00:00Something extraordinary is happening on planet Earth.
00:05Human beings are living longer than ever before.
00:12From Japan to Africa, from Europe to South America,
00:15more people than ever before are living into their 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond
00:21in what many scientists believe to be the most radical change since human civilization began.
00:28The world's population is changing more rapidly than at any other time in our history.
00:34According to the UN, the number of older people trebled between 1950 and 2000
00:40and will treble again over the next 40 years.
00:46In just a few short decades, one third of the developed world's population will be over 60.
00:52Imagine what that will look like.
00:55Here in Ireland, the same incredible transformation is underway.
01:00Half of all baby girls born this year will live to be over 100.
01:05Some scientists believe that this is just the beginning.
01:09That in the not too distant future, we will be able to halt aging entirely.
01:14There should be no limit on how long people can live.
01:17Human technology has taken the reins of evolution, so to speak.
01:22It's tremendously exciting in the field of genetics because you can make a mouse that lives 50% longer
01:27and at that age it doesn't look like it's an old mouse, it looks like a young mouse.
01:31In Ireland, scientists, doctors and sociologists are trying to understand the processes affecting our age
01:38and what implications they will have for our future.
01:42Never before in the history of mankind have we a society where so many people have the privilege of living into old age.
01:49It's either what they call a burden or a bounty and we're at a stage now where to a large degree we can influence which outcomes we have.
01:57Having a significant number of older people will have a huge impact on the way society works
02:03and it will force us to ask a number of fundamental questions.
02:07Do we want to live longer?
02:09Can we afford our pension and healthcare system?
02:12What will the third age mean for you and for me?
02:16Radical changes will be necessary, but if we plan and manage this correctly,
02:22our later years could be our best years.
02:26We'll be right back, shall we?
02:27CONVERTATION
02:32GROUP
02:37TO END
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