Is this a bad idea? Scientists say that they are close to finding a cure for ageing. Some worry about what this could mean for the future.
Crystal ball: the year they abolished old age
Is this a bad idea? Scientists say that they are close to finding a cure for ageing. Some worry about what this could mean for the future.
What's happening?
Everything is in place for the great party. There is just one problem: how to fit 150 candles on the birthday cake.
So far, no one has lived to see their 150th birthday. But one scientist thinks this might soon be possible.
Nir Barzilai thinks a cheap medicine called metformin could add many years to people's lives.
Find out more
Today, people are already living longer than in the past. But some say that there is little point in living for many extra years if we are not healthy.
Some think doctors should focus less on helping people to live for longer, and more on helping them live healthily.
And others worry that if a new medicine existed that could help people live longer, it might be only rich people who get to take it. Meanwhile, if there are more people alive, it will put more pressureForce, or something that is making life more difficult. on the planet.
Is this a bad idea?
Yes! This is a terrible idea. If a new medicine let people live to 150, the world would become very overcrowded.
No! Who would not want to live to 150, and see what amazing new inventions and technologies are created in the future?
Keywords
Pressure - Force, or something that is making life more difficult.
Crystal ball: the year they abolished old age
Glossary
Pressure - Force, or something that is making life more difficult.