This is The Guardian.

It can often feel like life happens in phases.

You're a kid figuring out the world.

Then a teen trying to find yourself.

Next, you're into a steady job, maybe a family.

And before you know it, retirement.

Well, according to a new study, life's eras map on to key turning points in our brains.

The study from the University of Cambridge has shed new light on the way that the brain ages,

with five distinct phases identified in case studies who've lived into their 90s.

As we head into the festive season and face difficult family dynamics,

take some inspiration from ants. Scientists have found that ants

are the ultimate altruists when it comes to looking after the health of their kin. And spending

time with others usually means catching a cough or a cold, but in another fascinating twist in what

viruses are doing to our bodies beyond the

initial infection, new research has found that a shingles vaccine not only helps prevent dementia,

but may be able to slow its progress too.

So today, I'm sitting down with both Madeleine Finley and Hannah Devlin to talk about the stories that caught our attention this week.

From The Guardian, I'm Ian Sampbell, and this is Science Weekly.

Madeleine, thanks for joining me.

We're going to start today's episode with a paper that's just been published,

looking at the relationship between the shingles vaccine and dementia.

And this is a continuation of work that came out earlier this year, right?

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