every year on Lindow island in Germany
dozens of Nobel laureates come to meet with hundreds
young scientists
its Rafah so many laureates to gather like this
so I'm taking the opportunity to ass and big questions about the state
have medicine today to try to get
picture hard
we're all getting older but which this is going to live
for how long with all these nobel laureates around I'm really keen to find
out what the secret is to a long and healthy life you can't afford to
preserve every line
we don't have enough money I'm the problem is that
and money
is up here
do you think it is possible
for us to continue expanding our life spans
I i'm maybe naively optimistic about this
but I believe that the way that technology is
advancing I think it's quite possibility maybe not in our lifetimes
bird and certainly for our grandchildren perhaps
as early as that you agree I mean it depends what you mean by extending life
than
I guess I feel like we are expanding our life span but
midnight in an extremely if you like
people are staying healthier bit longer more people will live a bit later
but even people with the disease is end up dying
indir early hundreds but they and so there seems to be something in the
organism
that like a concert love air Effex
of things that start breaking down in changing and that means that we can't
relive
much more beyond that at least not as we understand eating today
of course we don't understand that much about it through a hotel maybe who knows
and should we be trying to live longer the think that's aware the aim
well it depends I don't think the focus should be on that alone
I think we should consider balance between
being years to live I'm in like two years
way that balances very very fast it's where the goal
only if we can make sure the people live healthy for a long time that you can
keep working you can
to be active we don't need several billion more
sick people I'm sure that society could benefit from having more
healthy people in their later years that I've had experience in life to have a
lot to contribute to society
but not any cost I think but the prospect of living beyond a hundred
is exciting and shit as many people as possible should be doing
a I E believe so I think I can only really benefit
science and medicine and the group that's increasing a lot now is the
eighty five-plus
and that's something we shouldn't most about them
so they think that we should try to make it possible to live for longer
but only if it's also a healthier life for how long
is today's world population anyway it was a presentation at this year's
meeting
that caused a bit of a stir so the laureates
told them you will put questions but I we put questions to you
about global have his the first law you can use this device to answer a BNC
what if there were life expectancy of the world population today
is it fifty sixty or seventy year please answer
a be or seek about life expectancy
you answered let me see are
you I like sweet this is the right answer
you see why you think that population will each
because life will be longer because you don't know how long they
already or the best way to know something about the future to start
knowing about the press
so I got that totally wrong
I met up with hans Rosling to get some more
insight into the demographics about aging world
I was surprising to me in the lecture at the world population
the average life expectancy is seventy and
is not growing in the way that we had understood
it has grown on me the world has been
immensely successful in the morning early death
especially among Jim today Bangladesh
have a life expectancy said and they
constitute be every inch of the world this
is not know any said at its not communicate women's thing that life is
that he will continue
that's the way the medical science presents the data is that it has grown
and it will continue to increase
we think might expect increased like 10 years
unit said that's not so much who died when you are seventy
or a it's not so much big difference the big difference is that they child
mortality down
we do thinks million children out on the 135
ball with changing now is that be eat enough the world population
is driven by something it was been longer night
but even scientists haven't because they aren't limited
into their area research beat cancer be
immunology you know be be blood diseases
so I explain it like this look here I
took these cups from the breakfast a mini this is the World Cup image
art to billions one to
to billions be known fifty there is to billions 15 to 30 $1 billion
3245 one 25 to 60
and this is Micah sixty as a No a
bisbee I mean here so this is the world population to make seven billion people
why are these miss is it because they die
no me but never Paula because
back then when I was born they were much less women giving birth
know what will happen in the future the be change
that mean HD more but the nation is this
the old ones not me die
soon only probably some we would
the rest and you also you company today
at you grow older keep years older and
that would be chill the polled I'm the rest
more all good and helped him
the or die and the rest to order
and have children you see life didn't get them in on
children didn't get anymore the number two in the stopping
but we've got three billion more in the world because the children
the extra children that existed have just aged they can live their lives hmm
when they had and up the population pyramid not you can see there's a much
higher proportion
1 p.m. the average each long that there is a good news for people like me
there will be no longer life
but the longer life with not add more than possibly one billion
however in between had among the in
the most privileged in the region's countries that's why they also the
obsessed by living longer and longer but the big thing in the world
why in the world would have more diabetes more cardiovascular more cancer
is this in the pacific and that it will be a heavy burden
threatens don't shrinking at the book at 89
Nobel laureate Oliver Smithies is I suppose part of this
older elite I wondered what his take was on this
aging world what do you think the challenges are all
having a globally aging population the difficult one
can we afford tutoring
some conditions that are extremely expensive country
that don't have enough benefit you have through
by the bowler and I'm the border Terriers
some treatment to win spent with the
the room or and so we can't afford as a community
too painful and and similarly i spose
hans Rosling was making the point that that not only some treatments but for
some people
I shouldn't spends treatment should be offered in other people that should be
prioritized
yeah I'm afraid it'd means taking mucho
for whom you have two people wanna my huge that to Moodle
require a Kenyan might say and the person who is a
50 the 50-year-old had a better call em
than they now and the 89-year-old you not more likely have a life expectancy
of it very much
maybe it might give me a year more with the 50-year-old in like 40 years mall
very dangerous territory that was the net well it's not being truthful
has to be a pain mean we have to be realistic about
with them that's the trouble we r realistic about it was a sentimental
mood say everybody has a right to life and
film which is true bud you can't afford to preserve every line
we don't have enough money I mean how would you feel if the focus medical
science ships
and we not fixing any longer on this cup how does what does that mean to you
3 things have happened in my life
when I was 13 years old I got cancer with me test disease
testicular cancer I want the best treatment of the time in here I'm
sitting 66 years old
that was terrible I'd to newly born children
and I was going to die in the mid love life losing your parents
at age for that's horrible for China then
my wife and I lost a child from congenital malformation the first day
that is deeply Krejci to ten to twenty years people we could talk about them
and then my dear father got outside I'm already at
age 67 no so the kids really never
had a grandfather he was what I've lost and then he died on to blow through
three things the first was
and the worst was cancer at age 30
the second-worst was losing a newborn the third-worst
was losing the grandfather at that tremendously deep
the order that you put those events n you think that's
connects to the order that you prioritize you prioritize middle
me to love life and childhood and then which
family wouldn't agree with me by American signs
should not be guided up to the all
up he when we still have so much problem down here
take care of the middle that go for the children
anything resources are there then take the
one other contentious point has been put to me is
their people who are reaching beyond 72 the eighties and nineties
that they are not a priority focus that is if we're choosing between
and and somebody in their eighties and some in the fifties having a kidney
transplant
for sure it should be the person in the fifties now Haiti thing as be fallacious
thinking because yeah if you'll make the person at fifty survive
again you oldest person to also take care of them later
if you just have everybody survived 65 and then you like
you're on your own guys you can die now I mean what kind of society is that and
I think that
violates basically any ethical standard scientists and physicians
whenever we would have you can't just say we have to choose between the
50-year-old San 85 you know it's it's not like that
and best part is the part the medical science is tackling
what the students here at this meeting I really yes
the problem is that the money is up here
you know and the researchers when they want to be applied have to go to where
the money is
and that's like no longer live in the bleachers company among the in need is
an attractive
subject to or youthful so it's fascinating to me that the
older scientists we've spoken to are concerned with helping the younger
people to live longer
and the younger scientists and talking to a really interested in
aging in helping aging population
aging affects is all will all lose loved ones and possibly become infirm
ourselves
clearly biomedical science can make a huge difference
but aging is in a disease like cancer it's inevitable
and maybe how we deal with this reality is as much a personal social and
political question
as it is a scientific one
are
the new we're here in line now with 37 nobel prize-winning scientist
600 young researchers 12 them sponsored by Mark people want to hear all about
the five
mark has been doing what the great thing about coming to linda is that we get to
spend time with sites is rock stars
you aware that you're in the presence of greatness the more that we can find ways
of engaging some of the finest minds in the world
to helping of soul somebody's Grand Challenges
but there's gotta be some great stuff well
all the things we do is we liked for lunch where we basically spent time with
the young scientist response to come here and tell a little bit about
the con the company that we are kind of work that we do and why we passionately
believe that these
great scientists should consider coming to compete like
mars for a lifetime Korea in from sites that will make the world a better place
best part really is that you get actually meet these young scientists who
will look at you in the eye and say
this is the best week of my life
to submit the Nobel laureate and have a conversation that is a gift
so we have a sites breakfast which is the opportunity for us to
host a discussion around very meaningful area
research healthy aging so helpless Blackburn
who won a Nobel Prize in this field and we put her together with a group of
young scientists in the form facilitated by ourselves
let's think about the huge amount years that human lives are
rate so I'm a little scale bar for you on this high-tech
thing here this is a time scale what's the lot next to a life spent over
worm it goes from here to here right other fruit fly from he is he in %uh
things get a bit better
okay let's go all the way up to a mouse alright
keep going keep going okay we've got up to kindergarten
we've got decades and decades at life so the Suns breakfasts are always
great from highly interactive and a really good way to have meaningful
debate
in an area of public interest but also interest or so we're in middle age he is
a baby somebody's getting some diabetes now
I mean that's the thing it's not just the life span this perhaps years have
living with chronic disease
I think you get the point right I'm just constant be struck by
how we have to be thinking in terms of enormous time scales that
these things I the world is going to be facing
aging population we're all gonna get older and there's gonna be a lot more
about us who are all
how do we deal with that helping young scientists realize that they can work
with somebody in realize it
these are problems that the world has to solve and
business and science can do it together
I think the private sector can play a real role because
the solar research that can be done by company that isn't necessarily related
to just the
Courtney bottom line is the kind with its complementary to what governments
confirmed
recognizes a good example of that so we got 37
nobel laureates here just over six hundred young scientists them
if we can play a role in catalyzing sum up the magic happening between those two
groups of people then
we go away very happy do
in