I was browsing a copy of New Scientist in the supermarket today and realised that I actually have a feature in it, having completely forgotten that it was coming out this week!

This one’s on the fate of the oldest old – people aged 100 or over. This is one of the fastest rising demographics in the world and their numbers will surely swell even further with ageing populations and advances in modern medicine. The feature looks at what happens when people reach these extreme ages and what happens to them when they do.

It ended up being surprisingly optimistic. Far from being a helpless drain on society, there’s growing evidence tha ta substantial proportion of centenarians lead fulfilling and independent