Senior Women Web

"Do scientists have specific recommendations for effective ways to boost cognition in healthy, older adults? Are there merits to the claimed benefits of the brain games and if so, do older adults benefit from brain-game learning in the same ways younger people do? How large are the gains associated with computer-based cognitive exercises? Are the gains restricted to specific skills or does general cognitive aptitude improve? How does playing games compare with other proposed means of mitigating age-related declines, such as physical activity and exercise, meditation, or social engagement?"    more »

The Voting Information Project offers technology tools that give voters access to the customized information they need to cast a ballot on or before Election Day. For instance: A short messaging service (SMS) provides voters with election information via text message. By texting "VOTE" or "VOTO" to 69520, voters can find polling places, contact information for local election officials. more »

Rose Madeline Mula writes: As a writer, email has been a special boon to me. In the predigital age, when I wanted to submit an article to publishers, I had to take my typed originals to Staples or Kinko's to make copies and snail mail them to editors, along with return-addressed stamped envelopes. Expensive! Slow! Today I have no copying costs, no postage, no gas costs or waiting for mail responses. I can now receive rejections cheaply and quickly. Oh, wait! That's not good! more »

As fears of an Ebola outbreak rise, federal agencies are taking steps to protect and inform the public. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is taking the lead on most aspects of the effort — issuing containment guidelines to hospitals and other health workers, training airport personnel on screening methods, and creating uniform lab tests to diagnose the deadly disease. But as in all public health emergencies, state and local public health departments are the nation’s first line of defense. more »