First established in 1961 as a temporary committee, the Senate Special Committee on Aging was granted permanent status on February 1, 1977. The Committee frequently commissions studies of issues related to relevant policy issues, such as the situation of Medicare and Social Security. During its history, various members of the Committee have worked to expose unacceptable conditions in nursing homes...

The quest for youth and longevity has been an interest of humankind for millennia, so it is not surprising that recording statistics on human longevity is done with great interest. On September 26, 2002, it was announced that Vu Thi Dao of northern Vietnam may in fact be the world's oldest person, although her birth certificate only lists the year in which she was born, and not the exact date....