Daily Reading

1. Practice your reading and comprehension 2. Improve your vocabulary while discussing the article

They said that eyes are windows to the soul. But in this article we will see that eyes are more than a window. ........

model- a mathematical description of a system, process, etc. that is used to help make calculations tissue- any of the different types of materials that make up the bodies of living things accurately- in a way that is correct or exact identify- to find out or know who or what someone or something is cardiovascular- relating to the heart and blood vessels evidence- a fact, object, etc. that shows that something is true

Study: Your Eyes May Show Your True Age Have you ever lied about your age? Your eyes could show the truth, but maybe not in the way you'd expect: researchers have developed a computer model that can estimate your age based on images of your retinas — the tissue at the back of your eyes. In a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, researchers trained a computer model using images of retinas from over 11,000 people in the UK Biobank. The UK Biobank is a database with health information from more than 500,000 British residents between the ages of 40 and 69. The researchers found that the computer model was able to estimate people's ages fairly accurately from their retinas, with an average error of 3.55 years. They also identified what they called a "retinal age gap": the difference between the estimated age of a person's eyes and their real age in years. Some people had eyes that looked older than their real age — meaning a higher gap — and some had eyes that looked younger. About 1.7% of people had eyes that looked 10 or more years older than their real age. Using the model to look at almost 36,000 Biobank participants who had died, it was also found that for every one-year increase in retinal age gap, there was a 2% increased chance of death from all causes. Retinal age gaps of more than 3.71 years were especially associated with a higher risk of death. No significant association was found between the retinal age gap and death from cancer or cardiovascular disease, however. Doctors already check our retinas for evidence of conditions from high blood pressure to cancer. The research suggests that maybe they'll soon be able to check our retinal age gap to identify other problems as well.

1. What are your thoughts on the findings of this study? 2. Do any of your friends or family look older or younger than they are? 3. Do you know anyone who never seems to age? 4. In your opinion, what's the key to slowing down the aging process? 5. What would you say is the best thing about getting older?

1. What are the most exciting health-related news you've come across recently? 2. How expensive is healthcare where you live? 3. What changes do you expect to see in medicine and healthcare over the next few decades? 4. Do any of your friends or family work in healthcare? 5. Have you ever thought about studying medicine? Why? Why not?