Can We Live Forever? – A Question of Science with Brian Cox

Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel explore ageing, longevity and the science behind our lifespans.

Human life expectancy has increased steadily over the last 200 years, but we may be reaching a ceiling. Is this our biological limit, or could the next big scientific breakthrough push it even further? Might repurposing existing drugs help extend our lifespans? Our panel of researchers answers audience questions about the societal impacts of longer lives, our cellular ticking clock, and whether we can learn anything from the 400-year-old sharks of the North Atlantic.

#longevity #ageing #biology

Panellists

• Lynne Cox – Associate Professor, University of Oxford
• Paul Nurse – Director, Francis Crick Institute
• Linda Partridge – Professor, Institute of Healthy Ageing, UCL
• Andrew Steele – Author of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old

In this episode

0:00 What's this series about?
3:20 What's this episode about?
6:26 Can we imagine living for 200 years?
11:23 Can DNA tests predict our lifespan?
13:40 Why do we research ageing?
26:07 Can we copy the immortal jellyfish?
30:16 Is there a link between diet and ageing?
35:25 What does an ageing population look like?
38:33 How can we increase our healthspan?
41:40 Do genetics or environment matter more?

A Question of Science

A Question of Science is a groundbreaking series of panel discussions where experts from different fields respond to your questions, sharing the scientific perspective on society’s most pressing questions.

A Question of Science is BBC Studios production for the Francis Crick Institute.

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