The transmutation of the elements, space travel, and the elixir of life were three problems which perplexed the old Alchemists. All these concepts were once thought to be fundamentally impossible. Science has overcome many of the problems of transmutation, space travel seems not at all unlikely, but the secret of eternal youth still eludes us.
Tonight's programme shows how biologists are researching into the possible control over human ageing and also what medicine is doing now to make the lives of old people healthier and happier.