What's happening? 

Lydia got out of bed full of excitement. It was 9 September 2171 - her 150th birthday! 

She could hardly wait for tonight's party: all her 225 great-great-grandchildren would be there. And Billie Eilish would be on stage, playing hits from her 73rd album. 

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Humans have always been obsessed with living for ever. The idea comes up in thousands of books - including the first one ever written. 

Over the years, people have tried countless ways to reach eternal life. In the Middle AgesThe Middle Ages was the period in European history that came between ancient and modern times. It lasted from about 500 to about 1500., people tried to make the Philosopher's Stone. And more recently, scientists tried injecting old people with young blood. 

Now, we might be closer than ever to reaching the goal. 

According to a report, Jeff Bezos is giving money to a company that is using genetics to keep cells alive longer.  

Antonio Regaldo wrote the report. He says the experiments could bring animals back to life and prolong human life. 

But would living forever be that great? Some think it would cause more problems. The world would become crowded. And we might get bored after living for hundreds of years!

Would living for ever be a fate worse than death?

Some say

Yes! It would be terrible. The world would change so much that you would not recognise it. You would get bored. Life would not be so exciting. What makes life great is that you only get one chance at it. That is what motivates us to go out, explore and meet new people! 

Others think

Of course not! There is a reason so many people have wanted to live for ever. It would be wonderful! You could visit every place in the world. You could meet an unlimited number of people. You would have time to do anything you wanted. It would be much better than dying! 

First one - The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, thought to be as much as 4,000 years old, about a king who sets out to attain everlasting life.

Eternal - Lasting forever. 

Middle Ages -  A period of European history between ancient times and the Renaissance, from 500AD to 1500AD.

Philosopher's Stone - A mythical substance that people called alchemists spent their lives trying to make. According to legend, it can turn any material into gold and make people immortal, which means they do not die.

Young blood - Experts hoped that using young people's blood would trick older bodies into staying healthier. 

Jeff Bezos - The man on earth and founder of Amazon. 

Genetics - The study of genes. Genes are in every person and carry information that determines our traits.  

Prolong - Make longer. 

Motivate - Motivation is something that powers us to do something, or to carry on even when things get tough.