How would you spend £1 million to tackle ageing?

March 1, 2010

The world population is ageing at an alarming rate: the number of people aged 65 years and older is set to double to 1·3 billion by 2040, and soon threatens to overtake the number of children younger than 5 years. Last week, an author, a scientist, a philosopher, and a policy maker gathered at the Wellcome Collection, London, to propose new approaches to manage the UK’s ageing population. Speakers were limited to a hypothetical £1 million, forcing them to pinpoint major priorities: neurodegenerative diseases, social exclusion, quality of life, and the need for specialist care. The use of “viral” systems, in which specialist nurses and volunteers could be trained to teach large numbers of carers and achieve cheap, effective, and widespread improvements, featured highly. (The Lancet)