Turn Back Time

Dr Jonathan Seah remembers watching as a young boy The Six Million Dollar Man, a television series from the Seventies about the world’s first bionic man. It tells the story of United States Air Force colonel Steve Austin (played by Lee Majors) who, after a Nasa test flight gone wrong, is rebuilt with superhuman strength, speed and vision.

“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology,” Seah says, putting on his best impression of Harve Bennett, who narrated the series’ intro. He reverts to his regular voice: “But really, it’s true: we are living in a time where we have the technology.”

In recent years, and with astonishing speed, the subject of body optimisation through emerging medical treatments has transformed from the stuff of sci-fi fantasy into promising reality. Doctors, and subsequently their patients, are optimistic that a rise in new technologies will enable people to live healthier, more fulfilling lives at any age, with a broader push for positive thinking around seeking longevity that is at the heart of what is being described as the “pro-ageing” movement. As the global population is generally living longer, couples are also choosing to have children later in life and more people are seeking to