‘The Longevity Revolution’ by Bob Moos
March 27th, 2008
Copyright 3-23-08 Bob Moos, All Rights Reserved
10:09 AM CDT on Sunday, March 23, 2008,
Americans are living longer than ever. How can we make these extra years productive for us and rewarding for society? Mankind’s greatest triumph of the last century was not the mastery of flight, the invention of the computer or the recognition of rights for women and minorities. As huge as those achievements were, they were overshadowed by something more profound.
Over the past 100 years, humankind fulfilled the age-old dream to extend life, by making bigger gains in life expectancy than during the previous 50 centuries. In 1900, Americans lived an average of 49.2 years. By 2000, they lived to 76.9 years. Better public health, medical breakthroughs and health care reforms added almost 30 years to life and made old age more than a curiosity. And the best may be yet to come. Scientists expect biomedical research to lengthen life even more in the 21st century.