down the aging process and extend human life spans. The drug Rapamycin, nicknamed the “forever young” drug, has been shown in experiments to counteract the effects of Hutchinson-Gilford Progerias Syndrome—...

American Suburbia Is Turning Gray

John Johnson — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:28:07 CDT

The suburbs aren't the magnet for young families they used to be: Census figures show that 40% of residents are 45 or older, a big jump from 34% a decade ago, reports the Washington Post . That compares with 34% of city residents currently in the same age group. The reason?...