As each generation goes by, their expected lifespan can be assumed to increase a little bit more.

Just think about it. One hundred years ago, the average global lifespan was around 32 years, with an average of 45-54 in Western countries.

One thousand years ago, life expectancy was between 30 and 40, across the board.

Nowadays though, we’re lucky to be able to hope to live to around 73 years, with people in the US living to around 79 and those in the UK looking at an average of 82 years on this planet.

And that’s all thanks to the huge advancements we’re making every day in medicine and healthcare, as well as better nutrition and living conditions.

Across the world right now, researchers are working on preventative treatments and cures for all sorts of health conditions, from those that cause immediate mortality, to minor medical inconveniences.

That’s exactly the case in the Philippines, where medical researchers have developed a vaccine that could ward off stomach ulcers – and in doing so, they could help to prevent stomach cancer too.

Caused by a bacteria known as Helicobacter pylori that lurks in the stomach, an overabundance of these little bacterium can lead to chronic inflammation, which then leads to stomach ulcers. And if you leave it too long, it can cause stomach cancer too.

The new vaccine is still in early development, but it would be welcomed across the world.

According to a recent research paper, which was published in the journal BioTechnologia, things are looking good in the development of this future vaccine:

“This study identified highly conserved sequences from five H. pylori virulence factors – HP-NAP, OipA, SabA, HopZ, and urease. All selected virulence factors achieved population coverage greater than 90 percent, indicating strong [immune] response potential across most populations.

Among these, HopZ demonstrated the highest predicted population coverage across all three evaluated regions, suggesting the broadest [immune] response and the greatest potential efficacy for vaccine development against H. pylori-induced diseases. In future studies, it is recommended that further steps, such as molecular docking, be employed to refine epitope selection and finalize vaccine formulation.”

Of course, this vaccine still has a very long way to go before it can prevent stomach ulcers and potentially save lives; it’s still in early development and is nowhere near clinical testing yet.

But if it turns out well, it could be the next step toward a healthier population with even better longevity.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.