Slowly Aging Americans, The HAMMER Asteroid Spacecraft, and Elevator Mirrors

Curiosity Weekly

Warner Bros. Discovery

Self-improvement, Science, Astronomy, Education

4.6 • 935 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2018

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Learn about how Americans are aging more slowly than ever; how the HAMMER spacecraft could save our planet from killer asteroids; and why there are mirrors next to elevators.

Americans Are Aging More Slowly Than Ever by Reuben Westmaas

Levine, M. E., & Crimmins, E. M. (2018). Is 60 the New 50? Examining Changes in Biological Age Over the Past Two Decades. Demography, 55(2), 387–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-017-0644-5
Basaraba, S. (2012, November 28). How Lifestyle and Habits Affect Biological Aging. Verywell Health; Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-biological-age-2223375
Find Out Your Real Age - Sharecare. (2019). Sharecare. https://www.sharecare.com/static/realage
Michael Roizen, MD | Cleveland Clinic. (2018). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/staff/6161-michael-roizen
Survey Content Brochure. (1999). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/survey_content_99_16.pdf
Older Americans are experiencing ‘delayed aging’ — and better health. (2018, March 15). USC News. https://news.usc.edu/138495/older-americans-experiencing-delayed-aging-better-health/

The HAMMER Spacecraft Could Save the World from Killer Asteroids by Elizabeth Howell

OSIRIS-REx. (2016). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
Barbee, B. W., Syal, M. B., Dearborn, D., Gisler, G., Greenaugh, K., Howley, K. M., Leung, R., Lyzhoft, J., Miller, P. L., Nuth, J. A., Plesko, C., Seery, B. D., Wasem, J., Weaver, R. P., & Zebenay, M. (2018). Options and uncertainties in planetary defense: Mission planning and vehicle design for flexible response. Acta Astronautica, 143, 37–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.10.021
Scientists design conceptual asteroid deflector and evaluate it against massive potential threat | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. (2018). Llnl.gov. https://www.llnl.gov/news/scientists-design-conceptual-asteroid-deflector-and-evaluate-it-against-massive-potential
Planetary Defense Coordination Office. (2011). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/overview
Planetary Defense Frequently Asked Questions. (2011). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/faq
JPL Small-Body Database Browser. (2020). Nasa.gov. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi

There Are Mirrors Next to Elevators for a Specific Reason by Joanie Faletto

Opinion | Why Waiting Is Torture. (2012, August 18). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/opinion/sunday/why-waiting-in-line-is-torture.html
Wald, C. (2015, March 5). Why Your Brain Hates Slowpokes. Nautilus. http://nautil.us/issue/22/slow/why-your-brain-hates-slowpokes

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Cody Gough.
0:04.8	And I'm Ashley Hamer.
0:05.8	We're from Curiosity.com, and we've got three stories to help you get smarter in just a few minutes.
0:10.5	Today, we'll talk about how Americans are aging more slowly than ever, a new spacecraft
0:15.2	that can save our planet from killer asteroids, and tell you what you don't know about elevators.
0:20.3	Let's satisfy some curiosity.
0:22.1	Okay, Cody, so you know everyone's living longer these days
0:25.0	than they were like a century ago.
0:26.0	But did you know that Americans are actually aging more slowly
0:30.0	than they did even 20 years ago?
0:31.0	Yeah, I saw this study and it was kind of confusing at first, but you need to understand
0:36.0	the difference between chronological and biological age.
0:39.8	So you celebrate your chronological age on your birthday every year but your biological age
0:44.7	represents the actual wear and tear that your body has endured. So your biological
0:49.8	age is how old your body seems like if you're a regular smoker then you might seem older because of the shape your lungs are in and that leads us into the study.
0:58.0	Right, exactly. So researchers from Yale and University of Southern California actually looked at the biological
1:03.7	aging of a bunch of people and they figured out that Americans are really
1:07.9	actually aging slower. Men in particular seem to be aging more slowly
1:12.4	than those from the generation
1:13.7	before them
1:14.8	partly because of changes in smoking, obesity, and medication use.
1:18.8	So that could mean according to the researchers that women haven't seen as much of an improvement because they were already making healthy life traces or that women are already closer to the limits of human life expectancy than men.
	...

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