The richest billionaires in the world can use their wealth to prolong their lives, and live far longer than the average human. Scientists fear they will live forever.
Experts argue that impressive advances in anti-aging research could mean that humans in the future will be able to live much longer than they do today. But of course the treatment of 'eternal life' requires a very expensive cost that is not affordable by most people.
This means super-rich people like Tesla owner Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Google founders and presidents Larry Page and Sergey Brin, could be the first to get this new innovative treatment.
Utrecht University bioethicist and professor Christopher Wareham says these scientific advances could exacerbate all kinds of existing inequalities that we already have.
"Suppose we have some kind of vaccine for an age-related pandemic. A very expensive anti-aging innovation will have the potential to exacerbate all kinds of existing inequalities," Wareham said as quoted by the Daily Star.
Wareham added that this inequality could be a proven predictor of the future, namely the rich will get richer, as billionaires will have more time to enrich themselves.
"The longer you live, the richer you will grow. The richer you are, the more political influence you have," says this aging ethics researcher.
Wareham's fears may soon come true. The world's wealthiest people, including Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have in recent years invested heavily in companies researching ways to extend human life.
The progress of anti-aging research in recent years has grown rapidly. Scientists have had a series of breakthroughs that can identify biological and environmental factors that can cause us to age, including damage to our DNA over time, and proteins that don't behave as they should in our bodies.
In April 2022, scientists found a way to reverse some of the physical signs of aging and "reprogram" the skin in a group of people aged 38 to 53. The results of this test, some of them reported looking 30 years younger.
The technique doesn't damage cells, and the researchers say they are even able to restore some of the functions that have been lost in older cells.
Scientists have also recently discovered that certain cells seem to drive the aging process and can cause diseases that become more common with age, such as cancer. Studies conducted on animals have shown that removing these cells can slow down the process.
Dozens of companies are currently researching ways to get rid of these cells in humans, one of which is Unity Biotechnology which received substantial financial backing from billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, believes that humans may be able to undergo "everlasting life" treatments by the end of this year.