Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Russia has invested heavily in longevity-related research in the past couple of years.
A Russian talk show has ignited fresh debate after presenters declared that the country is moving toward pills that could keep people healthy to 120.
The claim, aired on the state channel NTV and cited by the Express came as Moscow continues to promote its anti-ageing research as a national priority.
According to the outlet, host on the programme The Meeting Place, Andrey Norkin, told viewers:
“Very soon our scientists will reach such a level of development in the pharmaceutical industry that there will be some sort of magic pills and all of us will live to the age of 120 years. We will live happily ever after and accumulate all kinds of good things.”
Putin’s hot-mic moment with Jinping
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese ditto, Xi Jinping, and news outlets quickly picked up on a seemingly private conversation between the two.
According to The Guardian, Putin told Jinping that “human organs can be constanty transplanted to the ectent that people can get younger, perhaps even immortal.”
Jinping allegedly replied that “by the end of the century, people may live to 150 years old.”
Government ambitions
Russia has been rolling out state-backed studies on ageing, framed as part of a strategy to reverse declining life expectancy.
Deputy prime minister Tatyana Golikova has repeatedly promoted the programme, saying researchers hope to produce medicines capable of rejuvenating cells by the end of the decade.
In September, Novaya Gazeta reported that the Russian Science Foundation had supported 43 projects in fundamental medicine related to aging – a steep increase from the seven projects supported from 2016 to 2020.
In comments made in May, Golikova said: “Towards the completion of the project, our scientists expect to receive and start using medications that can rejuvenate ageing cells and restore their functions.”
Sources: NTV broadcast; Russian government statements, Express, Mirror, Novaya Gazeta, The Guardian
