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Solar plane lands in New York City

A solar-powered airplane finished crossing the United States on Saturday, landing in New York City after flying over the Statue of Liberty during its historic bid to circle the globe, the project team said.  The spindly, single-seat experimental aircraft, dubbed Solar Impulse 2, arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 4 a.m. local time after it took off about five hours beforehand at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania, the team reported on the airplane's website.  Such a pleasure to land in New York! For the 14th time we celebrate sustainability," said the project's co-founder Andre Borschberg on Twitter after flying over the city and the Statue of Liberty during the 14th leg of the trip around the globe. The Swiss team flying the aircraft in a campaign to build support for clean energy technologies hopes eventually to complete its circumnavigation in Abu Dhabi, where the journey began in March 2015. The solar cr...
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Symptoms of depression that steadily increase over time in older age could indicate early signs of dementia, scientists have said

Other patterns of symptoms, such as chronic depression, appear not to be linked, a study found.  Dutch researchers looked at different ways depression in older adults progressed over time and how this related to any risk.  They concluded worsening depression may signal the condition is taking hold.  The research, published in The Lancet Psychiatry , followed more than 3,000 adults aged 55 and over living in the Netherlands.  All had depression but no symptoms of dementia at the start of the study.  Dr M Arfan Ikram of the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam said depressive symptoms that gradually increase over time appear to be a better predictor of dementia later in life than other paths of depression.  "There are a number of potential explanations, including that depression and dementia may both be symptoms of a common underlying cause, or that increasing depressive symptoms are on the starting end of a dementia continuum in older adults...
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Dementia loved ones benefit from visits

A survey found that 42% of the public think there is no point in keeping up contact at this stage.  But the Alzheimer's Society said family visits stimulated feelings of happiness, comfort and security.  Even as the condition progresses, it said people with dementia can still hold an "emotional memory". This means they continue to feel happy long after a visit or experience that they may have forgotten.  The charity is calling on people to visit friends and relatives with dementia regularly and help them take part in activities they enjoy.  In a separate survey by the charity of 300 people affected by dementia, more than half said they were no longer taking part in any, or hardly any, social activities.  And 64% said they felt isolated following their diagnosis.  Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Alzheimer's Society, said: "After spending time with friends and family over the festive period, New Year can be a bleak and lonely time for people with dem...
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Change in sense of humour could be a sign of impending dementia

The University College London study involved patients with frontotemporal dementia, with the results appearing in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.  Questionnaires from the friends and family of the 48 patients revealed many had noticed a change in humour years before the dementia had been diagnosed. This included laughing inappropriately at tragic events.  Experts say more studies are now needed to understand how and when changes in humour could act as a red flag for dementia.  There are many different types of dementia and frontotemporal dementia is one of the rarer ones.  The area of the brain it affects is involved with personality and behaviour, and people who develop this form of dementia can lose their inhibition, become more impulsive and struggle with social situations.Dr Camilla Clark and colleagues recruited 48 patients from their dementia clinic at University College London.  And they asked the friends or relatives of the patients to rat...
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