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Aging

A museum-goer looks at a Vincent van Gogh painting.

New Research

The Relaxation of Regularly Listening to Songs or Drawing Pictures May Actually Slow Cellular Aging, New Research Shows

According to a new study, people who are exposed to art on a weekly basis are about a year younger “biologically” than those exposed only once or twice per year

The researchers studied neural activity in 16 participants with epilepsy who had electrodes in their brains.

We Use Many of the Same Brain Cells to See and to Imagine Objects, a Study Suggests. The Findings Provide a New Window Into Memory

While past research has hinted at an overlap in relevant brain regions, the new work drills down to the cellular level. The discovery could help improve treatments for memory disorders, such as dementia, and certain psychiatric conditions, like schizophrenia

Becoming an expert birder might support brain health, according to a new study.

Becoming an Expert Birder Can Reshape Your Brain and Might Help Protect It From Aging, New Research Suggests

Compared with novices, seasoned birders had denser, more structurally complex brain regions involved with tasks like object identification, visual processing, attention and working memory

Around one-third of Americans take multivitamins, but researchers don't quite understand how they affect people's health.

Taking a Daily Multivitamin Might Slow Some Signs of Biological Aging, a New Study Suggests

Researchers don’t know how these modest changes at the cellular level relate to overall health

A donated super-ager brain

Some People Keep Razor-Sharp Minds Into Their 80s and Beyond. A New Study Reveals Their Secrets

“Super-agers” seem to produce more new nerve cells in a brain region important for memory than other people their age

Researchers asked participants, at an average of about 80 years old, to report their exposure to intellectual enrichment throughout their lives, and then tracked them for around eight years.

Lifelong Learning Might Lower Your Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s Disease, a New Study Suggests

While the research does not point to a direct, causal link, it hints that activities like reading, writing and playing games might help extend cognitive function

By age 20, autism diagnoses are almost equal among men and women in Sweden, a new study suggests.

Is Autism Really a Male-Dominated Condition? A New Study Suggests Women Have It Just as Often, but Are Diagnosed Later in Life

Researchers examined the prevalence of autism among nearly three million people born in Sweden over the past four decades

The study involved nearly 132,000 participants whose habits were tracked for roughly 40 years.

Your Daily Coffee Might Be Protecting Your Brain From Dementia, a New Study Suggests

Two to three caffeinated cups a day may help keep the cognitive condition away

Researchers studied data from nearly 125,000 pre- and post-menopausal women.

How Do Menopause and a Treatment to Manage Its Symptoms Affect the Brain and Mental Health?

New research suggests an association between menopause and anxiety, depression and shrinkage in certain brain regions—which hormone replacement therapy might not mitigate

Dealing with centuries of darkness and eye parasites doesn't seem to affect Greenland sharks' vision.

Greenland Sharks Can Survive for Centuries—and Maintain Long-Lasting Vision, Despite Living in the Dark

The long-living sharks aren’t as blind as once thought and have DNA repair mechanisms that may help prevent their vision from degrading, a study suggests

Stimulants prescribed for ADHD target the parts of the brain related to wakefulness and reward, shown in yellow and orange, according to a new study.

How Do These ADHD Medications Work in the Brain? The Mechanisms Are Different Than Once Thought, a Study Suggests

Adderall, Ritalin and other stimulants prescribed for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder seem to work on brain areas involved with wakefulness and reward, rather than attention

Researchers studied thousands of brain scans to see how the organ's architecture changes over a lifetime.

Your Brain Goes Through Five Distinct Epochs of Neural Wiring During Your Lifetime, New Research Suggests

These eras of brain architecture are marked by four major turning points, which occur around the ages of 9, 32, 66 and 83, according to a new study

New research suggests multilingualism may slow cognitive aging. 

Neuroscientists Studied More Than 80,000 People and Found That Speaking Multiple Languages Might Slow Down Brain Aging

An enormous analysis of data from a broad array of participants found an association between multilingualism and cognitive aging

Photographs of an elderly Holocaust survivor from an album documenting the Jewish Relief Unit's activities in Germany after World War II

Elderly Jews Were Among the Most Likely to Die in the Holocaust. Why Has History Forgotten About the Genocide’s Oldest Victims?

A new exhibition at London’s Wiener Holocaust Library spotlights the unique challenges faced by European Jews who were over the age of 55 during World War II

Researchers found an association between moderate step counts and slower cognitive decline among people at risk of developing Alzheimer's. 

A Short Walk in the Park Might Slow Cognitive Decline in People at Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s

New research indicates that even moderate step counts, as low as 3,000 steps daily, were linked with delayed symptom onset

A new study found that women with no history of heart disease can decrease their risk of disease with about half as much exercise as men.

Women Need About Half as Much Exercise as Men for the Same Heart Benefits, Study Suggests

Researchers analyzed the activity and health records of 85,000 U.K. adults over roughly eight years

A male and female olive baboon

Research Sheds Light on Why Women Live Longer Than Men—and Why This Pattern Will Likely Continue

Scientists studied hundreds of mammal and bird species to shed light on sex-based lifespan differences

Two new studies are shedding more light on the behavior and lifespans of naked mole rats.

Scientists Explore the Mysterious Lives and Longevity Superpowers of Naked Mole Rats

The nearly hairless rodents are extremely resistant to cancer—and can live to be 37 years old

The researchers found that tango is especially good at slowing brain aging. 

Creative Hobbies Like Tango Dancing or Playing Musical Instruments May Help Keep Your Brain Young, Study Finds

Scientists discovered that talented experts had “younger” brains than those of their less experienced counterparts, and even those who only dabbled in creativity reaped benefits

 Maria Branyas Morera on her 117th birthday

Scientists Studied the Genes of a Woman Who Lived 117 Years. Here’s What They Learned

Maria Branyas Morera, formerly the world’s oldest person, allowed researchers to take a detailed look at her biology before she died last year

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