Join Nobel Laureate, Venki Ramakrishnan, to question whether mortality is an inevitable part of human existence.

Watch the Q&A here (exclusively for our Science Supporters): • Q&A: In search of immortality — with…
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This lecture was filmed on 9 April 2024 in association with Digital Science.

Buy Venki’s book ‘Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality’ here: https://geni.us/LgdVG3Y

The inevitability of death has haunted humanity throughout its history. Belief systems have risen throughout human civilisation to rationalise and console the concept of death, from the afterlife envisioned in Abrahamic religions to recurrent reincarnation in Eastern religions.

However, there is a growing sense of optimism in our contemporary era. Thanks to a stark revolution in biology, our understanding of the ageing process is progressing rapidly. This includes comprehending why some species have such a great lifespan compared to others and poses the question of whether we as a species could overcome the clutches of disease and live for more extraordinary lengths than ever thought possible.