Mood:
d'ohTopic: Longevity
Life expectancy has changed dramatically in a century.
In 1908, half the UK population was dead by 60 and in 1948, when the contributory state pension was introduced, half the population was dead by the age of 72.
Falling mortality rates, as a result of advances in science and medicine, mean the average UK man and woman can expect to live into their 80s, perhaps even to the age of 100, but what will the quality of our lives be like?
And will we have to resort to more and more drugs to keep us alive?
The longer we live, the more prone we are to chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer.
Drugs can help control and reduce the symptoms of these conditions and increase our longevity, but the danger is that we will come to rely on them too much.
Full Story from BBC
