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Depressed? Don't exercise much?  Have high blood pressure?  A new study has found that, even if you're just18, your memory could start failing.  Even worse, it may put you at higher risk for Alzheimer's later in life. UCLA researchers and the Gallup organization polled more than 18,000 people about their memory and a variety of lifestyle and health factors previously shown to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, according to newswise.com. They found that many of these risk factors increased the likelihood of self-perceived memory complaints across all adult age groups. If you have high blood pressure , you're at even greater risk. New research suggests that high blood pressure in middle age plays a critical role in whether blood pressure in old age may affect memory and thinking. Risk factors in the population studied -- people ages 18-99 -- included depression, lower education levels, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, diabetes, o...

A fascinating op-ed in The New York Times today.  Do kids like male or female teachers better?  The writer has a unique perspective.  She used to be a man. Jennifer Finney Boylan writes that a recent study found that " girls were more likely to report that they did not think a class would be useful to their future if it was taught by a man, and boys were more likely to say they did not look forward to a particular subject if it was taught by a woman." Say what? Boylan goes on to note that m any scholars suggest that other variables, "like a teacher’s experience and the number of students in his or her class, are much more important to students’ success. And yet the way we relate to our students and our teachers surely has something to do with whether we are male or female." She writes poignantly, " When I began teaching, I was a young man fresh out of graduate school. I know I felt more comfortable being funny in the classroom back then; as a woman I s...

Well, maybe a little.  But a new study just out says workers 60 and older (I'll be there soon) are earning more than their younger counterparts.  Now, I hope that doesn't mean at Burger King! According to smartplanet.com, "Older workers are more educated, more productive, and make more money than ever before. And with the increasing numbers of Baby Boomers hitting age-60 mark, these trends are only going to accelerate." Wish I could say I'd seen it.  I've been out of work for about six months and though there are some bright spots on the horizon, I must confess that I'm pretty cagey about my past experience.  I've even, I hate to admit it, lied about my college graduation and first job dates. But recently I had an interview that went well (we'll see) and I was overjoyed to see that one of the people interviewing me was at least as old as me.  (Of course, the executive above her looked about 20!) I, too, used to think people in their 60s sh...