Personal
Fountains of youth and magic elixirs have been touted for millennia, each illusion tantalizing many, and disappointing all. That era has ended, replaced by the awesome science of anti-aging. New strategies are evolving to improve and prolong the function of practically every part of the body, organs like the heart, […]
In my last post, I described some of the healthful effects produced by resveratrol, a chemical found in grapes, blueberries, peanuts, and cocoa powder, among other food sources. Not surprisingly, it also is available in differing forms from numerous commercial sources. Resveratrol has a chemical cousin named pterostilbene, which I’ll […]
Resveratrol is a highly touted compound that has multiple health benefits, but it also has characteristics that seem to limit its effectiveness. Here I offer a condensed account of this intriguing chemical. The story begins almost a century ago, with the discovery in1935, […]
I had planned to post another essay on longevity this weekend, adding to my most recent ones (see here, and here) but my computer was dithering over every word as its hard drive spun recklessly and out of control. So Saturday morning I took my old PC in to a national chain and […]
As I mentioned in an earlier post (1), most of us have the power (ignoring accidents and bad luck) to help preserve our health and extend our lives. How exactly can that be accomplished? Well, I’ve done some digging. (You never know what will happen when you send a […]
Would you like to live for, say, 110 years? Does a long life appeal to you? Is it even possible to achieve? Seemingly so. Present-day science is oozing with promises to extend our lives. How would I answer my opening question? That depends. If I were able to survive […]
Having flown into my tenth decade with some speed, and finding I enjoy the altitude (1), I’ve begun ruminating about getting old. Why, I’ve wondered, have I beaten the odds? Today I’m going to retrace my tracks. Next time I’ll look at the amazing process of aging itself. […]
As I mentioned earlier (1), my first taste of The Brothers Karamazov came more than six decades ago. I swallowed that jumbo novel in big bites, dazzled by Dostoevsky’s grasp of psychology and religion, not to mention his way of dissecting the Russian soul of his time. And the […]
I read The Brothers Karamazov (here) a long time ago, when I was an undergraduate. By that time I had learned (finally!) that rounding up a cluster of neurons and throwing them into action (with purpose) could be exhilarating. I plowed through that prodigious novel over a three-day weekend. A […]
My 90th was like no other. Thanks to clever innovations by younger members of my family, readership exploded here yesterday. The blast unleashed a flood of good wishes and made my sweet day even sweeter. As most newcomers may have discovered, this blog is unfocused and hard to classify. I […]
