US – Saturday, November 21
Experts: Homegrown terror biggest threat
Terrorist incidents over the past 12 months show that Islamic extremists within the U.S. increasingly are launching attacks against targets such as military bases, antiterrorist experts said Thursday.
 
OPRAH TO QUIT IN ’11
The end is near.
 
What women want: Wilmer
How does Wilmer Valderrama do it? The actor has dated a bevy of Hollywood beauties, from Mandy Moore to Lindsay Lohan (pre-career implosion) to Hilary Duff. He’s even claimed that Ashlee Simpson and  Jennifer Love Hewitt have had a piece of Vaderrama-action.
 
The saga continues with rush of ‘New’ blood
REVIEW. No matter how this review of ‘New Moon’ ends, whether this critic loves or loathes the film, is irrelevant. If you’re one of the legions of “Twi-Hards,” you’ll be stepping on heads to see it this weekend anyway.
 
Wall Street dips after bad outlook for Target
NEW YORK. U.S. stocks fell yesterday after discount retailer Target gave a cautious holiday season outlook, but positive brokerage comments on tech bellwether Microsoft helped limit losses.
 
Annie Lennox: ‘I am my own aids campaign’
Annie Lennox has been an icon since shooting to fame with the Eurythmics two decades ago. The “Greatest White Soul Singer Alive” won a 2004 Academy Award for best original song. But these days, Lennox’s heart belongs less to Billboard charts than to dying children. She campaigns on behalf of African children infected with AIDS. She talked exclusively to Metro.
 
Updated 20:59, March the 15th, 2009
 

Twenty seven is the new eighty

Think this WWII veteran is old? Well, you’re right. But you might be surprised to learn — so are you! 
 
Think this WWII veteran is old? Well, you’re right. But you might be surprised to learn — so are you!  Photo: Getty Images
 

“Some aspects of age-related cognitive decline begin in healthy, educated adults.”         

Professor Timothy Salthouse
 

How old do you have to be before you start feeling, well, “old?”

New research out of the University of Virginia suggests we may start to show signs of age-related mental decline at the shockingly early age of just 27.

UV scientists followed 2,000 men and women of various ages for seven years, giving regular mental checkups and testing them with visual puzzles, word games and pattern recognition. The researchers concluded that mental abilities, which peak at 22 years old, begin to decline by 27.

The research — reported in the Neurobiology of Aging journal — found that 22 was the average age for top performance, and that 27 was the first age at which testers’ performance was significantly lower than the peak. Memory was found to begin a noticeable decline around the age of 37, with a more marked decline at 42 years. Abilities based on general knowledge, however, were found to increase until 60 years old.

The evidence suggests a need to begin age-related therapies at a younger age, said professor Timothy Salthouse. The researchers’ tests are also used to diagnose dementia and general mental decline.