Living Longer

Stories

Stories 21 - 30 of 30

<< Prev 1 2

September 2007
- Global Infant Mortality Rate Lowest in Years
  
  Reuters | Sep 13, 07 3:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Infant mortality rates have dropped to new lows worldwide, according to UNICEF. Vaccination drives, education supporting breastfeeding, and anti-malarial measures helped drive last year's death rate of children under 5 down to 72 per 1,000. It stood at 93 per 1,000 in 1993. "It could be that this is the tipping point when we now see a dramatic decline," said a UNICEF official. More »
- US Life Expectancy Hits Record
  
  Reuters | Sep 12, 07 4:58 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Americans can expect to live longer than ever before, according to figures out today, thanks to falling rates of deaths from heart disease, cancer, and stroke. In 2005, US life expectancy increased to almost 78 years, the country’s highest number ever—but only 42nd in the world. The news wasn't all good: Infant mortality increased from the previous year. More »
- Educated People Less Likely to Die of Cancer
  
  Reuters | Sep 12, 07 2:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - People who attend college have a better chance of surviving cancer, according to a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute . Mortality rates—especially for lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancer—were markedly lower among people with more than 12 years of education. More »
- Let Them Eat Less Cake, Live Longer
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Sep 3, 07 4:03 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Once a fringe theory, calorie restriction is now the latest front in the boomer battle for never-ending youth. Increasing numbers of people are restricting their diet to a quarter of what they theoretically need in an effort to increase lifespan. "You have to be willing to stick to it," one practitioner tells the San Francisco Chronicle. More »
August 2007
- US Lags in Life Expectancy
  
  Associated Press | Aug 12, 07 1:47 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The US has slipped to 42nd place in international rankings of life expectancy, the AP reports. Two decades ago, the US was in 11th place. The downgrade is partially due to the fact that the more countries are included in the survey, but rising health insurance costs, skyrocketing obesity rates, high infant mortality, and racial disparities are most likely to blame for putting the US behind most industrialized nations. More »
May 2007
- Lefty Women Die Younger
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | May 2, 07 12:01 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Left-handed women have a dramatically higher risk of mortality from just about every disease, a new study reported in the Telegraph shows. Dutch researchers who followed more than 12,000 women for nearly 13 years found lefties had a 40% greater chance of dying from any cause, 70% higher from cancer, and 30% higher from circulatory diseases. More »
April 2007
- Depression Causes Preemies
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Apr 4, 07 8:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Most new mothers with post-partum depression are ill long before their babies are born, the first study of clinical depression during pregnancy has found. The research, conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, shows that depression, triggered by a natural increase in stress hormones during pregnancy, is a "hidden" cause of infant mortality, the FT reports. More »
October 2006
- Americans Living Longer Than Ever
  
  WebMD | Oct 17, 06
  
  Break out the balloons and confetti. The nation's population reached a new milestone Tuesday -- 300 million -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau. If the idea of living in an increasingly crowded country doesn't put you in a celebratory mood, consider this: The dramatic rise in population over the last century has been accompanied by an even more phenomenal rise in life expectancy. When the U.S. population reached 100 million in 1915, the average lifespan was 54 years. When we hit 200 million in 1967, it was around 70. Today, the average lifespan of someone living in the U.S. is just months...
May 2006
- Top 15 Ways to Live Longer
  
  Wired | May 5, 06
  
  It's been said that a man dies simply because he doesn't know how to live longer. Well, thank goodness for progress. People are living longer these days. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1920 the average life expectancy was 54. Today, people can expect to live to 78. Feel free to speculate about why -- better food supply, better medical care, better hygiene or any number of other factors. It's not totally clear to scientists how they all add up. But what we do know is that studies are finding genetics don't tell the whole story when it comes to which diseases will...
March 2006
- The Fountain of Health
  
  MIT Technology Review | Mar 1, 06
  
  For the better part of two decades, Richard Weindruch, a professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has fed half of a colony of 78 rhesus monkeys a diet adequate in nutrition but severely limited in calories -- 30 percent fewer calories than are fed to the control group. Scientists have known for nearly 70 years that such calorie restriction extends the life span of rodents, and Weindruch is determined to find out whether it can extend the life span of one of man's closest relatives, too. It's too early to know the answer for certain. The monkeys in Weindruch's lab are only...