https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#mediaviewer/Fi...
The effect continued past the large effects of hygiene, antibiotics and child vaccination. You may argue that the curve is clearly asymptotic, and that a maximum age genetic barrier is clearly visible. You can't argue, however, that there isn't real progress after antibiotics and hygiene.
This type of barrier is typical of technological evolution. We do strain a technology until returns are minimal, and only then sidestep to the next level of evolution. Steam machines were mechanical wonders before the combustion engine. Valves were amazing right before the transistor made an entrance. Current "corrective medicine" will reach its peak right before "manipulative medicine" enters the fray.
we are seeing a resurgence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, though, and we have no new lines of antibiotics to fight them. These advances may only be temporary.
We don't develop such, due to the broken way our pharmacy research is done.
It makes no sense for pharma companies to develop antibiotics due to low ROI and lifetime of the product. A better approach for this is government to fund researchers for areas that private sector has abandoned.
yeah, like Ebola research funding done by the government ? That was an efficient model.
but surely we've been accumulating knowledge and engineering abilities that will enable progress in those areas. It may enable the progress just by being a stepping stone. That is a kind of progress. (Note that I'm not saying we've been accumulating these as fast as we could have been).