Europe Wakes Up to Aging

Abstract

With 20% of its residents currently aged 60 and up, Europe is outpacing the rest of the world in an elderly population boom. But it has neglected investigations into basic mechanisms of aging; these studies have historically received less funding than those on diseases of old age. Although the picture varies from nation to nation, research into the fundamental process of aging has gained priority status since the European Union's birth--but not enough, according to researchers in the field. A new E.U. program, kicked off last month, will back bigger science projects with larger piles of money, but the budget for aging-related research is still uncertain. The scarcity of money for studies on the fundamentals of aging stems largely from a lack of political interest in the subject.