Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel explore ageing, longevity and the science behind our lifespans. Human life expectancy has increased steadily over the last 200 years, but we may be reaching a ceiling. Is this our biological limit, or could the next big scientific breakthrough push it even further? Might repurposing existing drugs help extend our lifespans? Our panel of researchers answers audience questions about the societal impacts of longer lives, our cellular ticking clock, and whether we can learn anything from the 400-year-old sharks of the North Atlantic. Panellists Lynne Cox – Associate Professor, University of Oxford Paul Nurse – Director, Francis Crick Institute Linda Partridge – Professor, Institute of Healthy Ageing, UCL Andrew Steele – Author of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/ageing If you have a follow up question about any of the episodes in the series, email us: aquestionofscience@bbc.co.uk A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute. © BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Professor Brian Cox and panels of the world’s top scientists and experts will be tackling your questions in a new series, launching 17 September. Can we cure cancer? How do you separate nutrition fact from fiction? What do climate change and the march of A.I. mean for our future? Could we live forever? Each episode is recorded in front of a lively audience and it’s their questions that drive the debate. Hear from the experts who actually know what they’re talking about, including Adam Rutherford, Helen Sharman, George Monbiot, Giles Yeo, Jeanette Winterson, Rory Cellan-Jones, Paul Nurse, Kevin Fong and You, Me and the Big C’s Lauren Mahon. With a focus on accuracy, openness, and debate, A Question of Science will bring you the latest on what we know, what we don’t, and where science might take us next. A BBC Studios production for the Francis Crick Institute, an independent charity and world-leading research lab.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.