Want to stay sharp? How curiosity can boost the midlife brain
Have you found yourself doing a deep dive into birds of prey? Pledged to understand atomic physics? Made it your mission to revisit the works of William Wordsworth? If your thirst for knowledge knows no bounds, and you've long since left your youth, you'd be forgiven for feeling vindicated this week.
While it has long been thought that the older we get, the more restricted our world view becomes, a new study has revealed that curiosity actually increases with age. Research published in the journal PLOS One found that although our overall inquisitiveness, also known as 'trait curiosity', largely declines with passing years, our interest in more specific topics, or 'state curiosity', continues to grow after middle age.
'In midlife people are focused on careers
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Medical News Today
2 hours ago
- Medical News Today
Aging: Healthy habits could offset stroke, dementia, depression risk
New research finds certain diseases may be more common in people with a biomarker of aging but not in those with healthy lifestyles. Ivan Gener/Stocksy Age can increase a person's risk for several health conditions, including stroke, dementia, and late-life depression. A new study has identified an aging biomarker that is more common in people who develop stroke, dementia, and depression as they age. Researchers found that study participants who followed a healthy lifestyle appeared to offset the risks associated with this aging biomarker. 'Stroke and dementia are among the most prevalent age-related diseases, affecting millions worldwide and representing major health challenges for individuals, families, and healthcare systems,' Tamara N. Kimball, MD, a post-doctoral research fellow in the Brain Care Labs at Mass General Brigham told Medical News Today . 'With their impact expected to grow dramatically as populations age — and the number of people ages 60 and over projected to increase from 1 billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion by 2030 — developing effective prevention strategies has become urgent,' she said. Kimball is the lead author of a new study recently published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, that has identified an aging biomarker that is more common in people who develop stroke, dementia, and depression as they age. However, researchers found that following a healthy lifestyle offsets the risk of the diseases associated with this aging biomarker. For this study, researchers analyzed medical records for more than 356,000 adults with a median age of 56 living in the U.K. 'Imagine your shoelaces have plastic tips that protect them from fraying — telomeres work similarly for your DNA,' Kimball explained. 'Every time your cells divide, which happens constantly as your body repairs and maintains itself, these protective tips get a little shorter. As they become shorter over time, their ability to protect DNA diminishes, leading to cellular aging and an increased susceptibility risk of age-related diseases.' 'The length of telomeres in white blood cells (leukocytes) can serve as a marker of biological aging and is influenced by genetic factors, lifestyle choices, and environmental stressors,' she added. At the study's conclusion, researchers found that study participants with the shortest telomere length had 5.82 cases per 1,000 person-years (number of people in the study and amount of time each person spent in the study) of the brain diseases dementia, stroke, and late-life depression, compared to 3.92 cases for participants with the longest telomeres. 'This shows people with the shortest telomeres presented (with) these brain diseases about 1.5 times more than those with the longest telomeres, demonstrating how biological aging affects brain health,' Kimball said. Scientists also discovered that study participants with short telomeres who had brain disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and smoking were 11% more likely to develop stroke, dementia, or depression than those with long telomeres. 'Our results demonstrate that individuals with low Brain Care Score — reflecting less favorable lifestyle factors like high blood pressure and smoking — consistently showed elevated risk for stroke, dementia, and depression when they also had shorter telomeres,' Kimball said. ' This suggests a compounded risk effect where biological aging and poor lifestyle choices increase disease susceptibility,' she said. Interestingly, Kimball and her team also found that participants with short telomeres, but who had high Brain Care Scores, did not have a higher risk of developing the studied brain diseases. 'In individuals with high Brain Care Score, the impact of leukocyte telomere length on disease risk was not significant,' Kimball explained. 'This may suggest that adopting healthier lifestyles and improving modifiable risk factors can mitigate the negative effects of having shorter telomeres.' 'Research shows that approximately 45% of dementia cases and up to 85% of strokes are linked to factors we can modify — like blood pressure, diet, and exercise,' she continued. 'Understanding the biological mechanisms by which lifestyle interventions influence cellular aging processes is essential for validating prevention strategies and developing more targeted, evidence-based interventions for brain health.' 'Our findings suggest that adopting healthier lifestyles and improving modifiable risk factors might mitigate some of the negative effects of shorter telomeres, which reflect adverse lifestyle choices in addition to social and environmental determinants of health earlier in life. In short, it is never too late to start taking better care of your brain.' — Tamara N. Kimball, MD MNT had the opportunity to speak with Clifford Segil, DO, an adult neurologist in private practice in Santa Monica, CA, who is also on staff at Providence St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, about this study. 'I am excited to see this research indicating a common cause of these three pathologies to develop into a possible treatment for telomere length protection or extension which could possibly decrease the occurrence of stroke, dementia, and depression in my elderly patients.' — Clifford Segil, DO Segil said that any time a common pathology is found between disparate neurological disease states, it is exciting as this research may stimulate a novel therapy. 'I often share with my patients that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment and studies like this support my desire to help my patients with common sense practical brain health preventative strategies,' he stated. For the next steps in this research, Segil said he would like to see this research group focus on specific lifestyle traits which cause patients to be able to maintain their 'large' telomere length and therefore decrease risk of stroke, dementia, and depression to figure out what to advise my patients to do for good brain health. 'I would then want them to do the reverse and figure out which habits or lifestyle choices specifically result in 'short' telomere lengths so I could advise my patients what to avoid in life,' he added. MNT also spoke with Jasdeep S. Hundal, PsyD, ABPP-CN, director of The Center for Memory & Healthy Aging at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, and associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine in New Jersey, about this research who commented that findings are not entirely surprising, but do add value. 'Short leukocyte telomere length has long been viewed as a general marker of biological aging and this study seems to support this association, especially for people with unhealthy lifestyles.' — Jasdeep S. Hundal, PsyD, ABPP-CN 'This reinforces what we see clinically in that modifiable risk factors remain central, even in the context of genetic or biological vulnerability, to brain health as we age even if the findings are correlational. It is interesting to speculate that short telomeres aren't necessarily causing these brain diseases, but they are a warning sign, especially in the setting of poor lifestyle choices,' Hundal explained. 'The burden of age-related brain diseases is rapidly rising, and we still have no cure for the most serious dementias like Alzheimer's disease,' he continued. 'Most of the risk factors for these diseases are modifiable, so there is real potential for prevention or risk reduction, even in people who may already be showing signs of biological aging.' Hundal said that studies like this highlight that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not just 'good advice,' but can have genuine brain health consequences if someone is biologically vulnerable. 'We need more research identifying which interventions actually make a difference, for whom, and how to implement them in real-world settings,' he added. 'The focus should always be on translating findings like these into concrete strategies that help patients maintain brain health and independence for as long as possible.' Cholesterol Hypertension Stroke Alzheimer's / Dementia Seniors / Aging
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Put the paintbrush down – AI can restore artworks quicker and better
Artificial intelligence (AI) could spell the end of art restoration by humans after MIT showed that damaged paintings can be repaired in just a few hours. Typically, conservators spend months or years researching and matching paints, colours and techniques to ensure the finished product is as close to the original as possible. But Alex Kachkine, an engineering graduate at MIT, has shown it is possible to use AI to fill in the damaged areas digitally, then print the restored layers onto a thin film to attach on top of the painting. It means the painting appears restored even though the original is still intact beneath. The method was applied to a highly damaged 15th-century oil painting, and AI immediately identified 5,612 separate regions in need of repair, and filled in these regions using 57,314 different colours. The entire process, from start to finish, took just three and a half hours. 'There is a lot of damaged art in storage that might never be seen,' said Mr Kachkine. 'Hopefully with this new method, there's a chance we'll see more art, which I would be delighted by.' In recent years, digital restoration tools have allowed conservators to create virtual representations of restored works. AI algorithms can quickly sift through huge amounts of data about artists and time periods to generate a digitally restored version of a particular painting, in a way that closely resembles the correct style. However, digital restorations are usually displayed virtually or printed as stand-alone works and until now there has never been a way to translate the digital restorations on to the original work. The new technique involves first scanning the painting and then using software to create maps of the areas that require repair, before matching the correct colours. The maps are then inkjet printed onto two sheets of a film. One film, which sits underneath, is printed in white so that the colours overlaid on the second sheet are not muddied by the colours of the original painting. The layers are carefully aligned and overlaid by hand onto the original painting and adhered with a thin spray of varnish. The printed films are made from materials that can be easily dissolved with conservation-grade solutions, in case conservators need to reveal the original, damaged work. The digital file of the mask can also be saved as a detailed record of what was restored. For the painting that Mr Kachkine used, the method was able to fill in thousands of losses in just a few hours. 'A few years ago, I was restoring this baroque Italian painting with probably the same order magnitude of losses, and it took me nine months of part-time work,' he said. 'The more losses there are, the better this method is.' The new technique may even help restore botched restorations such as Elias Garcia Martinez's Ecce Homo, which was restored so badly it was dubbed Monkey Christ, because of the Simian features of Jesus. Mr Kachkine acknowledges that there were ethical issues to consider, in terms of whether a restored version was an appropriate representation of an artist's original style and intent. He said the process should be carried out in consultation with conservators with knowledge of a painting's history and origins to check the AI programme was not going off-piste. 'Restoring a painting is fun, and it's great to sit down and infill things and have a nice evening,' he added 'But that's a very slow process.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Scientists identify strange 'communication' of non-human intelligence in Earth's oceans
Scientists have found the source of a strange form of communication in the ocean that they say could help them locate extraterrestrial life in space. Researchers from the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) revealed that large 'smoke ring-like' bubbles coming from underwater were created by humpback whales, which researchers believe is their way of greeting nearby humans. It's the first time scientists have seen whales sending out these unique rings while interacting with people in the wild, and the SETI team said they show an intentional attempt to get the attention of humans - just like saying hello. Until now, the bubble rings have only been seen while humpbacks were gathering prey and when males were making a trail of bubble rings to attract a mate. Researchers said it's quite possible whales have been trying to communicate with people for years but the phenomenon hasn't been studied until now. The team added that these bubble rings could help researchers refine their search for an alien intelligence in the cosmos, opening a door to spotting unusual signals from space that we normally wouldn't think are meant for humans. Study co-lead author Dr Fred Sharpe from the University of California-Davis said: 'They are blowing bubble rings in our direction in an apparent attempt to playfully interact, observe our response, and/or engage in some form of communication.' Now, the institute's WhaleSETI team is studying if this could be a sign that intelligent marine animals are trying to talk to humans, in the same way that aliens from a distant ocean may try to contact Earth. The SETI Institute is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to searching for extraterrestrial intelligence and studying the origins and nature of life in the universe. Scientists analyzed 12 bubble ring episodes that involved 11 different humpback whales between 2019 and 2023 in the wild. These rare reports came from naturalists, citizen scientists, and researchers who revealed what they saw on social media, during interviews, or at scientific conferences. In total, the witnesses spotted 39 bubble rings from whale-watching boats, research vessels, private ships, and airplanes. The study, published in Marine Mammal Science, found that bubble rings were produced in three main contexts: feeding, resting, and curiosity - which was the most common purpose. There were nine instances of humpback whales blowing bubble rings near boats and swimmers. The whales in these cases were consistently seen approaching boats and people in the water without any signs of aggression, splashing their tails and spraying water out of their blowholes. The researchers said this was a clear sign that the humpbacks were relaxed and trying to be playful, leading them to feel comfortable communicating with the humans near them. They typically let out bubble rings from their blowholes that were six to 10 feet in diameter, which floated straight up and look like a smoke ring when they reached the ocean surface. The rings were often aimed right at humans and were paired with other playful behaviors like circling the boats or peeking at swimmers. The humpbacks didn't show anger or fear and lingered after sending out the bubble ring, almost as if waiting for the people to 'answer' their greeting. Scientists concluded that these rings might be a whale's way of saying, 'Hey, let's chat!' or play a game to see how we react, much like a child blowing bubbles to get our attention. The team from SETI said this never-before-seen behavior among humpback whales further supports the assumption that intelligent extraterrestrial life might also seek contact with humans. SETI Institute scientist and study co-author Dr Laurance Doyle said: 'This important assumption is certainly supported by the independent evolution of curious behavior in humpback whales.' Humpback whales have been a constant resource in SETI's search for alien life, with researchers using them as a model of intelligent, non-human creatures which may be living on distant ocean worlds By studying these whales and their new interactions with people as an example of non-human intelligence, WhaleSETI researchers are creating ways of finding and translating potential signals found in space. The institute suggested that bubble rings could be a deliberate attempt by whales to talk with humans they considered peaceful, not just aimless play. According to SETI, this would mimic how extraterrestrials might target satellite receivers on Earth if they wanted to contact humanity. This isn't the first time the WhaleSETI team has connected the behavior of humpbacks to aliens. In 2023, scientists engaged in a 20-minute 'conversation' with a humpback whale named Twain in Alaska. They played whale calls for her and Twain responded with similar calls, matching the timing like a back-and-forth chat. That study showed whales can intentionally interact with humans, helping SETI scientists understand the non-human intelligences they may find in space. 'By integrating our findings into the broader context of Drake's Equation, we aspire to advance our understanding of the factors influencing the emergence of communicative intelligence in extraterrestrial civilizations,' the WhaleSETI team explained in a statement. Drake's Equation is a mathematical formula created in 1961 to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy that can communicate with humans and might be detectable through their signals, like radio waves. If whales show that curiosity and friendly interactions are key to communication, it suggests alien civilizations might also need these traits to develop detectable signals, influencing the numbers in Drake's Equation and guiding SETI's search for life beyond Earth.
