Bees could help us fight dementiaAdults may think that taking a turn on their kids’ swing set makes them feel like a kid again, but for bees, performing jobs usually attributed to the younger bees as an adult actually reverses the aging process in their brains. Scientists have found that bees that stay at home in the hive maintain active, young brains measured by their ability to learn new things. Forager bees, however, age very quickly, soon returning to the hive with broken wings, hair loss, and loss of brain function.In an experiment run at Arizona State University, younger bees were removed from the hive so that the aged, supply-gathering bees were faced with a decision: some would continue to collect nectar and pollen for the hive while the others would return to the household tasks usually reserved for younger bees, like nursing the babies. Those that returned to hive-related tasks soon saw a change in the molecular make up of their brains and a clear increase in brain function.Scientists are now studying bee brain chemistry to better understand how this effectively anti-aging process occurs. Ultimately we may be able to use the information to determine how to use social interventions like our interactions with our environment to help fight dementia in our own brains. - See more at: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/science/6-buzzworthy-facts-about-bees?page=1#sthash.KC7djtid.dpuf