A short time ago, within 2 centuries, society’s worries were wars, pestilences and famines, usually intertwined. Life expectancy was half of what it is today because death was earlier due to some of these causes.
Today, medicine, supported by other sciences, has managed to control pests, so that in 1979, one of the most feared pests, smallpox, was declared extinct. Likewise, famines are no longer a universal concern, especially except in the most isolated places on the African continent. Obesity is already a greater concern for medicine than hunger.
Wars have changed their appearance and today, although localized wars and terrorism have emerged as a new form of global warfare, the effects on human life are minimal.
Argentina had more deaths from plague at war with Paraguay than at the front, and even a yellow fever epidemic from the front killed 15% of the population of Buenos Aires.
The development of preventive medicine has been rapid and essential in increasing life expectancy. The evolution of doctors’ training, along with specialization, allows them to know the various components of the human body in more detail.
Vaccinations are a barrier against pests. However, globalization means that international alert programs are maintained today, especially after the recent Covid pandemic, which, although it started in faraway Asia, arrived here in a very short time and caused many deaths.
This recent epidemic has seen a positive synergy between medicine, science and technology, with very rapid responses in the implementation of preventive measures such as screening tests and vaccines.
Obviously without it, the consequences of the epidemic would have been much worse.
Since the development of equipment for imaging the human body, technology has advanced significantly in its contribution to medicine, becoming a fundamental tool in the early detection of serious diseases, allowing timely, rapid and accurate diagnoses.
And the story continues, we can now talk about telemedicine, remote surgery and other tools. Death has now become a technical problem.
You also hear gurus predicting immortality along with the emergence of artificial intelligence and its use to extend life. This seems like a problem with no easy solution.
Human genetics is complex and has precise and precise cycles that would require many studies that are missing today to change them.