Medical care over the past century has improved dramatically. As a consequence, the world's population is increasingly living long into old age. Is this having a harmful effect on societies across the globe, or are there more benefits than drawbacks? One obvious issue with an ageing population is that it can create enormous demands on a nation's health service. As people live longer into their old age, the chances of them suffering from serious illnesses increases. As a result, the likelihood of them requiring medical treatment becomes higher, and it becomes more difficult to provide care for everyone. A further downside is that living longer does not necessarily bring happiness. By this I mean, an older person is unable to do many of the activities that they want to do, leading to the likelihood of depression and a deterioration in their physical health. Having said that, one obvious benefit to people living longer is that young people can benefit for a longer time fr...