Wellcome 48d ago

People around the world are living longer than ever before. But how can we ensure those extra years are healthy ones? In this episode of ‘When Science Finds a Way’, host Alisha Wainwright explores the science of ageing. Professor Dame Linda Partridge explains how growing knowledge about ageing could lead to more personalised medicine, while Professor Mika Kivimäki discusses new ways of measuring the “biological age” of our organs to predict disease risk. The episode also looks beyond biology. Shamita Sharmacharja, curator of the ‘Coming of Age’ exhibition at London’s Wellcome Collection, reflects on how changing society’s approach to ageing could help us all live better for longer. Mentioned in this episode and further reading: Hallmarks of ageing: an expanding universe (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36599349/) Biological organ ages predict disease risk decades in advance, Mika Kivimäki , UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/feb/biological-organ-ages-predict-disease-risk-decades-advance) The Coming of Age Exhibition, Wellcome Collection, running until November 2026 (https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/the-coming-of-age) 00:00 Guest introduction: Professor Linda Partidge 03:23 'The Coming of Age’ Exhibition at the Wellcome Collection 06:51 How we think about ageing 09:52 Ageing’s “equity issue” 12:57 The biology of ageing 18:31 How our organs age 25:35 The challenges of researching ageing 31:40 Steps for healthier ageing 35:28 The future of ageing 🔔 Subscribe to Wellcome on YouTube: https://wellc.me/3Blh0c1 💬 SOCIAL MEDIA: Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/wellcome-trust/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellcometrust/ Follow us on X: https://x.com/WellcomeTrust Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wellcometrust.bsky.social/ Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellcometrust 🔗 MORE FROM WELLCOME: Wellcome is a global charitable foundation. We want everyone to benefit from science’s potential to improve health and save lives. Read our latest stories, opinions and reports: https://wellcome.org/news-and-reports Learn more about our work: https://wellcome.org/what-we-do Find our latest funding opportunities: https://wellcome.org/grant-funding