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The new study included more than 11,000 adults aged 65 and up and was published on Thursday in Geriatrics. Over the course of 12 years, 45 percent of the participants saw a positive development in either their scores on a cognitive test or their walking speed—a critical measure of fitness. Many others saw no change in their cognitive skills over the study period. Notably, when the researchers averaged the participants’ scores, they saw an expected decline in ability as people aged. But on the individual level, that picture didn’t hold up for everyone.