Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Old Is Too Old? Voters Will Decide As Biden Announces Reelection Bid
President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced that he is running for reelection in 2024, asking voters to give him more time to 鈥渇inish the job鈥 he began when he was sworn in to office and to set aside their concerns about extending the run of America鈥檚 oldest president for another four years. Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting his first-term legislative achievements and more than 50 years of experience in Washington will count for more than concerns over his age. He faces a smooth path to winning his party鈥檚 nomination, with no serious Democratic rivals. But he鈥檚 still set for a hard-fought struggle to retain the presidency in a bitterly divided nation. (Miller, 4/25)
President Joe Biden, who at 80 has had to confront questions about his age and mental acuity as he launches a reelection campaign for president, once ran a campaign that sharply attacked his opponent鈥檚 age. In 1972, Biden, then 29 years old and a local Delaware councilman, was running against incumbent Republican Sen. Cale Boggs who was 63 years old, a former two term governor and the state鈥檚 senior senator. 鈥淐ale doesn鈥檛 want to run, he鈥檚 lost that old twinkle in his eye he used to have,鈥 Biden said of Boggs, who had originally wanted to retire but was persuaded to run for reelection. (Kaczynski and Alafriz, 4/25)
Also 鈥
Three years after older voters helped propel Mr. Biden to the Democratic presidential nomination, embracing his deep experience and perceived general-election appeal, his age is his biggest political liability as he moves toward another presidential run. ... The issue is particularly personal, however, for older voters who are inclined to like Mr. Biden, but often view his age through the prism of their own experiences. (Glueck, 4/22)
During a period when medicine and knowledge of human anatomy were all but rudimentary, old age terrified everyone. ... People in their 70s were usually decrepit when the American nation was young. But it would be wrong to assume that the founding generation simply despised old age. Young America admired venerable old sages 鈥 Moses of the Bible, first and foremost. (Valsania, 4/25)
Joe Biden is already the oldest sitting president in history. In November he became the first person in his eighties to hold the Oval Office, and if he wins a second term he will be 86 by the time he leaves. That's nine years older than Ronald Reagan, who was 77 when he completed his second term in 1989. (Robinson and Laco, 4/25)
More news on aging 鈥
Issues with memory and thinking are more common as you get older, but it鈥檚 not a given that everyone will experience them. With that, it鈥檚 understandable to want to do what you can to get better if you find you鈥檙e suddenly being forgetful or struggling to think clearly. Now, a new study published in JAMA Open Network suggests that positive thinking about aging may help people better recover from mild cognitive impairment than those who don鈥檛 have as sunny an outlook. (Miller, 4/14)
Indigenous communities residing in the tropical forests of lowland Bolivia have reported some of the lowest rates of heart disease and brain disease in recorded scientific history. Now, research conducted by the University of Southern California (USC) on the Tsiman茅 and Moset茅n communities indicates that a balanced combination of food consumption and physical activity can maximize healthy brain aging and decrease the likelihood of disease. (4/22)
New scientific research provides insight into how an enzyme that helps regulate aging and other metabolic processes accesses our genetic material to modulate gene expression within the cell. A team led by Penn State researchers has produced images of a sirtuin enzyme bound to a nucleosome鈥攁 tightly packed complex of DNA and proteins called histones鈥攕howing how the enzyme navigates the nucleosome complex to access both DNA and histone proteins and clarifying how it functions in humans and other animals. (4/24)