Editors: Natalia Gavrilova and Stacy Tessler Lindau
CCBAR News:
CCBAR member, Natalia Gavrilova, gave an outreach lecture about biosocial survey methods at the tutorial session of the international conference "Demographics 2012" in Chania, Crete, Greece (June 5-8, 2012). Participants were demographers, actuaries and statisticians from Europe, America and Australia.
News
from
the NEJM, Nature Journals, Science, BMJ, PNAS, Lancet and JAMA
Ageing: A healthy diet for stem cells
Understanding how a low calorie intake slows ageing
could revolutionize
the way that we treat age-related diseases. One potential key to such
treatments could be to enhance the local environment of stem
cells.
Neuroscience:
Genes and human brain evolution
Several genes were duplicated during human
evolution. It seems that one
such duplication gave rise to a gene that may have helped to make human
brains bigger and more adaptable than those of our ancestors.
Tumours:
Less lactation may explain cancer rise
Your Outlook supplement on breast cancer (Nature485,
S49?S66; 2012)
does not mention the protective effect of breastfeeding. In most
populations, this seems to be even stronger than that conferred by
regular exercise
Why
We Help
Far from being a nagging exception to the rule of
evolution, cooperation has been one of its primary architects
Are
sirtuins viable targets for improving healthspan and lifespan?
Although the increased lifespan of our populations
illustrates the
success of modern medicine, the risk of developing many diseases
increases exponentially with old age. Caloric restriction is known to
retard ageing and delay functional decline as well as the onset of
disease in most organisms.
Genome
evolution: Functional antagonism and human brain evolution
Bursts of gene duplication have occurred in the
human and great-ape
lineages, and human-specific duplications are enriched in genes
expressed during brain development. However, the function of these
genes in brain development is currently unknown. Two studies now show
an intriguing mechanism by whic...
Cancer:
Clonal mosaicism linked to age and cancer risk
Using genome-wide SNP microarray data from over
100,000 DNA samples in
total, two recent studies have provided evidence that clonal mosaicism
- the co-existence of cells with two or more distinct karyotypes within
an individual - increases with age, demonstrating that our DNA changes
in
Human
aneuploidy: mechanisms and new insights into an age-old problem
Trisomic and monosomic (aneuploid) embryos account
for at least 10% of
human pregnancies and, for women nearing the end of their reproductive
lifespan, the incidence may exceed 50%. The errors that lead to
aneuploidy almost always occur in the oocyte but, despite intensive
investigation, the
The
cognitive neuroscience of ageing
The availability of neuroimaging technology has
spurred a marked
increase in the human cognitive neuroscience literature, including the
study of cognitive ageing. Although there is a growing consensus that
the ageing brain retains considerable plasticity of function, currently
measured primarily by ...
Risk
factors: Good news for regular coffee drinkers
A prospective study of 229,119 men and 173,141 women (median follow-up
13.6 years) has shown that coffee consumption is not linked with
increased risk of cardiovascular death. Indeed, after adjustment for
various potential dietary and lifestyle confounders, higher coffee
consumption was associated w...
Documenting
the birth of a financial economy [Economic Sciences]
The birth and explosive growth of mobile money in
Kenya has provided
economists with an opportunity to study the evolution and impact of a
new financial system. Mobile money is an innovation that allows
individuals to store, send, and receive money on their mobile phone via
text message. This system...
Grandchildren
of older men have longer telomeres [Evolution]
Telomeres are repeating DNA sequences at the ends of
chromosomes that
protect and buffer genes from nucleotide loss as cells divide. Telomere
length (TL) shortens with age in most proliferating tissues, limiting
cell division and thereby contributing to senescence. However, TL
increases with age in ...
DNA
methylation in centenarians [Medical Sciences]
Human aging cannot be fully understood in terms of
the constrained
genetic setting. Epigenetic drift is an alternative means of explaining
age-associated alterations. To address this issue, we performed
whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) of newborn and centenarian
genomes. The centenarian DNA ...
Low
carbohydrate-high protein diet and incidence of cardiovascular diseases
i...
Objective To study the long term consequences of low
carbohydrate
diets, generally characterised by concomitant increases in protein
intake, on cardiovascular health.Design Prospective cohort...
Biomarkers
Unbound ? The Supreme Court's Ruling on Diagnostic-Test Patents
Biomarkers and Aging in the News Media
• Why
your aging brain is awesome
Google "the aging brain" and you will find a largely sobering landscape
of cognitive deterioration. But that's not the whole picture. Experts
say older brains are better suited to workplace creativity and
innovation.
• Obesity
affects school performance
Obese children and teenagers face a slew of potential health problems
as they get older, including an increased risk of diabetes, heart
attacks, and certain cancers. As if that weren't enough, obesity may
harm young people's long-term college and career prospects, too.
• Really?:
The Claim: Eating Soy Increases the Risk of Breast Cancer
The phytoestrogens in soy products can mimic the behavior of estrogen,
a hormone that fuels many breast cancers. But studies have found that
the fear is unfounded.
• The
New Old Age Blog: Aging: A Collective Response
A new book offers ideas on improving neighborhoods for the aging from
experts in finance, technology, architecture -- and, yes, politics.
• Breast
cancer risk reduced 30 percent in women who exercise 10 hours per week
All levels of exercise intensity reduced breast cancer risk, but women
who exercised 10 to 19 hours each week showed greatest benefit
• Early
Human Ate Like a Giraffe
Food stuck in fossil teeth reveals diet and behavior of a
2-million-year-old relative
• Low
Vitamin D Linked to Weight Gain in Older Women
Older women with low blood levels of vitamin D may be more prone to
pack on the pounds, when compared with woman who have adequate vitamin
D levels.
• Bariatric
Surgery Cuts Heart Attack Risk for Years
Bariatric surgery is known to reduce heart attack risk short-term. Now,
a new study suggests that benefit is maintained long-term.
• Significant
cardiovascular risk with low carbohydrate-high protein diets, exp...
Women who regularly eat a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet are at
greater risk of cardiovascular disease (such as heart disease and
stroke) than those who do not, a new study suggests.
• Effect
of three common diets on energy expenditure following weight loss
deta...
In an examination of the effect on energy expenditure and components of
the metabolic syndrome of three types of commonly consumed diets
following weight loss, decreases in resting energy expenditure and
total energy expenditure were greatest with a low-fat diet,
intermediate with a low-glycemic index diet, and least with a very
low-carbohydrate diet, suggesting that a low-fat diet may increase the
risk for weight regain compared to the other diets.
NIH Press Releases
Hyperthermia:
too hot for your health
Hot summer weather can pose special health risks to older adults. The
National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of
Health, has some advice for helping older people avoid heat-related
illnesses, known as hyperthermia.
Ability
to estimate quantity increases in first 30 years of life
One of the basic elements of cognition -- the ability to estimate
quantities -- grows more precise across the first 30 years or more of a
person?s life, according to researchers supported by the National
Institutes of Health.
Researchers
chronicle the triumphs and tribulations of NIH founder
In the annals of medicine, Joseph J. Kinyoun, M.D., is a key figure,
but one whose name many people have never heard. In 1887, as a
physician in the Marine-Hospital Service (MHS) -- the precursor to
today's U.S. Public Health Service -- Dr. Kinyoun founded the Hygienic
Laboratory on Staten Island, N. Y., to diagnose cholera, plague,
smallpox and other diseases that posed significant threats to public
health at the time.
For
young children with autism, directing attention boosts language
An intervention in which adults actively engaged the attention of
preschool children with autism by pointing to toys and using other
gestures to focus their attention results in a long term increase in
language skills, according to researchers supported by the National
Institutes of Health.
Children
exposed to HIV in the womb at increased risk for hearing loss
Children exposed to HIV in the womb may be more likely to experience
hearing loss by age 16 than are their unexposed peers, according to
scientists in a National Institutes of Health research network.
NIH Announcements
PA-12-212 NIH Support
for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (Parent R13/U13)
Expiration date: 09/08/2014
PA-12-210 Renal Function
and Chronic Kidney Disease in Aging (R21)
Expiration
date:
01/08/2016
PA-12-211 Renal Function
and Chronic Kidney Disease in Aging (R01)
Expiration
date:
09/08/2015
PAR-12-186 DBSR
Macroeconomic Aspects of Population Aging (R01)
Expiration
date:
10/04/2014
NIMHD
Community-Based
Participatory Research (CBPR) Initiative in Reducing
an...
Funding Opportunity RFA-MD-12-006 from the NIH Guide for Grants and
Contracts. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health
Disparities (NIMHD) invites applications for this Funding Opportunity
Announcement (FOA) to plan the development of effective interventions
using community based participatory research (CBPR) approaches. Support
will be provided to develop and strengthen partnerships between
researchers and health disparity communities to plan and pilot
interventions for a disease or condition to reduce health disparities.
National
Institute on Aging Analysis of Alzheimer's Disease Genome Sequencing...
Funding Opportunity PAR-12-183 from the NIH Guide for Grants and
Contracts. The National Institute on Aging invites applications
specific to the analysis of whole exome and genome sequencing data
provided by the National Human Genome Research Institute Large-Scale
Sequencing Program for the Alzheimer's disease research community.
Secondary
Analyses
in Obesity, Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R21)
Funding Number: PA-12-125
Expiration Date: May 8, 2015
Biodemography
of
Aging
(R21),
Funding
Number:
PAR-12-079
Expiration Date: March 4, 2014
Biodemography
of
Aging
(R03),
Funding
Number:
PAR-12-080
Expiration Date: March 4, 2014
Biodemography
of
Aging
(R01),
Funding
Number:
PAR-12-078
Expiration Date: March 4, 2014
Events:
Announcements:
2012 NIH Summer Institute on Social and
Behavioral Intervention Research, July 9-13, 2012
Columbia University, School of Social Work, New York
Application Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern, Friday, April 27, 2012
Conferences:
RAND
Summer
Institute,
July
9-10,
Santa
Monica,
California.
RAND is pleased to announce the 19th annual RAND Summer Institute
(RSI). RSI consists of two annual conferences that address critical
issues facing our aging population. The Mini-Medical School for Social
Scientists will be held on July 9–10, and the Demography, Economics,
Psychology, and Epidemiology of Aging conference on July 11–12, 2012.
Both conferences will convene at the RAND Corporation headquarters in
Santa Monica, California.
The application
deadline is March
9, 2012
2012
Annual
Meeting
of
the American Sociological Association, August 17-20, Denver,
CO
Abstracts
Deadline:
January
11,
2012
Gerontological
Society
of
America's
65th
Annual
Scientific
Meeting, November 14-18, 2012, San Diego, CA.
Abstracts
Deadline:
March
15,
2012
Population Association of America Annual
meeting, New Orleans, LA.
The 2013 Annual Meeting will be held April 11-13 at the Sheraton New
Orleans Hotel.
This
Newsletter is supported by a grant from the National
Institute on
Aging, National Institutes of Health (Grant No. 5 P30 AG012857)
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