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.

Today I celebrated my 75th birthday with friends …, and shared with them this reflection … In a nutshell, I’m saying that I welcome the new responsibilities that accrue with age, and commit myself to trying to fulfill them. And now I want to make this commitment explicit, by telling you what I will try to do in the next five years. And maybe longer, but let’s just take things one lustrum (5-year period) at a time. (2016.4.3)