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Philippe Leone/Unsplash The field of anti-ageing medicine has exploded in recent years as are translated into experimental therapies. The latest fountain of youth to gush from the lab comes in the form of vaccines against age-related conditions – , heart disease, and more. The first of these could be available by the end of the decade.

All-purpose anti-ageing jabs are also in development (see ). The upsides of such vaccines are clear. Anything that limits the impact of age-related conditions on people who live into old age – not to mention on the loved ones who often end up caring for them – has to be welcomed.



They also promise to make a dint in the increasingly debilitating societal and economic costs of these diseases. But as with all anti-ageing interventions, there are potential downsides too. If millions of people live significantly longer, we risk a population explosion on a planet whose resources are already overstretched.

If the vaccines merely delay the onset of age-related conditions, they will only postpone the burden on people and society. And as Nobel prizewinner told us earlier this year, a long-lived society is likely to be a stagnant one. Advertisement These are familiar fears.

The stock answer is that the goal is increased healthspan. That means people living for longer, free from the diseases of old age, then suddenly declining and dying. That’s the idea, at least.

We won’t know the outcome until the therapies have been rolled out at scale, at whi.

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