"We found a normal developmental programme that works in young animals, but becomes unbalanced as the worm gets older. It accounts for the lion's share of molecular differences between young and old worms." If ageing is not a cost of unavoidable chemistry, but is instead driven by changes in regulatory genes, the ageing process may not be inevitable, he added.
There will be some serious problems to overcome with eternal youth. The first is who is going to get it. The rich only? Another concern will be population. Do you think people will just suddenly stop having kids? With eternal youth and a single planet to share things are going to get tight fast.
