In researching my article on the biology of aging I found that, perhaps more than any other science story I have written with the exception of cloning, the distinctions between science, philosophy, and social policy kept breaking down. Sure, there is a lot of interesting research being conducted that is leading to an understanding of what the aging process is on the molecular and cellular level. Some of it may even be translated someday into scientifically validated anti-aging remedies.

But there is something inherently mysterious and psychologically disturbing about aging— something that even the best science cannot address. Aging, after all, is a process that leads inevitably to death—it is the long gradual on-ramp to our own demise—so it has uncomfortable connotations right from the start. That discomfort makes it hard to decide whether aging should be considered a “natural process” to be accepted with grace or a “disease process” to be attacked with every resource in the modern medical armamentarium.

Our varied efforts to cope with aging reflect our mixed feelings about old age. We claim to honor and respect our elders, and we celebrate the discovery of gerontological drugs such as those that help prevent osteoporosis. Yet, at the same time, the market in cosmetic deception is booming as unprecedented numbers of people opt for face-lifts, liposuction, and hair transplants. Is the cosmetic approach a shallow avoidance of reality or a valid part of the solution to our ambivalence about aging?

One pressing question for all of us, I think, is how do we want society to accommodate us as we age? This is a question especially relevant to baby boomers, who represent the single biggest mass of people ever to grow old together in all of human history. What responsibility does the government have to care for its aging citizens, and what responsibility do we have for one another?

And what about the private sector? I predict that the fledgling field of “gerontechnology”—whose aim is to develop new technologies that make life easier for older people—will be a booming specialty area in the next few decades.

Move over, Pasadena. Here comes the Little Old Lady from Silicon Valley.