The oldest country in the world is taking new steps to keep their wandering elders in check: adding barcodes their thumbnail and toenails. It’s creepy, but potentially life saving.

Go to the cafeteria of a nursing home and you'll see elderly residents noshing on pureed food. It's necessary for patients for whom chewing is difficult, but it's not very palatable. A German company is seeking to change that by making 3D-printed, easy-to-chew food that actually tastes good.

The world is aging. By 2030, nearly 20 percent of Americans will be over 65. By 2050, about a third of China will be over 60. The same goes for many other developed countries. Yet we don't spend nearly enough time thinking about how to make life easier for the elderly—despite the fact that all of us, if we're lucky,…

The results of a study conducted by Johan Lundström and several of his colleagues at the Monell Chemical Senses Center indicate the "old person smell" is, in fact, a distinct and distinctly identifiable odor.

If you are in old age, with no family and little money, your options are slim if you need living assistance.

Talk about a sacrifice that will warm your heart. A group of older Japanese folks are asking for permission to clean up the contaminated nuclear power station in Fukushima.

The QTvan is the perfect trailer for those who ride mobility scooters. Okay fine, those who ride electric scooters probably don't need a trailer but what if I told you the trailer fit a full size bed, 19-inch TV, a mini mini bar and follows you wherever you go? Yeah, I'd be sold too.

Designed by the architecture firm Aires Mateus in Alcácer do Sal, Portugal, this has got to be one of the coolest looking places you could ever hope your grandparents would live. I just visited my grandma in Florida, and while her condo is perfectly nice, it's not exactly drool-worthy architecture.

Sometimes scientific experiments sound like pranks. Case in point: a recent study that managed to turn a bunch of young men into the embodiment of every stereotype about old people driving. And all that was need was a driving simulator and some carefully chosen words.

As people get older, their driving skills tend to diminish. Failing eyesight and heavy medication are often blamed for this phenomenon, but there might be a neurological reason...and it could help us better understand depression and schizophrenia.

How does Grandma stay connected to you? Buddy Radio hopes to help the elderly by giving them an old school gadget—a basic radio—that combines new school technology—social networks—so they can broadcast their mood and ask for help.

Here's something we can all get behind: levitating chairs for the elderly that scoot around like bumper cars. There is no way this can go badly.

The guys at Ultimi Barbarorum came up with an idea—an idea we were tossing around after the event yesterday, and even talked about a little last night—and put it into words. The iPad is for old people.

The bionic eye's inexorable advance continued this weekend, as doctors reported they were able to implant tiny telescopes (telescopes!) into the eyes of patients suffering from macular degeneration.

Although the NBC Chicago News credits the elderly woman for being slightly too eager to get the Palm Pre, there doesn't seem to be any actual evidence that she actually wants a Pre. Nice try Chicago. [NBC Chicago via Palmpre.org]

Few geeks haven't dreamt of one day taking on cyborg enhancements—me included. And today I did, thanks to two of Honda's wearable Asimo-inspired Walk Assist devices. This is how it felt.

The Japanese government is planning to put robots to practical use in Japanese households in as soon as five years, and has already begun formulating the political agencies needed to oversee robot safety standards.

If you came here looking for rocking chairs for your gigantic boobs, sorry to disappoint. This gadget "takes the worry out of pouring liquids from gallon jugs, half-gallon jugs and 2-liter bottles."

I no longer fear getting old now that researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed Mamoru-Kun—a robot that helps elderly people find lost objects and remember to take their medication.