Cusp

Media

Smiling in Photos Makes People Look Older, Study Shows

Robin Marantz Henig on May 11, 2017

It turns out that when you pose for photos with a wide smile, you're actually making yourself look older. You could have fooled me—and the research subjects, too.

It turns out that when you pose for photos with a wide smile, you're actually making yourself look older. You could have fooled me—and the research subjects, too.

Personality

A 90-Something's #vanlife

Robin Marantz Henig on April 30, 2017

After a cancer diagnosis, a woman chooses a year on the road with her son and his wife, rather than the difficult death she'd just been through with her husband.

After a cancer diagnosis, a woman chooses a year on the road with her son and his wife, rather than the difficult death she'd just been through with her husband.

Relationships

A Web Site for the Heartbroken

Robin Marantz Henig on February 8, 2017

Is romantic love a kind of addiction? And if it is, do other kinds of love -- such as the kind parents and grandparents feel -- make the same imprint on the human brain?

Is romantic love a kind of addiction? And if it is, do other kinds of love -- such as the kind parents and grandparents feel -- make the same imprint on the human brain?

Friends

The Death of the Telephone Call

Robin Marantz Henig on September 24, 2016

With the loss of the spontaneous, friendly telephone call—which Slate says died in 2007—comes another loss: feeling connected to the world at large.

With the loss of the spontaneous, friendly telephone call—which Slate says died in 2007—comes another loss: feeling connected to the world at large.

Finding out by chance George Soros' interest in end-of-life decision-making and why it's important.

Gender

Two New Spins On "Never Too Old"

Robin Marantz Henig on April 27, 2016

Two newspaper articles appeared last week about late-life transformations that showed that no matter how old you get, you might still be in for more than your share of surprises.

Two newspaper articles appeared last week about late-life transformations that showed that no matter how old you get, you might still be in for more than your share of surprises.

Health

Putting It in Writing

Robin Marantz Henig on April 7, 2016

My husband and I drew up our living wills recently -- just part of Life in the Sixties, the realization that it behooves us to finally get our house in order.

My husband and I drew up our living wills recently -- just part of Life in the Sixties, the realization that it behooves us to finally get our house in order.

Empathy

Trying On an Age Suit

Robin Marantz Henig on January 8, 2016

Ever wonder how it feels to be really, really old? This empathy suit might help you out.

Ever wonder how it feels to be really, really old? This empathy suit might help you out.

Dementia

Aid-in-Dying Laws Still Leave Out Many

Robin Marantz Henig on November 2, 2015

The new California aid-in-dying law, like similar laws in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Vermont, leaves out a wide range of people who might want to be covered: those with progressive debilitating diseases that don't have an obvious 6-months-to-live prognosis, and people with dementia, the fastest-growing health threat in the U.S. There may be no good way around this.

The new California aid-in-dying law, like similar laws in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Vermont, leaves out a wide range of people who might want to be covered: those with progressive debilitating diseases that don't have an obvious 6-months-to-live prognosis, and people with dementia, the fastest-growing health threat in the U.S. There may be no good way around this.

Genetics

Reveling in the Grandmother Hypothesis

Robin Marantz Henig on October 29, 2015

If the trend is real that grandparents are moving cross-country to help their Millennial children raise the grandkids, there might be a biological explanation for it. Anthropologists call it the Grandmother Effect.

If the trend is real that grandparents are moving cross-country to help their Millennial children raise the grandkids, there might be a biological explanation for it. Anthropologists call it the Grandmother Effect.

Friends

Being Sixty-Something

Robin Marantz Henig on July 23, 2015

In her lovely essay, "At Sixty-Five," the writer Emily Fox Gordon captures a lot of what I've been feeling about being in my sixties. But I haven't yet reached the point she has of feeling like this is a good time in life, a time when a person works free of youth's "agitation and misery" and finally has "learned better how to live."

In her lovely essay, "At Sixty-Five," the writer Emily Fox Gordon captures a lot of what I've been feeling about being in my sixties. But I haven't yet reached the point she has of feeling like this is a good time in life, a time when a person works free of youth's "agitation and misery" and finally has "learned better how to live."

Dementia

Death With Dementia

Robin Marantz Henig on May 15, 2015

Sandy Bem needed to choose a day to die, and it had to be just right. Too soon, and it might be a day when she still felt basically fine, still essentially herself even as her Alzheimer's disease implacably ate away at her intellect. Too late, and she might no longer have the resolve, or the understanding, or even the physical dexterity to end her life on her own.

Sandy Bem needed to choose a day to die, and it had to be just right. Too soon, and it might be a day when she still felt basically fine, still essentially herself even as her Alzheimer's disease implacably ate away at her intellect. Too late, and she might no longer have the resolve, or the understanding, or even the physical dexterity to end her life on her own.

Depression

An Ode to a Grandma

Robin Marantz Henig on April 30, 2015

The decision to operate on a 93-year-old, against her wishes, has a happy ending: she recovers, and has 9 more years that turn out to be the best years of her life. It's debatable, though, whether it would have been wrong to let her die when she wanted to.

The decision to operate on a 93-year-old, against her wishes, has a happy ending: she recovers, and has 9 more years that turn out to be the best years of her life. It's debatable, though, whether it would have been wrong to let her die when she wanted to.

Happiness

Living in the Past

Robin Marantz Henig on February 12, 2015

"In the fall of 1968, without at first realizing what was happening to me, I began living in the past," wrote Joseph Mitchell, who was 60 years old In 1968 -- almost exactly my age. Had he stumbled onto some truth about what it means to be in your 60s?

"In the fall of 1968, without at first realizing what was happening to me, I began living in the past," wrote Joseph Mitchell, who was 60 years old In 1968 -- almost exactly my age. Had he stumbled onto some truth about what it means to be in your 60s?

Anxiety

Being Old in New York City

Robin Marantz Henig on January 17, 2015

An article in this month's Politico magazine, "Seniors Take Manhattan," is all about the ways that it's easier to "age in place" in a big city than almost anywhere else in the U.S. The author, Debra Bruno, marshalls tons of evidence in defense of that position.

An article in this month's Politico magazine, "Seniors Take Manhattan," is all about the ways that it's easier to "age in place" in a big city than almost anywhere else in the U.S. The author, Debra Bruno, marshalls tons of evidence in defense of that position.

Happiness

Are Old People Really Happier?

Robin Marantz Henig on December 6, 2014

Just yesterday morning New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote a column about the U-shaped curve of happiness called "Why Elders Smile." It is currently #1 on the most-emailed list at the Times. He says old people "are spared some of the burden of thinking about the future." Um, why is this a good thing, exactly?

Just yesterday morning New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote a column about the U-shaped curve of happiness called "Why Elders Smile." It is currently #1 on the most-emailed list at the Times. He says old people "are spared some of the burden of thinking about the future." Um, why is this a good thing, exactly?

Intelligence

What Matters to Women Looking for Egg Donors?

Robin Marantz Henig on November 10, 2014

As the use of egg donors becomes more widespread, a recent study finds, women are no longer trying to hide the fact that their babies come from donor eggs by working hard to find donors who are physically or genetically similar to them. Instead, the researchers say, recipients tend to look for other qualities, such as intelligence and athletic ability,

As the use of egg donors becomes more widespread, a recent study finds, women are no longer trying to hide the fact that their babies come from donor eggs by working hard to find donors who are physically or genetically similar to them. Instead, the researchers say, recipients tend to look for other qualities, such as intelligence and athletic ability,

Friends and relatives might be surprised that I think of myself as lonely. But I do, which is why I was so struck by the findings of John Cacioppo.

Cognition

"Nothing Holy About Agony"

Robin Marantz Henig on July 14, 2014

Maybe it's because, at the age of 82, he is thinking more personally about what it means to have a good death. But for whatever reason, Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote an article this past weekend in favor of assisted dying, a reversal in his previous position that will no doubt have an impact far beyond his native South Africa.

Maybe it's because, at the age of 82, he is thinking more personally about what it means to have a good death. But for whatever reason, Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote an article this past weekend in favor of assisted dying, a reversal in his previous position that will no doubt have an impact far beyond his native South Africa.

Pregnancy

Fertility Clinics and False Hope

Robin Marantz Henig on July 2, 2014

IVF pioneer Lord Robert Winston calls the fertility industry an unregulated "jungle" that makes misleading promises for the sake of the bottom line. And he has some pretty harsh words for egg freezing, too.

IVF pioneer Lord Robert Winston calls the fertility industry an unregulated "jungle" that makes misleading promises for the sake of the bottom line. And he has some pretty harsh words for egg freezing, too.