The Guardian view on ageing: the science of longevity is advancing | Editorial

New discoveries about our bodies are emerging. But we need care as well as research to cope with ageing

Increased longevity is a triumph of modern medicine and health systems. In the UK, life expectancy has risen by about 25 years in a century - from 56 for men and 59 for women in 1920, to 80 and 83 in 2019 (since when it has slightly fallen back). While this extension is often taken for granted, rising interest in the science of ageing reveals an awareness of the challenges as well as the benefits that getting old, and being old for longer, can bring.

Last week, a paper in the journal Nature Aging offered evidence that humans do not age steadily, but in bursts. Molecules and microbes in samples from participants showed that big changes occurred in their mid-40s and early 60s. One example from the 40s was a reduced capacity to metabolise alcohol - a finding that will come as no surprise to middle-aged people who have cut down on drinking, after finding it no longer agrees with them.