Scientists Optimistic about Prolonging Life Expectancy

The Cambridge researcher, Aubrey de Grey, says that extending healthy living by 30 years is a moderate aim. It is only the beginning of what we can achieve.

Life expectancy is already improving at the rate of one or two years every decade and new therapies are expected to continue these advances. But in the future, technologies we don’t yet have, will be used a s a springboard to bring on the next level. Then we won’t just see small incremental steps. The rate of improvement will accelerate and we might even be able to increase life expectancy by one year every year.

When these breakthroughs gather pace, those of us who initially extend our lives by 30 years may be able to stay ahead of the game. Aubrey de Grey predicts, “The people who are young enough to benefit from these first therapies, that give this moderate amount of life extension … will mostly survive long enough to receive improved treatments that will give them a further 30 or maybe 50 years.”

He thinks most of us currently accept the inevitability of aging. But when we realize we can live much longer without becoming frail or suffering from age related diseases, we are going to want to do something about it.

Recommended Book:

Aubrey de Grey and Michael Rae
Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime