The Future of Old Age
The Guardian examines ongoing gains in life expectancy: "following the health of 20,000 people for almost a decade [showed] that disability among the elderly was not only dropping, but it was doing so at an ever-increasing rate.
... We have people living now who are older than we've ever had. The question is whether we've done anything about the ageing process or we're treating diseases more effectively. People in their 70s are healthier than they were 50 years ago but, on the other hand, I don't see, unless we do something about ageing, that, 20 years from now, a 70- or an 80-year-old person will be any healthier than they are now. ... quality of life for the elderly will never improve dramatically until scientists look further at the mechanisms behind, rather than the symptoms of, ageing."
Link: http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,,1725973,00.html