My father in his last years was tentatively diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s. I never believed it. Now, new research on the human genome and, among other things, how canaries learn new songs brings us a little closer to understanding how memory works, and why it doesn’t.

Yes, I was there then, and as involved as I could be, given who I was: a grad student, white, at nearby (to Chicago) Northwestern University.  (more)