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Aging

Bats, whales, naked mole rats, elephants, albatrosses, certain dog breeds and a few other animals live unexpectedly long lives. Can scientists discover their secrets?

Why Scientists Are Studying the Genetic Tricks of the Longest-Lived Animals

Researchers are investigating how some species live unexpectedly long lives in order to pinpoint factors affecting human longevity.

The aged bathe in the restorative waters of the mythical fountain of youth in this 1546 oil painting by German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. Scientists have turned to studies of blood to identify a path to rejuvenating tissues damaged by the aging process.

In the Search to Stall Aging, Biotech Startups Are Out for Blood

A handful of companies are trying vastly different approaches to spin animal studies into the next big anti-aging therapy

Bodies lose their vigor with the passing of the years, but emotional well-being tends to improve, studies find. Among the observations: Though older people may have fewer social contacts, those they retain bring more satisfaction and meaning.

Why Do Older Individuals Have Greater Control of Their Feelings?

Psychologist Susan Turk Charles talks about findings that reveal the elderly have higher emotional well-being

Roosevelt Patterson greets his grandmother, Hester Ford, during her 111th birthday party. Ford was either 115 or 116 when she died on Saturday, April 17, 2021.

Hester Ford, the U.S.’ Oldest Living Person, Dies at 115—or 116

Born in 1904 or 1905, the supercentenarian lived through two World Wars, the civil rights movement and two major pandemics

Dementia is "the impaired ability to remember, think or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities," per the CDC.

New Research

Large Study Shows People With Dementia Are at Higher Covid-19 Risk

The condition may present both physical and social risk factors that make transmission more likely

Researchers caught an 81-year-old midnight snapper (Macolor macularis) like the one pictured here off the coast of Western Australia. The fish is the oldest coral reef fish ever discovered.

New Research

Researchers Catch Oldest Tropical Reef Fish Known to Science

Researchers caught the 81-year-old midnight snapper off the coast of Western Australia

Chitetsu Watanabe as a young man (left) and at age 112 (right)

Chitetsu Watanabe, the World’s Oldest Man, Dies at 112

The Japanese supercentenarian attributed his longevity to not getting angry and keeping a smile on his face

Ginkgo trees, which produce characteristic fan-shaped leaves, can live for thousands of years.

New Research

A Genetic Elixir of Life Helps Millennia-Old Ginkgo Trees Escape Death

These trees have developed an army of molecular weapons to stay healthy in old age

Researchers looked at smell tests taken by more than 2,200 people between the age of 71 and 82 years old.

New Research

Impaired Sense of Smell in the Elderly Is Linked With Risk of Death

A new study finds older people who score poorly on a sniff test are 46 percent more likely to die over the next 10 years, but researchers don’t know why

Immature (red) and mature (blue) neurons in the hippocampus of a 68 year-old

New Research

The Brain May Actually Keep Generating New Cells Well Into Old Age

An analysis of 58 brain samples found that neurogenesis declines over time and is particularly poor among those with Alzheimer’s

New Research

Dog Walks Are Good Exercise for Seniors—But Be Careful, Fractures Are on the Rise

Injuries caused by walking a dog on a leash have doubled in the last 15 years for Americans aged 65 and over

Women’s Brains Stay Younger Longer, New Research Shows

Researchers found that women’s brains continually create more energy than men’s whether an individual is 25 or 82

President Barack Obama greets Richard Overton, with Earlene Love-Karo, in the Blue Room of the White House, Nov. 11, 2013.

Richard Overton, Nation’s Oldest Living Combat Veteran, Dies at 112

The beloved World War II vet didn’t let old age stop him from enjoying his 12 daily cigars, whiskey-spiked coffee and butter pecan ice cream

Jeanne Calment in 1895

Trending Today

Was the World’s Oldest Person Ever Actually Her 99-Year-Old Daughter?

Jeanne Calment made history when she died at the age of 122 in 1997, but a new investigation claims her daughter actually assumed her identity in 1934

Lonesome George

New Research

Lonesome George the Giant Tortoise’s DNA Reveals Cancer-Fighting and Longevity Genes

The iconic reptile and last Pinta Island tortoise passed in 2012, but a new look at his DNA is helping researchers understand genetics

Drug overdoses claimed 70,237 lives in 2017, while suicides numbered more than 47,000 over the same period

U.S. Life Expectancy Drops for Third Year in a Row, Reflecting Rising Drug Overdoses, Suicides

Drop represents longest sustained decline in expected lifespan since the tumultuous period of 1915 to 1918

Spain nabbed the top spot with an average life expectancy of 85.8 years

United States Drops 21 Spots in Global Life Expectancy Rankings

By 2040, an average American’s lifespan is projected to rise from 78.7 to 79.8 years, an increase of just 1.1 years

These ephemeral puddles are the birthplace, home and grave of the killifish.

New Research

Meet the Fish That Grows Up in Just 14 Days

The turquoise killifish, which lives in ephemeral pools in Mozambique, progresses from embryo to sexual maturity faster than any other vertebrate

The Fountain of Youth, Lucas Cranach the Elder

New Research

Study Suggests There’s No Limit on Longevity, But Getting Super Old Is Still Tough

After the age of 105, the odds of dying plateau, meaning it’s possible to live beyond the current record of 123 years

A sinkhole from 2012 that swallowed the back of a home at Shoal Drive in Hudson. At the time the picture was taken, Pasco County Fire officials said the sinkhole is currently 40 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

The Science Behind Florida’s Sinkhole Epidemic

Reports of these ground-chasms have been swelling in the past few years. Geology helps explain why

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