Apr 10
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new technique for simulating the aging of faces over nearly eight decades—and it’s incredible.
Feb 20
Centuries after Shakespeare wrote about King Lear’s symptoms, there’s still no perfect way to care for sufferers of dementia and Alzheimer’s. In the Netherlands, however, a radical idea is being tested: Self-contained "villages" where people with dementia shop, cook, and live together—safely.
     |
Dec 03
Growing up sucks. Getting older is no fun. Having your body deteriorate to a shell of itself is embarrassing. But wrinkles and brittle bones are a fact of life. But why! PHD Comics and integrative Biologist Joao Pedro de Magalhaes explain in this nifty animated comic on what aging is and how we can use that understanding to extend our lifespan. My brain feels smarter, more wrinkled and I guess, older, just from watching it.
| |
Nov 18
Rock stars don’t age, at least our memories of them don’t. Sure, some of them get the harsh lines of life imprinted onto their face and others pass away as a shell of themselves much too early but our memories of rock stars never change. They stay forever young through iconic pictures, through the emotions of their music and through nostalgic memories of their reckless life.
| |
Oct 21
The identification of the DNA markers associated with aging has brought us one step closer to the ever-elusive Fountain of Youth. UCLA geneticist Steve Horvath just published details about the discovery, and says that this could actually lead to drugs that reverse the process of aging.
| |
Sep 18
“Help the aged,” sang the bard, and that’s what Lively aims to do. After all, one time they were just like you, drinking smoking cigs, and sniffing glue. This $150 device, on the other hand, ensures that they’re up and about and staying active while you’re away, giving you a bit of peace of mind while the older folks are at home.
The system consists of a sensor array that communicates with a wirelessly connected base station. When various items are moved around the house – keys, a medicine cabinet, the refrigerator door – the sensors report back and then the app shows you just what they are up to. Are they eating? Taking their meds? Driving to the liquor store? You’ll know about it.
Founded by former adBrite CEO Iggy Fanlo, Keith Dutton, and David Glickman, the company closed a $2.5 million seed round in 2012 and just announced a $4.8M series A led by Cambia Health Solutions and Maveron. They just launched their product which includes the dongle and two months of free service. They took part in a failed Kickstarter in April.
The team prides itself on a sort of minimalist monitoring that will help older folks maintain dignity and privacy. “This is not ‘big brother’ monitoring. Lively’s passive sensing tracks just enough information to interpret meaningful activity that shows how you’re doing without sharing too much. It doesn’t require any video cameras or anything that you have to wear,” said Fanlo.
“Creates new avenues of connection: Lively provides a better way for older adults to share how they’re doing with a connected device that uses passive activity sensors you apply to moveable objects around the home.”
Fanlo created the company after going through a divorce and missing his extended family. As a result, he thought he wanted to find a solution to loneliness and looked first to the aging community. “It was a difficult and in many ways a dark time for me. I was looking at health & wellness. I sought out two things in my preliminary search: the intersection of large and growing market AND an area generally ignored by entrepreneurs. Within health & wellness, aging jumped off the page. That was all good and well, but how is that inspiring even for me. Well, as I visited several facilities and spoke to many people the social side of aging, the isolation, the potential loneliness struck a chord. I had felt that very strongly only a few years before and I saw a light at the end of the tunnel… For many of those over 70, 80 years of age, there might not be another good opportunity to really stay connected. I had my inspiration.”
Interestingly, the service offers LivelyGrams, printed photo booklets created by friends and family and mailed monthly to the Lively user. In this way you get sort of a two way street – data comes out of the home while notes, pictures, and comments come in. Sadly, Lively doesn’t really have an emergency notification system in case someone has fallen and can’t get up nor is it particularly useful if a loved one wanders off – without a GPS tracking system, it’s useless in that case. However, it does help note movements and activities around the house specifically which could make it valuable if you want to make sure mom is taking her vitamins and dad isn’t watching too much TV.
Sep 18
Google’s making a long-term business bet that, at first glance, may seem out of the ordinary: it’s getting into healthcare. Its new company, Calico, will be focused on addressing the illnesses affecting the geriatric community, as well as aging in general. In Google CEO Larry Page’s own words, the new enterprise, headed up by current Apple and Genentech chair Arthur D. Levinson, is geared towards “moonshot thinking around healthcare and biotechnology,” so expect some pretty futuristic developments to come from the initiative.
In an interview given to Time magazine, Page said that Calico will re-evaluate traditional thinking and approaches to healthcare, like cancer research, the advancement of which he concludes might “not [be] as big an advance as you might think.” Page isn’t dismissing that vein of research altogether, but claims any cures could only add about three years to a survivor’s life — a trivial gain in the long-run. Though he was willing to go on record with what’s wrong with the current state of healthcare R&D, Page wouldn’t elaborate as to what future products Calico could produce, saying only that Google, with its vast resources, should be doing more to contribute to the world’s greater good.
Source: Google
Sep 09
Aging is a fierce b-word that deepens the lines on your face, sags the skin on your body and grays the hair on your head. All in the name of accruing wisdom! The thing with aging though is that it literally takes years to see its effect. Well, this incredible time lapse fast forwards the process and shows what a girl would look like as an old woman.
| |
Apr 08
Aside from the science of aging and how faces get wrinkled and joints get creaky, there are also the hidden costs of aging too. Like how many times we went to the doctor’s or how many calories we’ve eaten or how much money we spend on healthcare and when. This video shows what it means to age, by revealing people ranging from 1 year old to 102 years old and the statistics of aging. More »
Mar 08
The Science of Aging
Posted in: Today's Chili
If your face is wrinkling, joints are creaking and eyesight failing, it’s time to face facts: you’re getting old. But what causes ageing, anyway, and why is it so damn inevitable? More »
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.