1/31/2013 - Americans want to raise payroll taxes and Social Security benefits (Washington Post)

Seventy-three years ago today, the first Social Security checks went out to beneficiaries. The anniversary comes at a difficult time for the program. It narrowly escaped a cut floated by the Obama administration in the fiscal cliff negotiations that would have reduced cost-of-living increases going forward. While it’s not in danger anytime soon, it does… Read more 1/31/2013 - Americans want to raise payroll taxes and Social Security benefits (Washington Post)

1/30/2013 - The Health Care Law and Retirement Savings (New York Times)

Because of its definition of affordability, beginning next year the Affordable Care Act may affect retirement savings. Read the full article at The New York Times.

1/29/2013 - Sandwich generation takes a hit supporting adult children and aging parents (Washington Post)

More parents are providing significant financial support for their adult children even as they cope with the needs of their own aging parents, according to a new survey of the middle-aged “sandwich generation.” Read the full article at The Washington Post.

1/31/2013 - Stanford experiment shows that virtual superpowers encourage real-world empathy

Giving test subjects Superman-like flight in a virtual reality simulator makes them more likely to exhibit altruistic behavior in real life, researcher and Center on Longevity faculty affiliate Jeremy Bailenson finds. Read the full article at Stanford News.  

1/30/2013 - Myths of Weight Loss Are Plentiful, Researcher Says

In an article published online in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham lay out seven myths and six unsubstantiated presumptions about obesity. They also list nine facts that, unfortunately, promise little in the way of quick fixes for the weight-obsessed. Example: “Trying to go on… Read more 1/30/2013 - Myths of Weight Loss Are Plentiful, Researcher Says

1/30/2013 - Rogue DNA busts out of aging cell ‘prison’

As cells age, they lose control over parasitic strands of mobile DNA that insert themselves into chromosomes, new research shows. Read the full article at Futurity.

1/30/2013 - Pig proteins may help dementia patients: study

A drug containing purified brain proteins derived from pigs may yield modest improvements in patients whose dementia is caused by a lack of blood flow to parts of the brain, according to a new analysis. Read the full article at Reuters.

1/30/2013 - For Some Caregivers, the Trauma Lingers

Recently, I spoke at length to a physician who seems to have suffered a form of post-traumatic stress after her mother’s final illness. There is little research on this topic, which suggests that it is overlooked or discounted. But several experts acknowledge that psychological trauma of this sort does exist. “When something happens that the… Read more 1/30/2013 - For Some Caregivers, the Trauma Lingers

1/30/2013 - The Health-Care Law and Retirement Savings

Because of its definition of affordability, beginning next year the Affordable Care Act may affect retirement savings. Read the full article at The New York Times.

1/29/2013 - Sandwich generation takes a hit supporting adult children and aging parents

More parents are providing significant financial support for their adult children even as they cope with the needs of their own aging parents, according to a new survey of the middle-aged “sandwich generation.” Read the full article at The Washington Post.