Better faster stronger
Added to this is the often superficial narrative put forward in the public debate on Silicon Valley’s quest for immortality that strips out the necessary nuance.īut digging under the surface, there are a few aspects where this developing field that should require further attention.įirst is the basic research question and how we deepen our understanding of the biology of ageing. Some of this requires deep caution: the elixir of youth is an enticing proposition and – as with any industry – will have a fair number of actors making false promises about our future. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates the market for tech focused on the human lifespan will grow to $610bn by 2024. There have been major breakthroughs in our basic understanding of the biology of ageing, and the market is aligning too. The field of longevity has taken significant strides over the past two decades, offering the hope of living healthier for longer. This challenge of ageing populations, when combined with decreasing birth rates, has been described by demographers and economists as an existential issue for our economies. Smallpox as % of all burials (five-year moving means)Īs populations in many advanced economies therefore live longer – but not healthier – we risk facing an avalanche of illness. But the introduction of Edward Jenner’s pioneering attempts to control infectious marked the “first upward spike in life expectancy,” which at the time was around 35 years old.
Otherwise known as the “speckled monster,” it was one of the ages most lethal diseases and accounted for around 10% of deaths. Little more than 50 years later, the UK was beginning to inoculate its first citizens against smallpox. So too were others that continues to capture attention today: namely, “the prolongation of life” and “the recovery of youth.” Emulating fish without engines, potent drugs to “alter or Exalt Imagination” and perpetual light were among them. As part of his work, he created a desiderata - a list of things wanted or needed - as a guide or prediction for future scientists. In the 1660s, polymath and scientist Robert Boyle played a key role in establishing Britain’s Royal Society, the world’s first government-sponsored scientific society. By Benedict Macon-Cooney and Jess Northend