There is little to no scientific backing for any particular cognitive training games/tool to be any better than any other activity that would be put under the "enriched environment" heading if we were talking about mice. It is an area marked by long claims on short evidence, and commercial products that are borderline fraud.
That is very different from the effects of altering clearly identified protein levels in the blood such as GDF-11 [1], which produce robust and defensible effects, clearly demarcated and measured.
It is the typically sad state of things to see the primary source, the university, shackle these two things together in the name of promotion.
The key point is "any other activity". For most people, the cognitive games on their phones are probably the most accessible enriched environment tools. The blood, on the other hand, seems to be fraught with complications, from basic health concerns to economic issues. The Red Cross is almost always calling for more donations to blood, I can't imagine the situation improving if richer people start buying the blood of younger people.
How about an organisation you can join where you donate your blood when you're young and receive blood when you're older?
Of course there can be problems in the long run (just like the German pension scheme has some), and it is necessary to create trust, but it's fairer than the outlook you present.
No, I meant that the young people donate for the old, and that once they turn old there will (hopefully) be more young people to donate blood, again to receive blood from other young people when they turn old. Kind of like a pension scheme (at least the one we have in Germany works that way).
That is very different from the effects of altering clearly identified protein levels in the blood such as GDF-11 [1], which produce robust and defensible effects, clearly demarcated and measured.
It is the typically sad state of things to see the primary source, the university, shackle these two things together in the name of promotion.
[1]: http://hsci.harvard.edu/news/functioning-aged-brains-and-mus...