Do you fancy becoming immortal? Me neither. Silicon Valley titans who lust after “escape velocity from death” leave me cold. But most of us would love to stay younger for longer — preferably without Botox. A stream of breakthroughs suggests that the science of ageing is now at an inflection point.
Already, our perceptions of old age are changing. People who packed out concert halls in their youth to hear the Beatles sing “will you still need me . . . when I’m 64?” now think that old age starts at 74. According to a big German study, those in middle or older age today have an elevated idea of “old” compared to previous generations.
This mirrors increases in life expectancy, especially for the better-off half of the population in rich countries. The big prize now is to improve the final decade for everyone — rich and poor. Few of us want to live forever, even if it was on offer; but we’d give a great deal to avoid a grim descent into the twilight zone of crippling frailty.