http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 28 Aug 2008 7:35:16 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35841/its-health-not-age-that-matters.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAt 72, John McCain would be the oldest person elected president, but should that matter to voters? Probably not, according to geriatrics experts consulted by the Wall Street Journal. “Aging has such a small impact on how we function that it is of minimal importance,” says one specialist. Though brain functions deteriorate with age, that decline is offset by experience, and older brains do unconscious work-arounds to compensate for slower retrieval speed.http://www.newser.com/story/35841/its-health-not-age-that-matters.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 26 Aug 2008 8:56:04 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35089/staying-sharp-while-aging-it-has-a-price.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFighting the aging process is more about hard work than anti-wrinkle cream and hair dye, Jonah Lehrer writes in the Washington Post . The issue for most of us is not to dance like Madonna or swim like US Olympian Dara Torres; it's to remember names and places and find the car keys. And that requires exercise—for the brain. "The brain is a learning machine, and like all machines it needs to be continually maintained," one professor told Lehrer.http://www.newser.com/story/35089/staying-sharp-while-aging-it-has-a-price.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSun, 17 Aug 2008 14:46:59 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34205/age-is-just-a-number-for-guys-its-31.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMost men have two ages, theorizes author Douglas Coupland of Generation X fame: "the age we really are, and the age we are in our heads," which he pegs at "about 31 or 32." Coupland explains in in Best Life magazine: "When middle-aged men look in the mirror they think, 'I'm sorry, but there's been a horrible mistake.'"http://www.newser.com/story/34205/age-is-just-a-number-for-guys-its-31.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:08:32 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32737/a-medical-frontier-100-year-olds-in-surgery.html?refid=rss_all_defaultLife expectancy in the United States keeps rising: more than 90,000 Americans have celebrated a 100th birthday, and experts foresee more than 1 million centenarians by 2050. As lifespans have grown, so too have medical efforts to treat the very old, from hip replacements to chemotherapy. But as the New York Times reports, the medical community is divided over both the efficacy and the ethics of surgery for the "late elderly."http://www.newser.com/story/32737/a-medical-frontier-100-year-olds-in-surgery.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 18 Jul 2008 6:20:38 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32261/seniors-wield-canes-in-martial-arts-training.html?refid=rss_all_defaultCall it cane fighting, combat cane or cane fu: in classes across the country, seniors are turning to a different kind of self-defense, the Wall Street Journal reports. While the practice serves as a healthy way to get exercise, it also provides comfort to elderly people interested in protecting themselves with a weapon that’s always handy—and never banned.http://www.newser.com/story/32261/seniors-wield-canes-in-martial-arts-training.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSat, 12 Jul 2008 5:35:26 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31955/sex-revolution-for-granny-gramps.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMen and women in their 70s are having more sex than ever, according to a series of surveys. Over a 30-year period the number of married men still enjoying sex in their 70s increased from 58% to 62%, while that  figure jumped 38% to 58% for married women, the Independent reports. Unmarried women over 70 are enjoying an astonishing tenfold increase in sexual activity.http://www.newser.com/story/31955/sex-revolution-for-granny-gramps.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 09 Jul 2008 0:33:47 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/30657/study-ids-plaque-linked-to-alzheimers.html?refid=rss_all_defaultResearchers have triggered Alzheimer's disease in rats by injecting them with a particular type of sticky plaque found in the brains of human dementia patients, AP reports. Only one of three different types of plaques found in elderly brains sparked the disease—compelling evidence that scientists may have narrowed down the cause of the devastating illness. Once the cause is known, researchers can seek a cure or preventative measures.http://www.newser.com/story/30657/study-ids-plaque-linked-to-alzheimers.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 23 Jun 2008 1:29:08 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/30055/gender-and-race-aside-age-pushes-to-fore.html?refid=rss_all_defaultNow that a primary season fraught with racism and sexism has ended, the nation now gears up to face its general-election gremlin: ageism. While John McCain, 71, may joke that the primary qualification to be president is "to be very, very, very, very old," the New York Times reports that his age may work for him among ever-more vibrant oldsters trying to break a gray ceiling, of sorts.http://www.newser.com/story/30055/gender-and-race-aside-age-pushes-to-fore.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSun, 15 Jun 2008 12:43:40 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/29751/nearing-50-madonna-jabs-ageist-society.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMadonna says you can take your ageism and shove it, reports the Daily Mail . "Not only does society suffer from racism and sexism, it also suffers from ageism. Once you reach a certain age you're not allowed to be adventurous, you're not allowed to be sexual,” the less-than-bashful 49-year-old said. "Are you supposed to just die? I've never been a conformist."http://www.newser.com/story/29751/nearing-50-madonna-jabs-ageist-society.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 11 Jun 2008 8:41:19 CDT