efforts to combat the indian variant of covid ramp up in england ahead of lockdown restrictions being relaxed tomorrow. i am confident that we can take this step tomorrow, but we should all be careful about how we take that step. so you ask me about eating indoors with people. it's still safer to eat outdoors rather than in when the weather allows. a young child has died and two people have been seriously injured after a gas explosion at a residential area in heysham in northern england. there was significant damage to the houses. at least two have been destroyed and a third is significantly damaged. as a consequence, a number of people have been injured. tragically, a young child has been killed. and fancy a job as a live—in officer at a medieval castle on a remote island?

st michael's mount is hiring. now on bbc news, can tech turn back time? click meets a community of biohackers who believe they can use data to stop ageing in its tracks and live on to well beyond 100. this week... ..we meet the biohackers... ..the super—agers... ..and the brain trackers... ..to find out if tech really can stop us from getting old.

welcome to click. we're outside again. great to see you in the flesh again. and you. i can't believe it. no matter how long it is since i've seen people, as soon as i see friends and family again, it's like we've never been apart! yep, too right. although this time round, i think everybody�*s really gone for it with their hair, since the hairdressers reopened. i don't know what you're talking about. i tell you what, though, it is true that we've spent so much time apart in the last year that when we do see people in the reals, you really notice the difference. my parents can't believe how much my kids have grown since they last saw them. and that's kind of what we're talking about today — the fact that even though we're all getting older on the outside, there are ways to stay younger on the inside — by hacking our health. now, if you're anything like me, you may be using an activity tracker to log your exercise. but at the moment, we're just scratching the surface of the data that's hidden inside our bodies. aside from exercise, there's genetics, sleep, diet — so many other lifestyle factors that can really make a difference. and there are some people who believe if we can unlock this

complete picture of our health, then we might be able to stop or even reverse the ageing process. instead of talking about lifespan, we're now talking about health span — the desire to stay as fit and healthy as possible for as long as possible, even though the years are ticking on by. though the years have been clocking up on this fine frame, my chronological age, therefore, is a7, but there is something else called a biological age, which is the age that you are inside. now, i've had that checked. have a guess at the results. um, 21? now she is just taking the mickey. let's find out. king's genomics centre, part of a world—leading research university in london, and where i'm discovering the secrets in my dna. so, james, a few weeks ago, i spat into a tube and posted it to you. you're welcome. my epigenetic age is... "44.1. not too bad! yeah, so your biological age

isjust basically seeing how your cells are ageing, and various things such as your diet, how much stress you're under, how much sleep you're getting. it's a nice barometer to predict your future health. my genes didn'tjust deliver one age, though. muhdo uses artificial intelligence to trawl through 850,000 different biological markers to deliver different ages for different body parts. for example, my eye age is 53, but my hearing age is 43.7. and the key thing that scientists now know is that although your genes do set you on your life's course, they are not set in stone. your genetics will underpin most of your predispositions, so they'll give you a positive or a negative. whether that actually comes into fruition is up to you, really, because you flick on these genes with your lifestyle environment. the company has run tests with some 2,500 people, but more research will be needed to take some of its advice

from anecdotal evidence to scientific fact. if you want to reduce your memory age, then dancing is quite good, apparently. i've got old eyes? carrots. we've always been told that carrots are quite good for us and that's actually true. have you ever seen a rabbit wearing glasses? now, whether you go the full bugs bunny or whether you samba your way to better brain health, this is about building a personalised picture of health. what works for me will not work for you and vice versa, but we'll be able to actually pinpoint what your diet needs to look like, how much stress you can be exposed to, what pharmaceuticals you can and cannot take. we can pinpoint them exactly, specifically, to you. so "ok, i'm going to try to go to bed maybe an hour earlier. "i'm going to go for a walk in the morning. "what's that going to do to my biological age?" so it gamifies genetics. muhdo has partnered with king's college london, where experts say that our biological age isn't fixed. and, in fact, it doesn't have

to progress injust one direction. the ageing, or biological score, is malleable. the risk of getting an age—related disease such as diabetes can be increased or decreased, based on your lifestyle. and that's led some people who i've met in the past to suggest that we might be able to stop the ageing process altogether. most notably aubrey de gray, who famously suggested that within the next century, we might be able to extend our lifespan by hundreds of years. we develop ways at the molecular and cellular level to repair the damage that the body does to itself throughout life. there's a lot of talk about stopping the ageing process or even reversing the ageing process. sure. towards the end of my lifetime, probably, i think we can have immortality, if you're willing to pay for it. now, genetic trackers are not the only testing tool

to help counter ageing. another company has analysed things called glycans in my blood. these have given an idea of the age of my immune system. in this case, we are looking at sugars on immunoglobulin, which is the most abundant antibodies, so it's a key weapon in our arsenal in our immune system. now, you've measured my biological age at 20. i was flattered for a few seconds and then i thought "no, "that can't be right!" a 40— or 50—year—old can have a much younger glycan age, and that's really good for you. if you're talking about grey hairs or skin, then i would use a different clock for that. 0k. now, all of these different numbers attached to different bits of my body are leading me to think we are using the wrong word here. do you think it's helpful to actually use the word "age"? the word "age" in its own right must be taken in context of how we are using it. a biological score would be a more sensible way

of thinking about your age. and the fact that you can change your biological score is very positive. it's not all doom and gloom — "i am set to be old and "decrepit at a certain time in my life". this can be slowed down or even reversed. whatever your personal measurement is, scores like this could flag impending ill health, with studies spotting that a change in your glycans could signal coming arthritis, cardiovascular disease or diabetes up to a decade before onset. 0ur dataset is really good, so it is 150,000 people, some which we've followed for 20—30 years. it's a warning where you can still do something about it and prevent it. and just a small warning — a good score now doesn't give you a free pass to a healthy future. so it changes — it's not something that is going to stay the same throughout.

and this is a way for you to know if something particularly works for you. now, i think i'm going to take some of my results with a pinch of salt — just a pinch, though, because that's not good for you either — but there are those who've been tracking their data for more than a decade in an attempt to delay the inevitable. hi, i'm tim. i'm 42 chronologically and 25—32 biologically. i run one of the largest biohacking communities in the world from london. that's the form there. most things i track every day, where possible, but some things i track on a monthly basis, such as certain blood tests. actually, can we use the right one? i started doing this because i got chronically sick, so i took it upon myself to start researching ways to optimise my health. i've had epigenetics tests, immune tests, hormone tests. you can see how you compare to the general population and you can have professionals look at your data and notjust rely on your own subjective experience.

i start my day with natural light — blue light when there is not natural sunrise. i currently track around 50 points of data a day. a health ring, which tracks my deep sleep, rem sleep, light sleep, heart rate variability, resting heart rate, respiratory rate and body temperature. i also have one of these. if my heart has been stressed through the night, i know to have a recovery day and take it easy. whereas if my vitals are strong, then obviously i will push on and work out harder. blood tracker. i track my blood glucose using a constant glucose monitor and what that does is it tells me my response to certain foods, so i can actually personalise my nutrition. some people think it might be extreme, having something in my arm all the time, but for me living a happy, healthy life is more important than peoplejudging me for having a few bits of tech. this is my daily supplements here. my digestive supplements. this is my back—up drawer — my dishwasher. it is really about being the ceo of your own health. there may not be double—blind studies behind some of these things, but remember,

all science is evolving. some things do work long—term, some things don't. hyperbaric oxygen therapy really does help the body heal and repair properly. so there is much more pressure in here, which means we dissolve more oxygen in the blood. it gives me extra mental clarity and ifeel very zen in it. you wouldn't even know that anything was happening. 0ccasionally, your ears pop a little bit. if i have stuff going on and i need to chill out, then i do meditate. sensory feedback helps me relax. it's like the perfect balance between nature and technology. some may say it's a contradiction of terms, needing to use technology to unwind, but the point is most people use technology to unwind already — think about netflix. a typical evening for me consists of blue—blocking glasses, red light when you don't get to see sunset, going digital—free and really having some time to myself. there is such a thing as too much data. you can drive yourself mad

tracking too many points. stress is bad for health, obviously, so letting go a bit is also important. if you're not sleeping well, track that. if you're bloating, track your gut bacteria. it can become a hobby, admittedly, but it is really important that you do the things that you need to do for you. some of my colleagues would like to live to around 180. i want to die as young as possible, as late as possible — that's the goal. hello and welcome to the week in tech! it was the week royal mail announced trialling autonomous drones to deliver drones remotely from mainland uk to the isles of scilly. elon musk tweeted that tesla will no longer accept bitcoin as payment for its vehicles, due to climate change concerns. and after a year of being iphone—only, audio—based social networking app clubhouse became available to android users in the us. drivers are suffering petrol shortages as a result of a ransomware attack on a major

oil pipeline in the united states. a cybercriminal gang called darkside has forced colonial pipeline to shut down the main part of its network, causing the price of petrol to go up to its highest level in nearly seven years. the uk government launched its new 0nline safety bill, which outlines ways of keeping children safe, stopping racial hate and protecting democracy online. it received criticism from campaigners, claiming the bill was too vague and fines too low. and finally, if you want to understand cats, yes, you've guessed it, robots! a group of researchers from osaka university have developed a four—legged robot which reproduces the neuromuscular dynamics of cats so precisely, they can now study the locomotion of the robot, instead of experimenting on living, moving animals. what a purrfect way to protect our feline friends! how to extend your life is a famous

obsession here in silicon valley. and the answer may be found in so—called super—agers. i am beryl voss, and i'm 88 years old. she is a picture of health. twice a week beryl volunteers here at a food hall for san francisco's hungry. i've got to be honest, when i first saw how old beryl was i was shocked, and thought perhaps it was a typo on our database. this is a joy because it isjust 12 blocks down the hill to work. she is a keen hiker and has a boyfriend. he is younger, he is only 77. they might call me a cougar, i guess. beryl is part of a study into why people like her have aged so well and what science can learn from her. joel kramer is overseeing that research. we have already seen really significant gains in longevity over the past 20—30 years.

the increase in health span, though, hasn't really kept up with the increase in lifespan. in silicon valley, problems always have solutions, and ageing is just another problem. the general goal of these companies is pretty simple — try and work out why we age and then produce a product that will prevent it, or at least slow it down. much of the research is focused on identifying the things that are common amongst the very old and very healthy, and then replicating them. they already are humans who are living to like 100 plus in really good health and we are trying to figure out what is different about those people at the molecular level to help the rest of us age better. where you have these very large datasets, i feel like human datasets too, and you are taking this agnostic approach where you are not saying "0h, we know for sure it's this one "particular biological pathway," we are saying we don't know, we are just going to let

the data tell us. bioage labs is still in its research phase, it hasn't released a product yet. however, there are companies in the health span field that have products on the market right now. elysium health is a company based in new york that makes dietary supplements. its product, matter, is aimed at slowing down brain ageing. the problem is the brain shrinks after you reach a certain age. elysium claims their products can prevent the brain from shrinking, and its efficacy is based on a study at the university of oxford looking into why brains reduce in size as we get older. there is established data that says that matter will really be helpful because there is nothing else out there that people can take that really works. however, the product is a combination of b vitamins and omega 3, which have both been readily available for years. what's new here is the dose, it's higher, and the right

combination of b vitamins. and as for anyone claiming a health span miracle drug, joel kramer says he is sceptical. i think i would call it premature science. we are a long ways away from being able to identify any of those molecules, so any companies that are out there touting the efficacy of some of these compounds are really selling you a bill of goods, it is more snake oil medicine at this point. now we are working on a trip to new zealand in february, a 3.5—week hiking trip. we do know lots of things about why some people live longer and healthier lives than others. but many of the answers may not surprise you. probably the strongest recommendation is to choose your parents very well. in other words, get lucky and have really good longevity genes. anything that is good for your heart

is going to be good for your brain, so a heart healthy diet, heart healthy lifestyle, physical exercise is really important. silicon valley is trying to distil why people like beryl are so active at nearly 90. but at the moment, her wonder drug is still good genes, exercise and a positive outlook on life. my secret? i don't know, friends, people, nature, everything i love. i want to be like that at 88! forget all about hacking and implant stuff we saw earlier on the show, i just want to age well. come on, don't you want to be a cyborg? i would love to be a cyborg. oh, i'm not ready for that. now, tech to stop us ageing is all well and good, but today there were 125 million people aged 80 or over, and many of them are already living with age—related illnesses. get up and sometimes have a cup of tea in bed. and wash and dress, have breakfast,

probably go out for a walk, if this lovely weather continues. and just enjoy life. meet 89—year—old eileen. she is one of 50 million people around the world living with alzheimer's or another form of dementia. to aid her independence, eileen�*s family, who live some distance away, have had herflat fitted with sensors. these track her movement and her use of the kettle and fridge. mum had a good night last night, we can see from the graph. she did, yeah, i can see that, the last couple of nights i noticed there was more frequent and close together visits to the bathroom. eileen�*s family and care team use the data to make positive changes, like moving her clock to prompt her to make cups of tea to stay hydrated. we are already looking at a bed sensor and potentially a special cup

that will detect whether someone is having enough to drink. it's about providing intelligence, not data. you can get so many different devices that willjust stream out lots of data because ultimately what people want to know is reallyjust three things. is mum 0k? has something gone wrong that i need to respond to immediately? is something changing over time that i could look at and create a better care outcome for her? like this bio—dose pillbox, filled by a robot and then checked by a pharmacist. it tracks the medication being taken out of it, an alarm goes off if the dose has been missed, and if it is still not taken, a loved one can be alerted. but striking the balance between care and privacy can be challenging. the sensors are there, but i am not aware of them all the time, just the secure feeling that i am cared for, and that there is always

somebody there for me. it's so great to see technology help patients and their families. and when it comes to those living with dementia, a new brain analysis tool could help provide earlier diagnosis and even potentially assist in creating better drugs to help. jen copestake has been finding out more. using tools to monitor patients remotely has become more pressing since the coronavirus pandemic. a collaborative study called radar—ad aims to help see how alzheimer's patients can be monitored in new and improved ways. one of the assessment tools in the study is an augmented reality app called altoida, which is showing spatial navigation and memory function. it works by asking the person to choose three virtual objects and place them around a room. they then have to remember where they placed the objects, what order it was and what the actual object was. device: go to where you want

to place the heart. _ as well as this memory test, off—the—shelf technology like fitbits and cameras are being repurposed too. this is a medallion camera that the participant wears around their neck, it captures digital photographs on a cyclic basis. so it doesn't take constant footage but it does provide valuable contextual information. while alzheimer's is not a movement disorder, gait analysis trackers can gather useful data points. two go on the instep of each foot and the final one goes on the right hip. we know that as cognitive decline worsens it does cause changes in walking patterns, so they might suddenly change direction or stop because they are not sure where they are, they've realised they are going in the wrong direction. in the uk, over 850,000 people are living with dementia. do you want me to run through the instructions again briefly? normally dementia is diagnosed through a series of paper memory tests in person with a doctor.

but these tests lack nuance and can be learned by the patient over time. john and his partner richard are here in crowborough hospital in east sussex testing a new app called cognetivity, which aims to prevent this. so if you see an animal, you're clicking on the right side of the screen. john has recently been diagnosed with alzheimer's disease. there were many verbal tests and number tests. i am used to people respecting me and not asking you silly questions. to be in that position, i think, was difficult at first, really. instead of lists of questions, the app flashes rapid images. each picture is either an image of an animal or not an animal. the user indicates their choice by pressing the left or right side of the ipad screen. as it cannot be learned, the test gives an objective analysis of the patient�*s neurological state,

even when repeated multiple times. what the test does is use rapid visual categorisation. it looks to see how quickly the brain can process complicated information. is it always an animal or a landscape? it is always an animal or not an animal. and that is a very important aspect of the test, because the human brain is very finely tuned to be able to pick up on animal stimuli. the use of this will make it easier to assess larger numbers of patients, but more importantly it speeds the referral process and results in early diagnosis and early treatment for patients, which is exceptionally important. another possible way to remotely measure cognitive function is through brainwave analysis. headsets like this one from belfast brainwave bank could be used at home to track changes in brainwave activity. the eeg scanner connects to a smartphone app to record and analyse data. as subtle changes in brainwave activity can be observed up to ten years before symptoms of dementia present, these technologies could be

vital in early diagnosis. and the more individual data that is collected could feed into bespoke treatment plans and drug development. wow, what a show! i feel a bit younger just from watching it. do you? i'm actually feeling a bit concerned i haven't been doing the things i should have been doing for anti—ageing. come on, if you haven't been doing them, no—one has! listen, go and do them this week, i'll see you back in your box next week. that is all we have got time for this week, though. as ever, you can keep up with the team on social media — find us on youtube, instagram, facebook and twitter at @bbcclick. thanks for watching and we will see you soon. bye— bye. there will be a few pleasant sunny

spells at times today, reasonably warm in the sunshine, but we are dodging the downpours yet again across many areas, even where you started with some with some sunshine today, cloud will build, you may find a heavy and thundery shower heading your way. some quite gusty winds around, possibility of seeing hail. all this low pressure tracks across wales and england as we go through the day and this is where we will find not a huge amount of sunshine, even around the showers into this afternoon, and the bright colours on the forecast indicate where some of them could be heavy, slow moving as well, for the most part light winds so they hang around for a period of time. northern ireland and the central belt and northern scotland, some sunshine, the chance of catching a heavy shower, not everybody will. these are the winds, fairly light although gusty around some of the showers, but the strongest winds from the english channel and channel islands. and temperatures 12—15 for the most part, just along

this north sea coast. the showers will be around still this evening and well into the night across the eastern side of england before eventually fading as the area of low pressure moves away. it is becoming mainly dry after midnight, but a cloud out towards the east, low cloud, hill fog, clearer skies in the west. some rural spots down into low single figures. low pressure is on the way out, close enough though along with this weather front to give us showers during monday so as that front drifts eastwards we will start with dry weather, a mixture of cloud and sunny spells, showers, heavy and thundery, will migrate eastwards leaving western areas dry and sunny by the end of the afternoon and temperatures are no higher as we go through the week ahead. on tuesday, some patchy rain, cloud into northern scotland, drifting further south, showers developing elsewhere, some of the heaviest ones

across the southern half of england and wales on tuesday. then, as the week goes on, wednesday looks to be quieter, more places staying dry, but the potentialfor some not just wet but very windy weather coming our way on thursday and friday.

hello. you're watching the bbc news channel with ben brown. the health secretary, matt hancock, has urged people to be careful. mr hancock also said it was "quite likely" this variant will become the dominant strain in the uk. some restrictions in wales and scotland are also being relaxed from tomorrow. here's our political correspondent helen catt.