The Nun Study

His study has shown that a history of stroke and head trauma can boost your chances of coming down with debilitating symptoms of Alzheimer's later in life, and that a college education and an active intellectual life may actually protect you from the effects of the disease. Perhaps the most surprising result: The discovery that the way we express ourselves in language, even at an early age, can foretell how long we'll live and how vulnerable we'll be to Alzheimer's decades down the line

• The New Science of Alzheimers