Two key pieces of research were released on either side of the Atlantic this week, shedding new light on what we can do to live longer — and why experts will be squabbling over the secrets of longevity long after most of us …
Longevity
The Secrets to Long Life: Worry, Work Hard and Marry Well (If You’re a Man)
Worrying is good for your health. Optimism is overrated. Women thrive post-divorce (men don’t). These are just a few of the unexpected findings that psychologist Howard Friedman explores in The Longevity Project, a new book based …
Why Do Immigrants Live Longer Than Native-Born Americans? Smoking
It’s a epidemiological mystery. In rich countries immigrants often seem to live longer than native-born residents, a fact that appears to fly in the face of public health assumptions.
Want to Live Longer? Start Walking — Quickly
There is certainly no shortage of sophisticated machinery that can measure how healthy you are, from scanners to genetic and molecular tests that can expose the inner workings of your cells, but doctors may soon be relying on …
Why Smart Humans — and Honeybees — Live Longer
While scientists have long recognized a link between intelligence and longevity, new research on a species not always known for its intellectual wattage — the honeybee — has helped explain exactly why smarter people tend to …
Straight As in High School May Mean Better Health Later in Life
Class rank is important for more than just wowing college admissions officers and securing bragging rights. According to new research, the better your grades were in high school, the healthier you are years later.
The Hispanic Mortality Paradox: Why Do Latinos Outlive Other Americans?
For the first time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has collected national life expectancy data for the Hispanic population, and backed up the surprising findings of past studies: the average life expectancy of a …
Paradise Paradox: Why Life in Hawaii Leads to Early Death
Most of us think of Hawaii as the perfect escape from our stressed out and fast-paced lives. Island life, after all, seems so idyllic and relaxing.
Lack of mates may cut short a man’s life
Maybe it’s the stress of competing for every potential date, or the feeling that you’ve settled for second best. But new research this month suggests that coming of age in an environment where men outnumber women might be so stressful that it affects men’s health even decades after puberty has run its course.
Sense of fulfillment linked to lower Alzheimer’s risk
Understanding what distinguishes people who battle with dementia and Alzheimer’s as they age from those whose mental acuity remains strong well into their 80s, 90s and even older, is a major focus of current psychiatric research. Previous studies have pointed to the potentially protective value of exercise, social support and even
…
Internet Net Plus for Social Life, Doesn’t Increase Isolation
The internet and cell phones are bringing people together, not tearing us apart—at least, according to a new survey released today by the Pew Internet and American Life project. The research followed up a shocking 2006 study, which found that American social networks were rapidly contracting and that 25% of Americans reported that …
Early Trauma, Diet and Cancer: Holocaust study probes links
A link between exposure to traumatic stress and cancer has long been suspected—but researchers don’t yet fully understand how severe stress could produce this insidious effect or which types of cancer might be most affected. A new study of cancer risk amongst Holocaust survivors offers some clues.
The research also suggests that …
One surefire tip for a long and healthy life
Sometimes it seems that every day offers a new, contradictory health finding. One day screening for prostate cancer is recommended; the next it’s not. One day the hot new superfood is acai berries. The next it’s dark chocolate, red wine, or fatty fish. Just about every new diet plan or exercise regime raises doubts about effectiveness or …