For centuries, humanity has been searching for ways to live longer, resist diseases, and generally have a happier life. Throughout the centuries, people thought that the biggest challenge to discovering the secret to immortality is knowledge. According to one scientist specializing in this field, however, it’s the lack of funding that’s to blame for why humans are still dying of old age.

The scientist in question is Aubrey de Grey, who is arguably one of the most enthusiastic minds tackling the matter of aging in the world, Futurism reports. What de Grey wants to achieve, above all else, is to give humans eternal life. To this end, he co-founded SENS Research Foundation and became editor in chief of the publication, Rejuvenation Research.

Researchers belonging to the Foundation are conducting studies at the Mountain View, California’s SRF Research Center (SRF-RC). There, the scientists try to cure the body of aging at the molecular level as well as develop advanced rejuvenation technology. Although much of their work is still proof of concept, their projects do hold promise.

Unfortunately, there are still many obstacles that the researchers need to overcome, the biggest of which is the lack of funding. As de Grey said, there are always money shortages that slow the rate of progress.

“The most difficult aspect [of fighting age-related diseases] is raising the money to actually fund the research,” de Grey told Futurism.

It’s the age-old quandary that has plagued the scientific community since the dawn of time. No money equals no advancements. That’s why the most successful societies in history are those with a thriving scientific and technological industries.

With regards to the fight against aging, the problem is particularly acute. The best example of how skewed research funding distribution is, a recent report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that $5.5 billion went to cancer research compared to the $52 million allocated for researching amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

This kind of discrepancy is exactly what prevents scientists like de Grey from solving the ultimate illness of humans. It’s why immortality is still so far out of reach.