Medical breakthrough extends average life expectancy 25 years

Medical breakthrough extends average life expectancy 25 years

Steen Jakobsen
Chief Investment Officer

Samenvatting:  Young forever, or for at least a lot longer. In 2022, a key breakthrough in biomedicine brings the prospect of extending productive adulthood and the average life expectancy by up to 25 years, prompting projected ethical, environmental and fiscal crises of epic proportions.

See all predictions

In search of slowing the natural process of aging, researchers have been studying the processes at the centre of how we age from multiple angles and with a growing arsenal of advanced technologies, from therapeutics to “prime editing” at the DNA level. The year 2022 sees a major breakthrough from a multi-factor approach, as a cocktail of treatments is put together that tweaks cell-level processes in order to extend their life and thus the life of the organism composed of those cells. It’s not cheap, but it’s effective and has already been demonstrated on laboratory mice containing human DNA, extending their lives some 30% and more. The implication for humans is the possibility that average life expectancy can be extended by 25 years or more, and with it the incredible prospect in the future that age 80 will be the new 50. Not only that, but this future is open to older humans too as the new fountain of youth treatment can slow and even rejuvenate already old cells. 

Not only do life expectancy improvements come via longer life, but also through reduction and even elimination of most human diseases—from heart disease to neuro-degenerative disorders—many of which are responsible for the decline in health and productivity as we age. This is made possible by the prime editing of DNA approach, which doesn’t rely on new cells via division but actually rewrites existing cells. 

The prospect of a massive leap in human quality of life and life expectancy are huge wins for mankind, but bring an enormous ethical and financial quandary. Imagine that almost everyone can look forward to living to an average age of 115 and more healthily. What would this mean for private and government pensions, or even the ability or desire to retire? And what about the cost to the planet if it is set to support billions more people, not to mention whether or not there is enough food to go around? And then there is the ethical question of whether it is humane to not make the cocktail available to everyone. In short, how would our value systems, political systems and planet cope? 

See next 2022 prediction:
The plan to end of fossil fuels gets a rain check

Beleggen kent risico’s, uw inleg kan minder waard worden. 

De informatie op deze pagina is niet bedoeld als individueel beleggingsadvies of als een individuele aanbeveling tot het doen van bepaalde beleggingen. De beloning van de auteur van dit artikel staat/stond/zal niet direct of indirect in relatie (staan) met zijn specifieke aanbevelingen of standpunten. Ondanks het feit dat Saxo Bank alle zorgvuldigheid in acht neemt bij het samenstellen en onderhouden van deze pagina's, en daarbij gebruik maakt van bronnen die betrouwbaar geacht worden, kan Saxo Bank niet instaan voor de juistheid, volledigheid en actualiteit van de geboden informatie. Indien u zonder verificatie of advies gebruikmaakt van de verstrekte informatie, doet u dat voor eigen rekening en risico. Aan de informatie op deze pagina's kunnen geen rechten worden ontleend. Saxo Bank is een handelsnaam van BinckBank N.V.. Beleggen brengt risico’s met zich mee. Uw inleg kan minder waard worden. Meer informatie over de specifieke productrisico’s kunt u lezen op de productpagina’s.

Saxo België
Italiëlei 124, Bus 101
2000, Antwerpen,
België

Saxo België, handelend onder de naam Saxo, is het Belgisch bijkantoor van Saxo Bank A/S. Primair onder toezicht van de DFSA. In België geregistreerd bij NBB en onder toezicht van de FSMA en NBB.

Neem contact op met Saxo

Select region

België
België