Dear Mary: My sisters and I have $10,000 we would like to invest to cover our mother's funeral expenses when they occur. She does not have life insurance or any savings. She is 62 and living on disability at this time. What would be the best investment strategy for us? She is not currently ill. Thank you. -- Bonita W., South Dakota

Science sometimes advances by giant leaps, but more often moves in small steps by gradually gathering new evidence. The calculated age of the Earth is a good example, having shifted from a few thousand to 4.5 billion years old over the last two centuries.