Forever young: The science of disrupting death and growing old gracefully

Unwilling to grow old gracefully, tech billionaires are battling against the inevitable. Sean Smith looks at how biotech is attempting to stop mortality in its tracks

A major anti-ageing breakthrough is anticipated in the next decade (Tom Ford)

Heart disease, strokes, cancer and dementia are the four horsemen of our apocalypse. But instead of fighting them off individually, a burgeoning biotech sector is waging war on the scheming general that sends them all into battle – old age itself.

Not content with transforming the way we live, tech billionaires are planning to disrupt death by stalling the rate at which we age. By teaming up with Yuri Milner and investing in cellular rejuvenation research at Altos Labs, Jeff Bezos has recently rejoined the crowded field of silicon valley giants who are trying to hack our biology.

Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel and Oracle’s Larry Ellison are already there while Google was a characteristically “early adopter” – establishing its anti-ageing subsidiary, Calico, back in 2013.