COMING OF AGE – Coinciding with Positive Aging Week, on television, radio, online and in the RTÉ Guide, RTÉ presents a season which looks at the experience of growing older in Ireland.
In THE END OF AGEING, Professor Rose Anne Kenny looks at how and why Irish people are living longer than ever before; the social, biological and scientific changes that are increasing our life spans; and how Ireland is leading the way in the development of age prevention technologies.
Imagine for a moment that old age became a thing of the past. Would you say that this was science fiction? Today, for better or for worse, it would appear that eternal life may soon be a reality. The passing of years will no longer be the critical factor in dying. Of more pressing concern to Irish viewers is the fact that we are already living longer lives than ever before. Passing the 100 mark is no longer so unusual. And recent research shows that 50% of all Irish girls born in 2010 will live to be over 100 years of age. This is staggering when one considers that just a century ago life expectancy for women in Ireland was 36. So, what’s going on? Is ageing coming to an end?
THE END OF AGEING, a science documentary directed by Ruán Magan and presented by Professor Rose Anne Kenny (Professor of Geriatric Medicine TCD, Director of the Centre for Successful Ageing, St. James’s Hospital) takes an in-depth look into one of the most important issues facing modern Ireland. The documentary will explain what is happening in age prevention, show our audience how they can lengthen their own life spans and explain how some scientists now believe they are on the way to finding the Elixir of Life. In just a few short decades one third of the developed world’s population will be over 60. Imagine what that will look like. What is most interesting is that scientists believe that the increase will continue at the same rate. By 2040 we can expect to live to 104 – who knows what we might be looking at in the future?
Such power over life itself poses profound questions: What impact is it going to have on our futures, on our finances and on our societies? What plans should our governments and state bodies begin making to prepare for an ever-ageing population? Do people really want to live longer and suffer the inevitable weakening in their capacities? And is it morally right at this most essential level to transcend human fallibility?
Professor Rose Anne Kenny examines the latest scientific research into the ageing process. She talks to leading experts about the possibility that some of us living today might achieve what humans have longed for since time began: Immortality. If we focus on developing medical expertise, gene therapies, new technologies and other essential products and services, Ireland can become a leading player in what is set to become the great gold rush of the twenty first century. THE END OF AGEING is a visually rich, stylish and arresting documentary, filmed entirely on HD. The story itself is gripping and universal. It speaks to all of us.