Restricted Caloric Diet Does Not Extend Life

This NY Times article entitled "Severe Diet Doesn’t Prolong Life, Study of Monkeys Concludes," reveals that the Severe Caloric Restriction Diet, touted by many scientists and researchers as one way to extend life, may not do so in a significant way. The study, begun in 1987 with rhesus monkeys, indicates that those on the strict diet and those on a regular diet died of the same conditions within similar time frames. There are other studies that do still indicate caloric restriction is a way to extend life. What do you think? Exactly how far are you willing to go with your diet to extend your life, depending on what more studies reveal?

Gender Fluidity in Children

This is a lengthy, but very interesting article entitled "What's So Bad About A Boy Who Wants to Wear a Dress?" It discusses some of the societal and parental issues around gender-fluid and gender-variant children. Why is it that our society allows girls to wear jeans and pretend they are Spider-Man, but boys are not allowed to put on a dress and pretend they are Cinderella?

Disabled Students Suspended More Often

The NY Times article entitled "Disabled Students Almost Twice as Likely to Be Suspended, Analysis Finds" reveals that disabled students are almost twice as likely to be suspended as non-disabled students, and African American students with disabilities have a much higher rate. The article goes into detail about why this might be a concern. Do you think that there is an ability bias happening? What needs to change about the system to modify this statistic?