Imagine if as a college student in 1939 you had agreed to be part of a study dedicated to unlocking the secrets of a life well-lived. Imagine if from that moment on, for as long as you lived, you were poked and prodded with virtually every medical test and psychological tool at the researchers’ disposal. Imagine if 267 of your classmates agreed to do the same thing. Then imagine, over the course of seven decades, as your whole group was studied throughout college, World War II, careers, marriages, and divorces, through parenthood and grandparenthood and into old age, what kind... Read full article »

In 2007 a 27-year old man known as ‘Mr A’ collapsed on the floor of a hospital emergency department after taking a drug overdose. His blood pressure was crashing, he was hyperventilating and shaking, and nurses sprang into action to insert an intravenous line into his arm to try and flush his system and save his life.  The man had been taking part in an antidepressant drug trail, and although he had reported that his mood had improved significantly in the first month, in the second month he had an argument with his ex-girlfriend and became suicidal. He took the... Read full article »