Here's some bone-chilling news: The chance of breaking a bone increases significantly after age 50, especially for women. We know bones lose mass as they age. However, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says what makes them become brittle is more complicated than that.
Robert Ritchie, a materials scientist at the lab, is trying to figure out why bones break so easily in older adults. While a lot of work has been done looking at the loss of quantity of bone, Ritchie and his team are focusing on another issue: quality. Specifically, how bones deteriorate. SmartPlanet interviewed Ritchie about his research.
This video first appeared at SmartPlanet under the headline "Ghoulish reasons why bones break easily after 50"
More from SmartPlanet
Discuss: Why bones break more easily after 50 (video)
Be respectful, keep it clean and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.