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Throughout history, thousands of people have searched for a magical liquid that could make humans live forever.

Today, we have given up the search. But we do have the next best thing: medicines that can make us live longer than people in the past dreamed of.

This week saw the arrival of a new medicine that many scientists are calling a turning point. It is a medicine that could slow down Alzheimer's - a type of dementiaA syndrome associated with memory loss and other declining brain functions. .

Dementia affects many people. It changes the brain. People with dementia often cannot remember things.

There is still no way to stop Alzheimer's or reverse it. But the new medicine slows it down.

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It is one of many amazing new medicines that scientists once thought were impossible.

But others are worried. They say that curing all the world's diseases might not be a good thing.

DiseasesIllnesses, they say, are actually very useful things. They play a big role on Earth. When there are too many members of one animal species, diseases bring the number back down again.

If we could get rid of all diseases, people might live much longer lives. This could be a bad thing for the youngest people on Earth.

Yes! Human beings have always dreamed of a world without disease. This new medicine is proof it is possible. Maybe one day we could even live forever.

No! Wonder medicines do not exist. We can never get rid of all the Earth's diseases. And we should not try to.