All Learning Articles

Medical research keeps proving a phrase that's become a cliche: Use it or lose it. And eat a healthy, balanced diet. It may not be rocket science, but it is brain science. "It's the same old message, really," says David Bilkey, of Otago University. "We know exercise has been shown to promote neurogenesis, the growth of new neurons in the brain." Mental exertion is Read more...

No longer content to "retire" their minds, people aged 50+ are demanding learning opportunities. They're onto something: Staying engaged and trying stimulating new things may actually help keep their brains healthy and fit.If you want to join their ranks, here are some resources: ElderhostelImagine yourself studying the ecology of the Everglades ... in Florida. Studying the poetry of Read more...

By June Lay Junefit.com How many times during this week did we consider how our food choices are connected to the function, appearance and health of our body? Is there a brain-food connection and if so, what can we feed it to enhance its performance? After all, our brain controls and regulates all our voluntary and involuntary physical functions as well as its mysterious functioning of Read more...

A literary bent getting the best of you? Thumb through Writers Write to see what the world of writing is all about and how you can publish your work. Each issue features interviews with successful writers and editors who talk about their work and provide tips on how to improve yours. The transcript of a panel featuring fantasy authors tells about building a fictional world and making it come Read more...

Just say "No!" to sex. That's the only message allowed now in Ohio sex education courses. But critics say students also need to be informed about safe sex and contraception. What's your opinion? The state's board of education has unanimously passed a resolution requiring schools to teach that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective protection against unwanted pregnancy and Read more...

Black history month is here again, just as the Public Broadcasting System finishes airing a 10-hour documentary film by Ken Burns about Jazz. The program Website offers a Jazz in Time section showing how the music with African roots developed against the backdrop of American history. Also on PBS this month, "Goin' to Chicago" examines the mass migration of black workers from the Read more...

Everyone who sits down at a computer is learning a new skill. So it's not much of a leap to taking a class online. ThirdAge offers a variety of free classes. Virtual University claims to be the world's largest online learning community, serving half a million students and alumni in 128 countries. VU Web Manager Richard Dean says "nearly 60 percent of our students at Virtual University are Read more...

A 2000 National Safety Council report warns that millions of old computers discarded from offices and homes present safety and environmental threats because they are not properly recycled. The report concludes that most of the 20.5 million discarded PCs each year end up in landfills or incinerators or stored in warehouses, basements or closets. Personal computers are veritable minefields Read more...

Ever wonder why the Roman numeral IIII rather than the more common IV (4) is stamped on a watch dial? Or why clockwise is clockwise? Then hie yourself over to the British Horological Institute, guardian of just about everything you ever wanted to know about timepieces. BHI's Web site deals in Bulle clocks and Gustav Becker clocks, chimes and carillons, historical notes on enameling dials, Read more...

Fed up with junk e-mail and snail mail -- and those annoying marketers calling during dinner? Operation Opt-Out! claims it can help get you off those annoying direct marketing lists. The section of the Center for Democracy & Technology Web site says you may not realize it, but these intrusions may be happening because a company you have done business with has sold or shared your personal Read more...