Panashe Matemba Mutasa

Panashe Matemba-Mutasa is a California Local News Fellow covering the aging beat, with a focus on how California’s shifting demographics shape communities, policy, and daily life. She has reported for the Minnesota Daily, East Bay Express, Metro Silicon Valley, Tri-City Voice and East Bay Magazine. Panashe holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Minnesota and a master’s in journalism from UC Berkeley.

Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, professor of neurology at UC Davis and author of a cognitive function study with participants and a smartwatch. (Photo courtesy UC Davis Health)

People can sense mental decline, says new research powered by smartwatches

August 24, 2026 at 10:04 a.m.

The research is unusual because it captures cognition during daily life rather than relying on a person's memory or a single office test by using the ubiquitous mobile technology.

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