Must reads and watch 

• A September 2, 2014 Today Health article highlighted a viral video of a woman with Alzheimer's connecting with her daughter. As of today, the video has been viewed over 2 million times. According to the article, "Gunderson told TODAY.com she’d been taping videos of her with her mother prior to last week, but hadn’t documented a connection quite like this one." Watch video here. 
• A September 2, 2014 The New Republic article profiled the growing Alzheimer's issue and its economic and social implications. According to the article, "There’s nothing new about aging. But Alzheimer’s is not simply a byproduct of old age. It is a degenerative brain disease, a fatal one. A degenerative brain disease that almost exclusively targets people who, prior to the twentieth century, were demographic anomalies…There is no cure, preventive regimen, or way to halt the damage of Alzheimer’s. Right now, the only means for change lie within us: how we conceive of the illness, how we think of the afflicted. So many people are going to have to live with this dehumanizing disease! How do we make sure that they are able to do so with dignity, compassion? The importance of this question cannot be overstated. How are we going to accommodate the least of us—and those tasked with their care—once they become so many?"
• A September 2, 2014 BioScience Technology article reported that "Swinburne researchers have developed a technique to create a highly sensitive surface for measuring the concentration of a peptide that is a biomarker for early stage Alzheimer’s disease." According to the article, "Abnormality of the beta amyloid peptide in cerebrospinal fluid appears to be the earliest and most significant marker of Alzheimer’s. Currently there are no standardized tests to detect these biomarkers. The researchers have developed a sensor based on nanotechnology that outperforms commercial sensors and demonstrates fast and reliable measurement of beta amyloid oligomers at low concentrations."
• A September 1, 2014 Elder Law Prof Blog highlighted Meryl Comer's book "Slow Dancing with a Stranger." According to the post, "The book is meant to make people mad -- and more realistic and focused -- about the need for solutions. The article quotes George Vradenburg, a co-founder with Comer of the nonprofit group USAgainstAlzheimer's, who hopes that Comer's book will stir conversations about a disease many prefer not to think about. "I hope America gets mad," Vradenburg is quoted as saying."