There may have been some confusion when speaker Aubrey de Grey came to the stage at the TED conference for the talk Aubrey de Grey: Why we age and how we can avoid it. The British researcher on aging declared that aging can be avoided or at least slowed down. Although de Grey sports a Gandolf-like beard and has a name that sounds like it would fit comfortably in the late middle ages there is no truth to the rumor that de Grey was speaking of himself when he said that he is confident that individuals that may live to 1000 years old have already been born.
In a shocking challenge to conventional wisdom, Cambridge researcher Aubrey de Grey argues that the process of aging is merely a disease — and a curable one at that. De Grey, a computer scientist and biogerontologist, believes humans could live for centuries, if only we approach the aging process as “an engineering problem.” He outlines the seven basic ways people age, and how to “solve” each one. And if we get to work now, he says, humans alive today could live to be 1,000.
According to a story reported on by the diet blog:
Well, a new study claims that those who pack on more pounds are actually more sociable and less anxious than people who are not overweight.
According to recent headlines, research suggests “Fat People Are Extroverts.” A study of more than 30,000 adults aged 40-64 looked at body mass index and its relationship to personality.
The results:
Extroverted men were 1.73 times more likely to be obese than introverted men;
Extroverted women were 1.53 times more likely to be obese than introverted women.
Anxious people were twice as likely to be underweight.
From this we learn:
Comfort food actually does work
The wrong people may be anxious about their health (skinny people live longer according to other studies)
A really good excuse to ask for a second piece of cake
According to a study conducted by UNLV professors, men who get married and have children are more likely to experience reductions in testosterone.
“The bottom line is ‘What does testosterone do?’ It does all the things you think it does,” said Dr. Peter Gray, assistant professor for the UNLV Department of Anthropology. “It promotes libido, validates interactions, a sense of self-worth, all the kinds of things that engage successfully in the world around us eventually acquire reproductive opportunities.”
Now if I read that correctly, they are saying that marriage kills libido and decreases a man’s sense of self worth. I might have an opinion on this story… but I will have to ask my wife.
[the writer of this blog celebrated 26 years of marital bliss this last Thursday]
Right out of the plot to a Sci-Fi movie comes this story from Peru:
Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.
Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.
Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a “strange odor,” local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.
Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also became ill and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized, Lopez said.
Granted when this happened on BBC’s new series Torchwood last week a gaseous alien came out of the rock, processed possessed a woman, shagged every man in sight and then turned them to dust when it consumed their energy at sexual climax. The story from Peru did not mention this behavior… yet.
Sure it sounds too good to be true, but I could use a way to add a few more hours to my days.
The sound file linked in the explanation is a 20 minute “brainwave” file that will supposedly keep you in an energized state. Just be sure to use headphones. Are you ready to feel the caffeine in your …ears?
