The Healthiest "Super-Agers" Have One Thing in Common, According to a 25-Year Study

The Healthiest "Super-Agers" Have One Thing in Common, According to a 25-Year Study

Memory is the glue of life. Without it, our focus softens, our experience of the world blurs, and our identities melt away. But as people age, their memory declines. Many billions of dollars have been spent to understand the biological basis of dementia and to devise a cure. In most cases, they have failed spectacularly. But what if, rather than study the brains of people with advanced memory loss, we instead studied the brains of people with the opposite condition: extraordinary memory and brain health in old age? For the past few decades, Sandra Weintraub, a scientist at Northwestern University, has been part of a team studying the brains of "super-agers," people 80 and older who have the memory ability of people in their 50s. In a new paper published this year to considerable fanfare, she found that super-agers didn't have much in common. They didn't share a diet, or an exercise regimen, or a set of maladies or medications. One thing, however, united them: their social relationships. Today's guest is Sandra Weintraub. We talk about the science of memory and the brain and the protective benefit of social connection for our minds and ourselves. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Dr. Sandra Weintraub Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(348)

Would You Buy a Drug to Extend Your Dog’s Life?

Would You Buy a Drug to Extend Your Dog’s Life?

Today’s episode is about the science of slowing down the aging process … and why one biotech company has found some success with dogs. Last November, the New York Times reported that a company called ...

16 Feb 202454min

The Dark Side of the Internet's Obsession With Anxiety

The Dark Side of the Internet's Obsession With Anxiety

We’ve done several shows on America’s anxiety crisis. This one asks several questions that might get me in trouble. Have we overcorrected from an era when mental health was shameful to talk about to a...

13 Feb 202446min

Can Solar Power and Battery Tech Save the World From Climate Change?

Can Solar Power and Battery Tech Save the World From Climate Change?

You could make the argument that last year was the worst year in human history for climate change. The Earth experienced its hottest day on record over and over and over again. Air surface temperature...

9 Feb 202459min

The Gender War Within Gen Z

The Gender War Within Gen Z

Something mysterious is happening in the politics of young men and women. Gen Z women—those in their 20s and younger—have become sharply more liberal in the past few years, while young men are shiftin...

6 Feb 202456min

What’s the Best Diet for Planet Earth?

What’s the Best Diet for Planet Earth?

If you love food and also consider yourself a good person, you probably care about where your food comes from, how it’s grown, and whether it's part of a system that is destroying the planet. After al...

30 Jan 202459min

Why Did Stanley Water Bottles Suddenly Become a Cultural Phenomenon?

Why Did Stanley Water Bottles Suddenly Become a Cultural Phenomenon?

It's just a steel tumbler with a straw and side handle. But the Stanley cup is a social media phenomenon and an incredible business success story. How did this thing come out of nowhere? What lessons ...

26 Jan 202438min

Why the U.S. Media Industry Is in Meltdown

Why the U.S. Media Industry Is in Meltdown

Sports Illustrated layoffs. The demise of independent Pitchfork. Hundreds of millions of dollars in losses at major newspapers like the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. The state of the U.S....

23 Jan 202442min

World on Fire, Part 3: How Did America's Border Crisis Get So Bad?

World on Fire, Part 3: How Did America's Border Crisis Get So Bad?

Today is the third and final episode in our miniseries on this unique moment in global war and conflict. In the first episode, we looked at the turmoil in the Middle East. In the second episode, we of...

19 Jan 202450min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
i-retten
forklart
stopp-verden
popradet
fotballpodden-2
det-store-bildet
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
bt-dokumentar-2
hanna-de-heldige
aftenbla-bla
nokon-ma-ga
rss-ness
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
frokostshowet-pa-p5
chit-chat-med-helle