The jury is still out on whether caloric restriction can prolong human life or prevent age-related diseases, but the results of recent studies with rodents and rhesus monkeys are moving us closer to a verdict. Richard Weindruch, Ph.D., professor of medicine at University of Wisconsin-Madison and one of the nation's top caloric restriction researchers, shares some thoughts about this promising area of research.

Despite more than 20 years of clear warnings from some of the most prestigious health policy and medical groups in the country, America is facing a severe shortage of health care professionals trained to manage the special health care needs of older people.

Ever wonder whether the doctor treating your parent, older relative or friend, or you, if you happen to be over 65, has any special training in treating older people? The chances are pretty good they don't. Despite the achievements of modern medicine, too many health professionals misdiagnose, overlook, or dismiss illnesses in older people as the "normal process of aging." Aside from the suffering this ignorance causes patients, it also burdens society with tremendous costs--such as the $70 billion in unnecessary hospital stays that is spent every year.