Issue (WIWE) status: Submitted, Unpublished

Wild Card's progress: Fully-fledged

This Wild Card came from: 
European Commission Framework Programme for RTD

The theme/scheme related to this Wild Card: 
Theme 1 - Health

The sub-theme that best relates to this Wild Card: 
Research on the brain and related diseases, human development and ageing

Likelihood timeframe and scenario features : 
now-2050+

Wild Card's description: 

Revolutionary findings mainly in biotechnology not only understand, but also impede mental and physical ageing. The impacts on human society are immense, individually and structurally: e.g. people are confronted and overstrained at first with the idea of possibly living forever; besides, the extension of life inter alia neccessitates a transformation of social systems, especially the retirement systems. Security becomes much more important. Another important aspect might concern the rise of social conflicts and a further spread of social gaps, as new technologies that impede ageing might solely be affordable for the upper classes in the launch stage.