GETTY Is immortality achievable?

Aubrey de Grey, a biomedical gerontologist with the SENS Research Foundation – a firm which “develops and promotes rejuvenation biotechnology” – says that humans will one day be able to live forever and points to the progress humans have made in the last few centuries. In the 1800s, the average lifespan was around 40 years old, compared to today where it has almost doubled. Thanks to the advancement of modern medicine, science has beaten many infectious diseases and wiped out what killed off humans early. While death is considered a natural part of life, there is no reason why we should die, aside from the fact that at a certain point in one’s life, in the 20s, the regeneration of cells is outpaced by the death of cells, leading us to ageing.

GETTY Death might soon be a thing of the past

However, Mr de Grey believes that if we keep making the same progress as we have been doing in recent times, it will only be a matter of time before scientists conquer degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and heart disease. Mr de Grey said at the technological Inman Connect conference: “There’s almost one thing that kills everybody now in the developed world. “It’s the accumulation of these various types of molecular and cellular damage that the body does to itself as a side effect of just being alive at all.”

GETTY Aubrey de Grey

Mr de Grey says that his research has led him to the conclusion that molecular and cellular damage will one day be a thing of the past thanks to regenerative medicines such as stem cell and gene therapies coupled with drugs and vaccinations. The 53-year old Brit criticised the modern pharmaceutical industry for focussing its efforts on delaying diseases, rather than beating them. He continued: “We will not cure cancer this way. We will not cure Alzheimer’s this way.”

He explained that companies pursue the current avenue because “it can be done reasonably quickly, sold for a lot of money and because people are desperate for anything.” Mr de Grey: “I think it’s really important to understand that the relationship between quality of life and quantity of life is not as most people think about it.

GETTY The key to eternal life is beating diseases like Alzheimer's

Medical conditions caused by high blood pressure Wed, September 7, 2016 There are several life threatening medical conditions and diseases caused by high blood pressure. Often they do not have any symptoms so it is a good idea to regularly check your blood pressure and keep it under control. Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 10 Diseases caused by high blood pressure