August 08, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

$3 billion price tag of dementia in UK, IBM develops computer chip that mimics brain, and Sen. Ed Markey attended screening of new Glen Campbell documentary in Boston (read more).  

Must reads

  • An August 8, 2014 article reported on the UK's dementia "time bomb" and its economic impact on the country. According to the article, "Dementia will cost English businesses £3bn by 2030, driving thousands out of work to care for their elderly relatives, and cutting the size of the over 65s workforce, economic analysts have warned." Also reported on by The Telegraph.
  • An August 7, 2014 New York Times article reported that IBM has developed a computer chip designed to "mimic the way brains recognize patterns, relying on densely interconnected webs of transistors similar to the brain’s neural networks." According to the article, "The chip’s electronic “neurons” are able to signal others when a type of data — light, for example — passes a certain threshold. Working in parallel, the neurons begin to organize the data into patterns suggesting the light is growing brighter, or changing color or shape." 
  • An August 7, 2014 Boston Globe article reported that Senator Ed Markey attended a screening of “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me,” a documentary about the singer’s battle with Alzheimer's. According to the article, "Joining Markey at the screening at the AMC Loews Boston Common were director James Keach, producers Trevor Albert and Kim Campbell - the singer’s wife - and two of Campbell’s children, Ashley and Shannon, who played a few of their father’s songs at a party afterward at Blu."