A woman from Kazakhstan is believed to have just reached her 130^th birthday – which makes her more than 16 years older than the world’s other longest-lived person. Sakhan Dosova, mother to ten children, says she has never seen a doctor, doesn’t eat sweets, and loves cottage cheese – she believes that the reason she has lived so long is down to her sense of humour. Her grand-daughter, Gaukhar Kaniewva, 42, agreed “She is a very cheerful woman. We think laughter and her good mood helped her live so long.”

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A recent study suggests that poverty contributes to decreased life expectancy. This makes a life insurance policy all the more vital to families with limited incomes.

It may not come as a complete surprise to be told that well-off people tend to live longer than poor; unemployment, poor diet, and lack of leisure time play a part in increasing stress and decreasing quality of life for low earners. What is startling however is just how big a life expectancy gap there may be between the two groups.

Income Inequality Results in a Life Expectancy Differences

Researchers at Statistics Canada recently attempted to analyze the effect  poverty vs. affluence or ‘income disparity’ has on life expectancy. The findings, based on data gathered in Canada, were published recently in the journal Health Reports and make for disquieting reading: Figures show that on average only 54% of men from the lowest income group (bottom 10%) have a life expectancy of 75 years of age, compared with 74% of top earners. For women, 69.4.% of the least well-off can be expected to reach the age of 75, as opposed to 84.4% of the wealthiest women.

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People resuscitated from the point of dying have battled with and beaten the thing we fear most – death. About 5% of people report having a near death experience. They often talk of seeing bright lights, being reunited with lost loved ones, or having an out-of-body experience. The types of near death experiences reported often follow a similar theme and many people say they found the instances comforting.

Opinions differ about what happens to people when hovering between life and death, and many believe these types of experiences may be the only real knowledge we have about life on the ‘other side’. Surely people who have ‘seen the light’ cannot be held accountable to science?

Scientific Explanations for Near-death Experiences

A team of scientists led by Dr Lakhmir Chawla, working at the George Washington Medical Centre in Washington DC, believe that near death experiences could simply be a result of a surge in electrical activity in the brain prior to death. Dr Chawla feels that this sudden spurt of energy in the brain, after activity has gradually fallen off, could cause people to have vivid feelings or hallucinations.

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photo credit: John Griffiths

Heath Ledger, who tragically died of acute prescription drug intoxication in January of 2008, may have his life insurance policy revoked.  Ledger’s policy was carried by ReliaStar (a subsidiary of ING Americas), and its benefit was a reported $10 million. But lawyers for the life insurance company say they intend to investigate the matter, and “take the depositions of Mary-Kate Olsen, as well as the masseuse who was at Ledger’s home when he died.”

Though Ledger had not been taking any illegal substances at the time of his death according to the New York coroner, the insurance company is reportedly looking into the possibility that he had lied on his insurance application. If Ledger had lied, whether it was about any potential past illegal drug use, or the prescription drugs that he was taking, it’s possible that the $10 million policy will be revoked and his two-year-old daughter will not receive the benefits under her trust.

Your Chances of Dying in a Lightning Strike Are Greater Than…

Some people love the sound of thunder and of rain pattering against the windows, but others worry about being killed by lightning during a thunderstorm. Just how likely is it really that you’ll die this way? Well, each year about 1 in 3 million people are killed by lightning. Your lifetime risk of dying from a lightning strike is about 1 in 80,000. To put it in perspective, here are five even less likely ways to die.

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