The era of longevity is almost upon us. But can our minds really keep up?

A post-ageing world is just around the corner, says longevity scientist AUBREY DE GREY, and it’s going to change the way we live

- AUBREY DE GREY

In the past five years, longevity has undoubtedly become one of the most important fields in science. People have become fascinated with the idea of turning back the arrow of time and are pouring billions into it. Worldfamous names such as Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman and Mohammed Bin Salman are all in on it: and it's quite possible that truly comprehensive rejuvenation - what I termed "longevity escape velocity" some 20 years ago - is now only 10, maybe 20 years away.

But what will a post-ageing world look like? When you hear about longevity from pioneers like me, we normally highlight the fact that hardly anyone will be afflicted by the health issues that currently beset the older generation. But that's not the whole story.

Many people still cling to the irrational notion that ageing is some sort of blessing in disguise; that death gives meaning to life; that longevity is a hubristic pursuit for the super-wealthy.

There's no use rebutting these concerns, as my colleagues and I have been doing for years. The truth is, people are scared of getting their hopes up. The belief in the inevitability of our decline and mortality is so inculcated that it takes too big a leap of faith for people to celebrate the science that we are seeing in the lab.

The fact is, once the research succeeds, our present idea and understanding of death will vaporise overnight. Once that particular dam bursts, it will burst very, very suddenly. It demands, therefore, that we ready ourselves as a society for this shift.

Wisdom of the ages