Category Archives: Life Extension

WASHINGTONThe government agency in charge of upkeep and modernization of Americas nuclear warheads is in line for a big funding boost, thanks to U.S. President Donald Trumps fiscal 2018 budget request.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a quasi-independent entity within the Department of Energy, is marked for $13.9 billion, an increase of $1 billionor 7.8 percentabove the FY17 Omnibus level.

The vast majority of that funding will be going towards NNSAs nuclear weapons programs, which was certainly welcomed by Frank Klotz, the retired U.S. Air Force general who now heads the nuclear agency.

NNSA is engaged in a quintet of major warhead programs, including the W76-1 Life Extension Program, which will extend the life on the U.S. Navys Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile; the B61-12 Life Extension Program, which seeks to combine a number of B61 bomb variants into a more modernized nuclear gravity bomb; the W80-4 Life Extension Program, whose goal is to provide a warhead for a future long-range standoff missile that will replace the U.S. Air Forces current air-launched cruise missile; the IW-1 Life Extension Program, which is meant to create an interoperable warhead for various systems; and the W88 Alteration 370, which will replace the arming, fuzing and firing subsystem for the W88 warhead for the Trident II.

For full FY18 budget coverage,click here.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office warned that NNSA has to understated how much money it will need to complete those warhead modernization programs, in some cases by billions of dollars. Klotz did not address that report directly, but noted that as the weapon programs move forward from early research into higher-level stages of development, they will naturally require more funding.

The budget growth is a recognition of where we are in several of our major weapons programs, as well as the need to revitalize NNSAs infrastructure, Klotz said. The retired general has spent much of the last year campaigning for congressional aid to deal with what he says is $3.7 billion in deferred maintenance costs.

"The cost increases in U.S. nuclear weapons programs are not a result of any desire by President Trump to enhance the U.S. nuclear arsenal, Young said. They simply reflect costs increasing in the weapons programs beyond what the NNSA expected, a completely unsurprising development considering the history of major projects at the agency."

While the weapons programs are getting a boost, nonproliferation programs are not so lucky, which raised concerns within the nonproliferation community.

"The Trump administration's budget request continues a trend that began under President Obama, of cutting programs intended to halt the spread of nuclear weapons in order to fund programs to maintain and upgrade the U.S. nuclear arsenal, Young said.

One interesting program in the budget highlighted by Klotz is the fact NNSA is kicking in $183 million to a partnership led by Office of Sciences Advanced Scientific Computing Research to develop exscale computing power that will allow higher-level research capabilities.

More broadly, nuclear weapons programs from the Pentagon remained on track in the FY18 request. That includes continued funding for the start of the Long Range Stand-Off weapon (LRSO), the new nuclear cruise missile in the early stages of design.

Congressional Democrats and members of the nonproliferation community have taken aim at the weapon as destabilizing, but there does not seem to be much interest from the Trump administration to rethink its requirement.

Also of note, Pentagon budget documents show that the F-35A is scheduled to become certified to carry nuclear weapons in fiscal year 2025. While the goal of carrying the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb has long been planned, this is the firmest date for when that capability will be online.

Meanwhile, the B-21 Raider, the Air Forces new bomber, increases its publicly acknowledged funding from $1.3 billion to $2 billion, although the program remains largely shrouded in secrecy. Budget documents continue to show an operational date of mid-2020s for the stealth plane, which will be used for both nuclear and conventional missions.

A recent estimate from the Congressional Budget Office put the cost of modernizing the nuclear enterprise over the next decade at $400 billion, with other estimates putting the overall nuclear modernization at over $1 trillion when all is said and done.

One quirk in how NNSAs budget worked in recent years involved a Program Support account inside DoD, which would hold onto out-year funding that OMB would then reallocate to NNSA in one-year increments. However, starting this year, that fund disappears. Instead, NNSA will house all that funding internally in what Klotz called a return to regular order.

That money was always part of NNSAs budgeting plan and so will not impact the agencys budget.

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Nuclear weapons agency gets 11 percent funding increase in FY18 ... - DefenseNews.com

Today, Biodesix, Inc. will present the results of a new study demonstrating that VeriStrat testing and other tools can help physicians improve quality care and cancer care planning for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer enabling them to achieve and improve their quality metrics.

The data will be presented at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the International Society For Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, in Boston, MA, USA. Poster Title: Precise prognosis, key to cancer care planning and reaching Medicare quality measures; how the VeriStrat test can help; Argento C.; Arnaud A. Poster Presentation: 3:45PM-7:45PM, May 22 Location: Board K18, Hynes Convention Center, Hall C.

Increased focus on quality of care and pay-for-performance programs have driven new attention to prognosis and cancer care planning. While prognosis is central to quality cancer care planning, prognosis based on observable patient characteristics such as age, performance status and cancer stage is imprecise. VeriStrat can help physicians make more informed survival estimates and improve cancer care planning to reach high quality care, as defined by the various Medicare pay-for-performance quality metrics.

Prognosis is central to advanced care planning, and prognostic test results can help physicians reach Medicare pay-for-performance metrics, while improving quality of life for patients, said David Brunel, CEO of Biodesix.

The study is based on a systematic literature review of publications in NCBI of clinical trials, survey-based studies, guidelines and reports on four oncology topics: the impact of knowing prognosis on treatment decisions; the components of advanced care planning (prognosis, goals of treatment and expected response to treatment); the impact of care planning on quality of life and costs; and current tools and prognostication methods. 308 publications relevant to the topics were reviewed.

Among the studys findings:

Patients with poor prognosis are more likely to favor quality of life over life extension when planning for care. Patients who thought they had at least a 10% chance they would not live 6 months were less likely to favor life-extending therapy over comfort care compared to patients who thought were going to live for at least 6 months.

Despite it being a difficult conversation, patients want to know their prognosis. Studies consistently report that over 95% of patients want to know their prognosis even if it is poor. Precise prognosis is difficult to estimate using normal patient characteristics and the VeriStrat tests prognostic value can help predict prognosis in patients with cancer. The VeriStrat test is a predictive and prognostic blood-based proteomic test that helps guide treatment decisions for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. The test is used to assess disease aggressiveness by characterizing host response to the tumor, classifying patients as either VeriStrat-Good or VeriStrat-Poor.

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Biodesix's VeriStrat Test Is Cost Saving, Can Help Optimize End-of-Life Care - Technology Networks

Summer 2017 will mark the third season of the Junior Master Gardner program. In collaboration with Routt County Master Gardeners and the Yampa River Botanic Park, four Junior Master Gardening workshops will be offered for third- through fifth-graders.

CSU Master Gardeners are available to answer questions each from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays at the Extension Office. Stop by 136 Sixth Street, call 970-870-5241 or email csumgprogram@co.r...

The Junior Master Gardener program was developed by Texas A&M Agri Life Extension Service. It is modeled after the successful Master Gardener program and offers horticultural and environmental science education through fun and creative activities. The program is committed to helping young people become good gardeners and good citizens so they can make a positive contribution to their community, school and family.

Participation in all Junior Master Gardener sessions eight, total with a community service component qualifies a student to become a certified Junior Master Gardener. The Routt County program offers four workshops each summer.

In 2016, 10 junior gardeners enjoyed learning about gardening in Routt County. Four workshops were held Sunday mornings during the summer at the Trillium House at the Yampa River Botanic Park, and students could attend any or all of the sessions. Earlier in the spring, the YRBP had constructed a raised bed specifically for this program. This small garden is located in the Childrens Garden section at the north end of the park.

At the first workshop, participants planted the raised bed, toured the gardens and learned how to keep a garden journal. In the second workshop, the kids experienced the ongoing tasks of maintaining a garden: fertilizing, weeding, and managing pests. The third workshop focused on insects in the garden, with a great presentation from the Routt County Beekeeping Association. During the last workshop, the students harvested the garden and learned how to save seeds, dry and arrange flowers and preserve garden produce.

Six Routt County Master Gardeners, along with Gayle Lehman, YRBP manager, provided instruction and insights into gardening in the valley. Students enjoyed the workshops, and several attended all four sessions. Ruth Peterson, of Hayden, was awarded the Junior Master Gardener certification at the end of the summer, as she, through the course of two summers, had attended all eight workshops.

New sessions for Junior Master Gardening will be offered during summer 2017. Participants will once again design, plant, tend and harvest the Junior Master Gardener plot at the park. In addition to the garden, students will learn how to identify plants, what organisms are found in a garden ecosystem and how to maintain and harvest a garden.

All workshops include short, informational components, with accompanying hands-on activities. Participants at each workshop take home a project to extend their learning. Sessions will be held June 10, July 1 and 22, and Aug. 5, and each runs from 9 a.m. to noon.

The Junior Master Gardener program, open to all Routt County residents, is a great way to get kids interested in gardening. Registration is at the CSU Routt County Extension Office, 136 Sixth St., and sessions require a $12 materials fee.

A snack and water are provided, and sessions are limited to 12 participants .

Jo Smith is a member of the 2013 class of Routt County Master Gardeners. She is a retired biology teacher and enjoys the kid and gardening connections in the Junior Master Gardening program.

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Colorado Master Gardeners: Junior Master Gardeners in Routt County - Steamboat Pilot & Today

Bruce Power and Rolls-Royce have entered into an agreement to implement Rolls-Royces innovative digital analytics tools as part of Bruce Powers Life-Extension Program.

As part of the contract, Rolls-Royce will implement its proven digital technology designed to optimize the operational life of nuclear power plants, known as T-104. The digital technology utilizes worldwide nuclear operating data to provide best-in-class asset management services to the Bruce Power fleet.This enables Rolls-Royce to convert that intelligence into valuable insights to help Bruce Power improve the operational efficiency of its plants.

Big data analytics is a core competency at Rolls-Royce, said Paul Tobin, Executive Vice President at the companys Nuclear Digital Services (NDS) unit. We developed this capability in our aerospace business, where monitoring and mining the enormous data volumes continuously generated by aircraft engines and other aircraft systems has allowed us to achieve massive reductions in operating costs, while concurrently improving safety and reliability. We are now applying the same know-how, coupled with our worldwide nuclear operating data and expertise, to deliver high-value solutions for the nuclear power generation industry.

Rolls-Royce employees will be embedded within Bruce Power so the two organizations can work closely together to use Rolls-Royces powerful, demand-driven forecasting data to improve equipment reliability and reduce inventories and maintenance and materials costs, while improving operational and supply chain practices. The end result is expected to be dramatic operating cost reductions as well as major reductions in capital tied up in parts inventories.

Mike Rencheck, Bruce Powers President and CEO, said Bruce Power is pleased to work with Rolls-Royce on this contract, which promises operating cost savings among other benefits.

By aligning with strong partners we can get the work done that will allow us to continue supplying 30 per cent of Ontarios electricity at 30 per cent less than the average cost to generate residential power, Rencheck said.

Expanding partnerships with local presence

To support its growing relationship with Bruce Power, Rolls-Royce has also announced it is opening its third Nuclear Services office in Canada, in Port Elgin.

Rolls-Royce has been a key partner to Bruce Power on a number of projects and we are pleased to further strengthen our commitment to plant life-extension work with a local presence and a team on hand to support Bruce Power, and be part of the community, Tobin said.

The Port Elgin office is expected to be the focal point over the multi-year implementation of Rolls-Royces T-104 optimization program across Bruce Power. It will draw support from other Rolls-Royce facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Peterborough, Ontario.

The importance of expanding our local supply chain network to provide low-cost services close to site has been a commitment of mine over the past year, Rencheck said. I applaud Rolls-Royce for their expansion into the region. They will be a great community asset, creating high-skilled jobs, supporting community economic development and enabling innovation in the region.

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Bruce Power, Rolls-Royce sign agreement | Kincardine News - Kincardine News

A key component in the Defense Waste Processing Facility, or DWPF, at the U.S. Department of Energys Savannah River Site that had reached its end of life was removed from the facility May 17, and then placed into an on-site underground equipment storage vault after 14 years in operation.

Melter 2, encased in a 75-ton, 1-inch-thick carbon steel storage box, was lifted by crane from the DWPF onto a specially designed railcar then transported to the underground storage vault about 300 yards away.

The melter reached the end of its operational life in February, nearly seven times longer than its design life. Part of the reason for Melter 2s longevity is the critical life extension work conducted by SRS engineers and scientists, including work by the Savannah River National Laboratory.

Jack Craig, DOE-Savannah River manager, said Melter 2 is a success story for SRS and for the Department of Energy.

Because of the ingenuity of our technical experts, this melter operated more than a decade beyond its original design life, he said.

Melter 2 now joins Melter 1 in the underground structure. The melter storage box provides confinement and shielding for the melter as well as a handling system for moving it. Each box is about 27 feet long, 16 feet wide and 21 feet high.

The melter is a teapot-shaped vessel that treats high-level radioactive liquid waste being stored in SRS waste tanks by blending it with a borosilicate glass, or frit, to form a molten glass mixture, a process known as vitrification.

The mixture is poured into stainless steel canisters, which are decontaminated and stored safely on-site until a permanent storage facility is identified. Melter 2 poured 2,819 canisters, or 16 million pounds of glass, in its lifetime.

The liquid waste system has been in an outage since February to prepare for the removal of Melter 2, replace it with Melter 3 and complete tie-ins to the Salt Waste Processing System, which is scheduled to be operational in December 2018. Melter 3 is currently undergoing final testing and will be moved into the DWPF later this spring.

The system outage presented an optimum time to perform preventive and corrective maintenance on systems that cannot be shut down for extended periods during melter operations, Craigsaid.

SRR President and Project Manager Tom Foster said replacing the melter is a highly complex and technical task that takes extraordinary expertise and precise execution to complete.

I have compared the complexity of this melter replacement and liquid waste system outage to be like sending a man to the moon. And I dont think thats far off, he said. It took outstanding skill to prepare for this important transport as well as executing the move itself with a heightened attention to detail."

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Melter 2 leaves Savannah River Site's DWPF after 14 years - Aiken Standard

Macchiarini gave five patients in Russiaartificial windpipes; three of them have died.

Lars Granstrand, SVT

By Alla Astakhova May. 16, 2017 , 5:30 PM

After Paolo Macchiarinis star fell in Sweden, the Italian surgeon still had a place to shine: Russia. The Karolinska Institute (KI) in Stockholm fired him in March 2016 for multiple ethical violations, including "breach of KIs fundamental values" and "scientific negligence." But Russia had long showered Macchiarini with funding and opportunities to perform his experimental surgeries to implant artificial tracheas, and it allowed him to stay. Now, a year later, his Russian refuge has ended as well.

On 30 March, it became clear that the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) would not renew its funding for Macchiarinis work, which now focuses on the esophagus rather than the trachea. The decision came 9 days after Nature Communications retracted a paper by Macchiarini that documented successful esophagus transplantations in rats. Minutes of a meeting made public last week show that Kazan Federal University (KFU), Macchiarinis current employer, decided to end his research project there on 20 April, effectively firing him.

They have probably realized that its all based on nothing but hot air, says Pierre Delaere of the University of Leuven in Belgium, one of the first to criticize Macchiarinis work. Yet despite a passionate plea by four Swedish doctors who blew the whistle on Macchiarinis work at Karolinska in 2014, Russian authorities appear to have no plans to launch a misconduct investigation of his work in Russia.

Macchiarini has not said publicly what he plans to do next, and did not respond to an interview request from Science.

Once considered a pioneer of regenerative surgery, Macchiarini aimed to give patients whose tracheas had been damaged a new windpipe. Seeded with stem cells, it was supposed to grow into a new, fully functional organ. (He initially used donor tracheas as a basis, but later switched to an artificial scaffold.) But he has been accused of painting a false picture of his patients in scientific papers, several of which have been retracted; operating without ethical approval; and lying on his CV. At least six of the eight artificial trachea recipients have died. In Sweden, where the case has plunged science into a crisis, investigations continue into allegations including involuntary manslaughter.

They have probably realized that its all based on nothing but hot air.

Macchiarinis parallel life in Russia began in February 2010, when he conducted a master class in regenerative surgery at the invitation of Mikhail Batin, president of theScience for Life Extension Foundation(SLEF), which aims to make radical extension of life a Russian national goal, according to its website. Eight months later, Macchiarini agreed to do a trachea transplantation, in tandem with surgeon Vladimir Parshin at the Boris Petrovsky Research National Center for Surgery in Moscow. Glowing television coverage quickly made Macchiarini a scientific star.

SLEF then helped secure a $2.6 million megagrant from the Russian government, aimed at luring foreign talent, and additional funding from Kuban State Medical University (KSMU), a well-known medical school in Krasnodar, some 1400 kilometers south of Moscow. Macchiarini carried out four artificial trachea transplantations at Krasnodar Regional Hospital No. 1. In 2014, his work was featured in a permanent exhibition about Russias scientific and technological prowess at the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow.

But dramatic footage of one Russian patient eventually triggered Macchiarinis downfall in Sweden.Experimenten,a three-part documentary broadcast in January 2016, claimed that the patient, Yulia Tuulik, didnt have a life-threatening condition; her trachea had been damaged in a car accident, but she was able to breathe through a stoma. Macchiarini and his colleagues presented Tuuliks operation as a medical triumph at a press conference. But her trachea later collapsed, and she received a replacement, which didnt work well either; she died in 2014. Two other Krasnodar patients have died as well; the only survivor had his transplant removed.

AfterExperimentenaired in Sweden and a few publications about Macchiarini appeared in the Russian press, an audit by the Federal Service for Supervision of Healthcare of the Krasnodar hospital revealed that he had operated without a Russian medical license and had filed no documentation about the materials in the artificial windpipe with the state register. The hospital was ordered to correct those violations, but no sanctions were imposed.

Macchiarinis defenders have interpreted the criticism as an attack on Russia; a January article on a portal for Russian doctors, for instance, suggested that Macchiarini had come under fire in Sweden because of the success of the laboratory he founded in Krasnodar. Im outraged not so much by criticism of myself, as by criticism of the conditions and standards of research in Russia, Macchiarini himself told the website Lenta.ru.

Even before Macchiarinis megagrant ended, RSF provided him with a new grant for some $1 million annually to develop a tissue-engineered esophagus and test it in nonhuman primates. In 2016, Macchiarini asked RSF to transfer the grant from KSMU to KFU, 800 kilometers east of Moscow in Tatarstan. Since then he has worked out of the limelight.

But KFU soon grew uneasy. In a December 2016 newspaper interview, KFU Rector Ilshat Gafurov said that Macchiarini would not carry out operations at KFU as long as he did not have the required papers, and would not even see patients. According to RSFs website, Macchiarini has given 10 baboons small pieces of artificial esophagusat the Research Institute of Medical Primatology in Sochi, a city on the Black Sea; all supposedly recovered. Data from the experiment have not been published, but KFU can guarantee that the results, whatever they may be, will reflect the real state of affairs, will be truthful, a spokesperson for the university says.

We hope that a police investigation is initiated in Russia and that Macchiarini will face criminal charges.

Last December, the four original whistle-blowers in Sweden sent several Russian government agencies a 57-page petition asking for a criminal investigation of Macchiarini because he systematically falsified, omitted or glorified data from his operations in Sweden to obtain an ethical approval for his work in Krasnodar. None of the agencies has responded, says one of the authors, Matthias Corbascio of Karolinska University Hospital. Corbascio welcomes Macchiarinis dismissal but says it should only be the beginning: We hope that a police investigation is initiated in Russia and that Macchiarini will face criminal charges. (A spokesperson for the Russian health ministry says it has never received the document.)

Macchiarinis Russian patients or their relatives could sue the Krasnodar hospital, says Alexander Saversky, president of the Russian League for the Protection of Patients, if there is strong suspicion that the operations did more harm than good. So far, nobody has done that. Theres no point, Natalia Tuulik, Yulias mother, told a newspaper: The court will not return my daughter to me.

With reporting by Martin Enserink.

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Superstar surgeon fired, again, this time in Russia - Science Magazine

VALLEY What makes native shrubs better than introduced plants? Lets thing about the advantages they offer. Native shrubs fit their native environment, including climate and soils quite well. They are naturally adapted to their specific climate.

When correctly sited, they can be ideal plants for a sustainable landscape that requires reduced external inputs such as watering, fertilizer, and pruning. In order to realize these benefits, the planting site must approximate the natural environmental conditions of the plant in its native habitat.

Another benefit of using native plants in landscapes is that they may attract a wide variety of wildlife. This can include mammals, birds and butterflies. With urbanization reducing the biodiversity as habitat is used for building, native plants, even on a small scale, can maintain biodiversity.

When deciding where to plant these shrubs there are things that need to be considered. The variation in elevation and topography offers a variety of habitats. To maximize survival and minimize external inputs, plants should be selected to match the sites life zone and the plants moisture, light and soil requirements. Even if a plant is in the correct life zone the aspect (north, south, east, west facing) of the site should match moisture requirements.

Growing native shrubs does not exclude the use of adapted non-native plants. There are many non-native plants well adapted to Colorados climate. They can be used in a natural landscape if the soil, water and light needs are similar. Some adjustments can be made to help such as using irrigation. Dry land plants can be used in non-irrigated pockets within the landscape.

Colorado can be divided into five life zones, three of which include the San Luis Valley. The Upper Sonoran life zone is located below 8,000 feet in the San Luis Valley. This zone contains semi-desert shrub-lands and pinon pine-juniper woodlands at the upper limit.

The montane zone covers 8,000 to 9,500 feet in elevation. Aspen woodlands, and Douglas Fir trees inhabit these areas. Dense forests of Subalpine fir and Englemann spruce from 9,500 to 11,500 feet include areas of the San Luis Valley.

A successful native planting may need supplemental water after planting. Once the plants are established the watering can be reduced or eliminated if the plants are in their native environment. Container grown shrubs can be planted at any time during the growing season.

Using native shrubs offers many benefits in addition to reduce maintenance. They are part of the natural heritage and the ecosystems of Colorado and the San Luis Valley. The plants make Colorado unique and are distinct between different parts of Colorado. Native plant gardens are wildlife friendly and each plant contributes to the biodiversity of the community.

For more information, call the Colorado State University Extension, San Luis Valley Area Office at 719-852-7381.

Extension programs are available to all without discrimination, Colorado State University

Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Colorado counties cooperating.

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Eye on Extension: Using native shrubs in landscapes - Valley Courier

Its not quite eternal youth but scientists have discovered how humans can slow down the aging process and shave almost a decade off their biological agevigorous exercise. In a study of more than 5,000 adults in the U.S., a researcher found those who exercise regularly are younger on a cellular level than those who lead sedentary or moderately active lifestyles.

Research published in the journal Preventative Medicine in April considered data on 5,823 people who had participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2002. The participants were asked demographic and lifestyle questions, including how often they exercised.

They also looked at telomere length. Telomeres are protective caps found at the ends of chromosomes that help keep them stablenot unlike how the plastic sheath at the end of shoelaces stops them from fraying. Every time a cell divides, telomeres get shorter. Eventually they become too small to protect the chromosomes and cells get old and dieresulting in aging.

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English women athletes training in Battersea Park, London, 21st September 1937. Regular, vigorous exercise makes people up to nine years younger. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Shorter telomeres are related to many age-related diseases, including cancer, stroke and cardiovascular disease.

In the study, exercise science professor Larry Tucker compared telomere length with levels of physical activity. His findings showed significant differences between those who did regular, vigorous exercise and those who did not.

Just because youre 40, doesnt mean youre 40 years old biologically, he said in a statement. We all know people that seem younger than their actual age. The more physically active we are, the less biological aging takes place in our bodies.

He discovered adults with a high level of physical activity had a biological aging advantage of nine years compared to sedentary adults. When compared with those who did a moderate amount of exercise, the difference for highly active adults was seven years.

A high level of physical activity was constituted as running between 30 and 40 minutes per day, at least five days per week.

Overall, physical activity was significantly and meaningfully associated with telomere length in U.S. men and women, he wrote. Evidently, adults who participate in high levels of physical activity tend to have longer telomeres, accounting for years of reduced cellular aging compared to their more sedentary counterparts.

He said exactly why exercise appears to preserve telomere length is not known, but added it could be linked with inflammation and oxidative stressexercise is known to suppress inflammation and stress over time.

If you want to see a real difference in slowing your biological aging, it appears that a little exercise wont cut it. You have to work out regularly at high levels, he said. We know that regular physical activity helps to reduce mortality and prolong life, and now we know part of that advantage may be due to the preservation of telomeres.

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Life Extension: Exercise Has Anti-aging Benefits, Making You Years Younger on a Cellular Level - Newsweek

Courtesy Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington

The fruits of so-called free enterprise have long been debated in economics. The goal has been wealth or human welfare at least since Adam Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations in 1776. But what exactly is human welfare? And how do we measure wealth?

The obvious way: money. Simply measure how much money a society or individual earns or possesses, because money is so damn simple to count. But various economists have rejected simple as simplistic. Do we not care about values other than money? Education, say? Freedom? Health?

Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen, for example, has long proposed we instead use a human development index that includes variables beyond monetary wealth.

And in using money as your key metric, you miss the side effects of becoming a latter day Uncle Scrooge, swimming in coin.

Consider the potentially corrosive effects of money on a fellow like Scrooge theres experimental evidence that rich people are more likely to break the law while driving, help themselves to candy meant for children, cheat in a game of chance or lie, as demonstrated in a Making Sen$e story we did a few years ago. Or more broadly and starkly, imagine that a town becomes rich by building a chemical plant, but pollution from the plant poisons its citizens for decades to come.

The most dramatic finding is that U.S. counties vary in life expectancy by as much as 20 years.

There is, however, one measure that seems relatively unobjectionable: life expectancy at birth. Leaving aside the thorny issue of life extension for its own sake, what is more desirable than more life?

Which brings us to the extraordinary new interactive map from the University of Washingtons Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation a county by county report on life expectancy in the United States as it has developed from 1980 to 2014.

The most dramatic finding is that U.S. counties vary in life expectancy by as much as 20 years. At the bottom: Oglala Lakota County, in South Dakota. The area, which includes the Pine Ridge Native American reservation, has a 2014 life expectancy of 66.8 years lower than the average of 67.2 in Sudan.

At the top, a group of ski valley counties in central Colorado like Summit, where the life expectancy is 86.8 years two years higher than any country on earth. (Aspen residents need not feel jealous; their Pitkin County has an average life expectancy of 86.5 years.)

We asked the chief researcher behind the project, Ali Mokdad, what most surprised him.

in many places in this country, life expectancy is stagnant, only slightly improving, and its not keeping up with other Western countries were competitive with.

First, he said: the disparity is increasing between the lowest and the highest. And second: in many places in this country, life expectancy is stagnant, only slightly improving, and its not keeping up with other Western countries were competitive with.

As to why Oglala Lakota County in South Dakota is at the very bottom of the life expectancy, Mokdad has a predictable answer.

Socioeconomic factors: education and income. An educated woman is more likely to seek health care or have access to health care and insurance,

In the U.S., life expectancies can very by as much as 20 years depending on county. Photo by Sally Anscombe/via Getty Images

For the Colorado counties where life expectancy is higher than any country in the world, its the reverse. They tend to be affluent, have health insurance, access to good health centers. If you click on the obesity visualization, youll see that obesity is very low.

So what, in the end, are the key factors influencing life expectancy?

The opioid pandemic is certainly one of them, Mokdad says, but 74 percent of the difference between counties hinges on four lifestyle choices that are, in his words, preventable: blood pressure, obesity, smoking and physical inactivity.

Where does your county rank? Take a look at the interactive map to find out.

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How does where you live affect your life expectancy? | PBS NewsHour - PBS NewsHour

NESN.com

Nick Saban's Massive Contract Extension Could Tie Him To Alabama For Life NESN.com The University of Alabama football coach signed a lucrative, three-year contract extension Tuesday, according to the Alabama athletics website. Saban's extension could tie him to Alabama through the 2024 season and will keep him among the highest-paid ... Alabama Approves Contract Extension for Nick Saban Worth $65 MillionNew York Times Alabama coach Nick Saban agrees to three-year contract extensionSECcountry.com Nick Saban signs extension through 2024 season, will make over $11M in 2017Yahoo Sports USA TODAY -USA TODAY -AL.com all 126 news articles »

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Nick Saban's Massive Contract Extension Could Tie Him To Alabama For Life - NESN.com