Successful Aging 2.0

What do Omaha, Boston, Austin and Toledo have in common? All rate top-10 spots in the Milken Institute's latest ranking of the "Best Cities for Successful Aging." The index ranks the performance of 352 metropolitan areas in providing the infrastructure, amenities and opportunities for engagement with life for the country's fastest-growing age segment.

First launched in 2012, BCSA garners serious attention because, unlike most of the "places rated" rankings that are out there, it is backed by serious data. Strikingly, its top cities are not the traditional sunshine and shuffleboard capitals – a welcome reality for older Americans who would rather age in place than move far from their families, friends and communities.

This year, the Institute asked mayors across America to pledge to make their cities work better for older adults – and more than 135 cities signed up. The media buzz was strong, too, with coverage in The New York Times, CNN Money, Forbes, Yahoo and Time. The top city – Madison, Wisconsin – even rated mention on Saturday Night Live. Check out successfulaging.milkeninstitute.org for the full report.

Convening For Cures

Some 1,000 leaders in science and medicine gathered in New York for FasterCures's annual Partnering for Cures meeting. After six years, "P4C" has become the venue to share knowledge, best practices and patient-driven solutions that are streamlining the path to cures. One of the panel moderators, Director of the National Institutes of Health Francis Collins, said it best: "When you come to FasterCures, you count on being surprised – by great science, by people you didn't know before that you have a chance to interact with. It's always a rush of energy and excitement." For more, go to partneringforcures.org.

Tops In Tech

Massachusetts rocks – as do Maryland, California, Colorado and Utah. They are the top-scoring five states in the Institute's State Tech and Science Index, released in November and available at statetechandscience.org. The index tracks each state's tech and science capabilities, as well as their success in converting these assets into high-paying jobs. Conducted biannually for more than a decade, the index has placed the Bay State first every time. "With its critical mass of universities, research institutions and cutting-edge firms, Massachusetts is the indomitable state," explains Institute economist Kevin Klowden, one of the report's authors.

With the growing recognition that tech and science pave the way to regional economic success, competition has increased significantly. That makes it tough to break into the top: The 10 at the head of the list in 2014 are the same as those in 2010 and 2012, with only a few shuffles in rank. "States that are traditionally strong on technology are building on that strength," says Klowden.