The team of Duke University Medical Center researchers who demonstrated in late 1999 that aerobic exercise is just as effective as medication in treating major depression in the middle-aged and elderly has now reported that the same exercise program also appears to improve the cognitive abilities of these patients. The researchers found significant improvements in the higher mental processes of memory and the so-called executive functions, which include planning, organization and the ability to mentally juggle different intellectual tasks at the same time. These improvements were above and beyond what would be expected after the depression had lifted, the researchers said. . . . Without DNA Damage Duke University Medical Center researchers report for the first time that long-term genetic instability in cancer cells can be induced both by stresses that break DNA and those thought not to damage genetic material. The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke will celebrate its expanded campuswide, interdisciplinary efforts to support the teaching and practice of ethics with an afternoon of dialogue and a gala reception Jan. 17.
All events are free and open to the public. . . .
Full Story James Blumenthal's research indicates aerobic exercise can improve memory and organization functions in people 50 and older. Photography Lead author of the cancer cell mutation study, Chuan-Yuan Li, assistant professor of radiation oncology at Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. He began participating in the organization's activities on his own, but has drawn his extended family into programs at Northside Baptist Church. Walltown Neighborhood Ministries celebrated the first anniversary last week of its effort to revitalize the neighborhood near East Campus challenged in recent decades by drug activity, crime and nagging poverty. Walltown Neighborhood Ministries is a collective of five local churches committed to improving support for families, eliminating impoverished housing and increasing home ownership, caring for the elderly and fostering vigorous congregational life. . . .