4 - Sunday, May 17, 1987 - North Shore News SCIENCE HAS been do- ing a commendable — ac- tually it’s awful — job Jately of confirming some of my worst fears and deepest secret prejudices. There was, for instance, the study that showed how couples grow more alike if they live with each other a long time. There seemed to be some good news here, since one of the ways they became alike was in passing on mathematical skills, for some reason. Alas, it turned out the study had only been done on women, and it was found that they tended Strongly to assume the charac- teristics of their mates. Women tend to get smarter at arithmetic if they have brainy husbands. It didn’t say what happens if a brainy wife has a husband who uses a primitive form of coun- ting: one, two and many. Alas, it is my wife who is the whiz with numbers around our house. So I tested her. I asked her for a phone number. A decade ago, she had a photographic memory for numbers. She could instantly recall che phone number of vir- tually anybody we knew. 1 never. used a phonebook when she was around. I’d just ask her. This time she couldn’t remember. } Oops. Speaking about such delicate matters, there was that other study saying that between the ages of 40 and 60, a bunch of your brain cells suddenly die off. Oh no, I was afraid of that! The good news is that the celis involved are the very culprits to Versatile NORTH VANCOUVER'S Versatile Pacifi ic Shipyards Bob Hunter @ strictly personal ® blame for all those feelings of panic and anxiety we used to feel, remember? At last ] know what maturity is. An entire section of your brain simply fries, This is what they mean by middle age, too, I guess. The middie of your brain disappears. It isn’t just that your body undergoes certain changes as you grow older, there is an actual neurological change inside your brain as well. A small area con- taining a mere 20,000 cells (com- pared to millions in other sec- tions of the brain) called the locus coeruleus, just rots away. Listen to this description of the process: ‘‘The cells accumulate a sort of neural garbage and lose their ability to work effectively. Finally they die.’’ The good news here is that it takes place out of sight, the bad news that it happens to be right ‘in the very middle of your head. But get this! Henceforth, your anxiety and fear levels fall. You don’t panic like you used to. You do not, in the lexion of a past era, freak out — at least not quite so regularly. ' What. makes the locus coeruleus so significant is its position at the stem of the brain, where the cells have ‘‘an unusual- ly extensive network of connec- tions’? to other parts of the big grey organ, researchers say. You thought perhaps you were finally achieving a level-headed, adult perspective on life, and that this had. something to do with your personal philosophical evolution as a thinking being?- Nah. It’s just. that with the disappearance of those pesky locus coeruleus cells, your “neural alarm clock’’ stops ring- ing. You stop being automatical- ly panic-stricken like all those a poor strung-out, jittery, speedy younger guys. Sounds like an organic frontal lobotomy to me. Aren’t we all happy? Tra fa. Tell me there’s another expla- nation, please, doctor. in the meantime, I'll take comfort from yet another study showing that while almost all ag- ing males do forget where they left their socks, many of them re- tain their mental capabilities, unimpaired even into very old age. Actual senility is more rare than you think, says this study by thoughtful, intelligent — ob- viously older and mature — scientists. Very good, very good! The brain is apparently the same aS every other muscle in regard to its ongoing effec- tiveness, they say. Barring disease, if it is exercised properly and kept in use, it continues to function at a peak level. Better than that, in many men it improves! That’s right, son. Old gaffers can rermaember things that hap- pened 40 years ago as clear as a bell, yet their ability to analyze a current situation is sharper than ever. Awesome, hm? Women? Alas, the study didn’t study them, So I can’t say. I know it seems suspicious that out of these three studies, one of them confirmed my _ wife’s neurological atrophy, one stated we are both doomed to lose brain cells (but not to worry because we won't feel anxious about it) and the third showed beyond a doubt that I am smarter than § ever. Amazing! Just bloody incredi- ble! Who says I can’t add? e gets $4m job damaged the Honan Maru. 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The trats he followed S 1] were the prehistoric Indian “grease trails”, many of which remain “1 today as Mackenzie recorded them. .d like the hat, so | bought shorts and pants as well. So did my wile. It you have been to Expo you will have noticed the nods of recognition among the Tilley hat fair goers. John Woodworth :| Mr. Woodworth is president of the AMTA; we thank him for his letter. Alexander Tilley Diop in, Phone or Write Mon.-Sat. 10-5 Barbara Tilley 1559 Pemberton Ave, North Van. V7P 2S3 980-2631 Inc. is set to begin repair work to a 42,833-ton bulk Versatile’s Esquimalt yard is currently assessing cost carrier worth an estimated $1 miliion. of repairs for the 26,841-ton ship. fe Repair to the Azalea Star by Versatile’s North Work on the Azalea Star will begin after temporary Vancouver yard follows its $4.2 million overhaul to repair work on the ship has been completed in Alaska. the 158-passenger North Star, which ran aground off The ship ran aground i in an April gale, which also the coast of Alaska in October. Socreds to hold general meeting THE Socred North Vancouver- Seymour constituency will hold its annual general meeting at the’ North Shore Winter Club May 20, starting at 7:30 p.m. North Vancouver-Seymour MLA Jack Davis will be presenting the Constituent of the Year award following.the meeting’s Board of Directors elections. Voting will be done by ballot.’ All constituency party members are eligible to vote. Throwing their hats in the ring to replace outgoing president Oil Roberta Kelly are special events | fj director Nancy Huot and director Change at large Tom Mason. Special! Constituency vice-president . : Mike Gill and publicity and media Shang one eoupon nv or relations director Sandra Craig are sately check. includes parts & labor. Special with Coupon 2 Discs i $6295 g. 72.95 MOST CARS a ' y 3 Special with Coupon ler & lube "$4995 Free} with complete 4 wheel brake job | 2 Drum | 48 $20 off 4 wheal or #10" off 2 wheel Reg. 58.95 MOST CARS Brake job includes machine turn, 2 ratars, 2. drums, heavy duly brake pads & shoes. Repack Wheel Bearings. s{ 435 MOST CARS Reg. $19.95 THE HORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER HOSPITAL SOCIETY FIFTEENTH STREET AT ST. GEORGES, NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. V7L 2L7 Attn.: Secretary \ enclose my membership fee D tite Membership $50.00 [3 New Annual Membership $5.00 (© Renew Annuat Membership $5.00 $10.00 off Tune-up (ew si Special cludes Parts & Labour. 6 CYLINDER Reg $6335 $5995 WITH COUPON MOST CARS 4 CYUNDER Reg $5995 $4ges seeking the board’s vice-presiden- cy. i Six current directors are eligible for re-election. thereby certity that |am 19 years of age or over, | meet the residency sequirements* and am not an employee of the Lions Gate Hospital. | SIGN. “SOCIETY BYLAWS ARTICLE II ' GNATURE ..Must ordinarily reside in the City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver Oistrict of Wesi Vancouver, Village of Lions Bay. the rural district of Bowen Island. WORK A DAY FOR UNITED WAY Your Day's Pay Goes A Long, Long Way!