How do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats? Scientists have long suspected that the answer to the so-called “French paradox” lies in red wine. Now, the results of a new study bring them closer to understanding why. Writing this week in the online, [...]

Science starts with a blank page and a big idea. Then comes the hard part: writing it all down. The process of securing funding takes months — sometimes up to a year — and there’s not always a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes there’s a brick wall. More often, there’s a closed [...]

Reduce, recycle and rebuild is as important to the most basic component of the human body, the cell, as it is to the environment. And a University of Florida study shows just how much the body benefits when it “goes green,” at least if you’re a rat: Cutting calories helps rodents live longer by boosting [...]

The University of Florida’s Institute on Aging has received a multimillion-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. UF is one of 10 centers in the country to receive the prestigious award, which provides $3.9 million over the next five years to fund aging research [...]

With a prescription of regular structured exercise, sedentary elderly are able to safely improve their physical function and may reduce the likelihood they will experience difficulty walking a quarter mile, according to findings from a multicenter pilot study led by the University of Florida Institute on Aging. UF researchers announced the results of the Lifestyle [...]

Older adults who consume a few alcoholic drinks a week are more likely to ward off heart disease and live longer, a new multicenter study led by University of Florida researchers shows, but not for the reasons many might think. In a surprising twist, alcohol’s anti-inflammatory properties alone do not explain the reduced risk of [...]

Elderly patients who develop anemia risk serious health problems that increase the odds they will be hospitalized and nearly double the chance they will die, according to findings from a long-term study by a multi-institute research team. Anemia, a reduction in the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood that can cause fatigue, weakness and dizziness, is [...]

A lifelong habit of trimming just a few calories from the daily diet can do more than slim the waistline – a new study shows it may help lessen the effects of aging. Scientists from the University of Florida’s Institute on Aging have found that eating a little less food and exercising a little more [...]

As people age into their 70s, their ability to walk a quarter mile becomes an important predictor of overall health and even how long they might live, according to study findings published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association. Of nearly 3,000 healthy seniors studied, those who were able to complete a quarter-mile [...]

Juliessa Pavon, a third-year medical student in the division of geriatrics, has been named the recipient of this year’s Edward Henderson Student Award by the American Geriatric Society. The annual award is given to one student interested in pursuing a career in geriatrics, who has demonstrated excellence in the field. It includes a $500 travel [...]