People in developed nations are living as much as a decade longer than their parents did as a result of staying healthy to a more advanced age, according to a new review published in Nature.

The better health in older age stems from public health efforts to improve living conditions and prevent disease, and from improved medical interventions, said author James Vaupel, who heads Duke University's Center on the Demography of Aging.

Over the past 170 years, in the countries with the highest life expectancies, the average life span has grown at a rate of 2.5 years per decade, or about 6 hours per day.

I have an issue with the ladies of Hollywood. As a scientist, I find diamond a most useful material, and the way these glitterate use these stones for personal adornment does, I think, only serve to grossly inflate their price.
 
 Diamond is famous for two properties, firstly its wonderful transparency and secondly its hardness, which are put to good use in the diamond anvil cell.
 

Easter is the most important festival in the Christian calendar as it defines a number of theological doctrines. However, Easter has always been a movable feast which can take place on any date between 22 March and 25 April inclusive. The actual methods for calculating Easter have changed down the centuries and, whereas the Gregorian calendar is probably the simplest solar calendar we will ever have, the ecclesiastical calendar on which Easter is based seems to have got ever more obscure and intricate.

I have yet to be bored watching the 27-and-a-half-hour extended versions of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy with the kids. It is truly an awe-inspiring cinematic masterpiece.

There is, however, one persistently annoying aspect of the trilogy that I am petitioning the studio to change on the next release and for the prequels that will appear soon. What’s that one annoying thing about the Lord of the Rings? You know what it is…

"To Contribute to Mankind"

Dr. Beatrice Hill Tinsley invented the galaxies that I crash. Before I was born, she laid the foundations for the work that changed our view of galaxies as mere bundles of stars into the current cosmological view of protogalaxies that formed, that evolve, that continuously have stars dying and stars being born. She codified how galaxies evolve.

Scientists have development of a new carbon dating method to determine the age of mummies,  artwork, and other relics without damaging them. 

Presenting at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), they say the method, called Non-Destructive Carbon Dating, could allow scientific analysis of hundreds of artifacts that until now were off limits because museums and private collectors did not want the objects damaged.

Feeling optimistic may actually help you maintain your health, say psychologists writing in Psychological Science.

The authors claim they have found "the first evidence that changes in optimistic expectancies are accompanied by changes in immunity, as well as the first evidence for a mechanism by which this effect occurs."

The conclusion is based on a study of how law students' expectations about their schooling affected their immune responses.

According to a new study in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, common marinades used to flavor up barbecued meats may be more than just tasty sauces – they can also provide a major source of natural antioxidants, which help prevent dozens of serious diseases.  

The findings, researchers say, are particularly relevant given concerns about the potential health risks and toxicity associated with the use of some synthetic antioxidants. This concern has resulted in an ongoing search for safe and inexpensive antioxidants of natural origins, including those found in herbs and spices.

Research published in Behavioral and Brain Functions suggests that scientists may one day be able to cure phobias, everything from fear of spiders to heights, with a simple injection.

Researchers studied the cerebellum, an area of the brain thought to be involved with the development of fear. Using classical conditioning, Masayuki Yoshida and Ruriko Hirano from the University of Hiroshima taught goldfish to become afraid of a light flashed in their eyes.

By administering a low voltage electric shock every time a light was shone, the fish were taught to associate the light with being shocked, which slowed their hearts – the typical fish reaction to a fright.

A new approach to water desalination called ion concentration polarization may lead to small, portable desalination units that could be powered by solar cells or batteries and deliver enough fresh water to supply the needs of a family or small village.

As an added bonus, the system would also remove many contaminants, viruses and bacteria at the same time.

Fresh water is often in high demand and short supply following a natural disaster like the Haiti earthquake or Hurricane Katrina. In both of those instances, the disaster zones were near the
sea, but converting salty seawater to potable fresh water usually requires a large amount of dependable electrical power and large-scale desalination plants — neither of which were available in the disaster areas.