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Older adults are commonly subjected to a variety of negative stereotypes – bumbling, helpless, cranky, unapproachable, child-like, to name a few. Ageism has real mental and physical health consequences, including a decreased will to live, less desire to live a healthy lifestyle, an impaired recovery from illness, increased stress and a shortened life span. “Ageism remains one of the most institutionalized forms of prejudice today,” according to Todd Nelson, Ph.D., professor of psychology at...

This article originally appeared in the Mexican edition of VICE Magazine, June/July. "Hi my name is David," said a small boy sarcastically, causing his friends to laugh at his use of English. "Motherfucker." David is nine years old, has a buzzcut, a cut off t-shirt, and is growing up in Ciudad Juárez — the Mexican border city which claimed the dubious title of the world's most violent metropolis in the world three years running from 2008 to 2010. When the topic turned to his barrio, the...

In light of the tragic mass shooting at an Orlando gay club, the political debate is back on over whether U.S. gun laws are too lenient. Addressing the situation June 12, President Obama said that “we need to keep guns like the ones used last night out of the hands of terrorists or other violent criminals.” It’s fair to say that guns like the AR-15-style rifle that helped kill 49 people and injure at least 53 more in Orlando should be kept out of the hands of anyone—not just those who commit...

At a time when Democrats and Republicans in Congress can’t agree on just about anything, there is one issue that unites them: the urgent need for criminal justice reform. A Senate bill on the issue has attracted an impressive 37 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act has gained support from figures as politically diverse as the Koch brothers and President Barack Obama for its goals of reforming mandatory minimum sentences, reducing prison...

My wife and I recently packed our 2-year-old twins into their car seats and moved them halfway across the country to a new home in Minnesota. During the five or so days we spent on the road with them, we had ample opportunity to reflect on what sorts of terrible harms we were inflicting on their fragile little toddler brains. Did they understand what was going on? Would they like the new place when they got there? Were we destroying their chances of ever getting into Harvard by letting them...

A new study finds that strategy-based reasoning training can improve the cognitive performance for those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Mild cognitive impairment is an acknowledged preclinical stage for those at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers from the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas discovered training can mitigate loss of cognitive abilities that commonly accompany aging. [For more of this story, written by Rick Nauert, go to ...

One percentage point. That's all that remains of the gap between graduation rates for African-American students and all students in San Diego Unified. In April the district announced it was on track to hit a record graduation rate among large California districts: 92 percent overall. Data released Friday shows San Diego's African-American students will graduate at about that same rate — 91 percent — essentially closing the achievement gap when it comes to graduation. The rate for Latinos has...

The image of black and white children hand-in-hand is possibly the most well-known and most often quoted line from Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech. Over the years, black and white youngsters playing together has evolved from a civil-rights leader’s vision of racial equality to a clothing retailer’s marketing campaign , and in the process spawned a cultural meme—signaling everything from innocence and hope to a world free of interpersonal racism. Yet black and white childhood...

Just 15 minutes of exercise a day may lower older adults' risk of early death by one-fifth, a new study suggests. The research included more than 123,000 people, aged 60 and older. The study's mean follow-up time was 10 years. Compared to those who were inactive, those with low levels of activity were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period, the investigators found. In addition, for people with medium and high levels of physical activity, the risk of dying during the study was...

Fathers play a unique and important role in their children's development, a new report shows. Just in time for Father's Day, the American Academy of Pediatrics report says U.S. dads are more involved in child care than ever before. At the same time, studies show that those involved fathers have important effects on kids' health and well-being. "From everyone's standpoint, the more we can do to encourage fathers' involvement, the better," said Dr. Michael Yogman, a co-author of the report.

A day after Judge Aaron Persky, of California Superior Court, sentenced a Stanford University athlete to six months in jail on a sexual assault conviction, calls for his ouster grew deafening. Prosecutors had recommended that the defendant, Brock Turner, a star swimmer, be sentenced to six years in state prison, and public sympathy for the victim was running high, especially after she delivered an impassioned 7,000-word statement in the courtroom and online. After the sentencing last...

Here is a report from Israel about supplying psychological support at the scenes of violence against humans. If I get in trouble for re-pasting the content, I'll take the blame--this is VERY IMPORTANT! I have wondered why there are not Emergency Rooms for people in psychological crises--this is yet another version of that dream. Thank you, people of Israel and to Israel 21C newsletter. I have posted the beginning of the article below in italics: Thirty Israeli EMTs, paramedics and doctors...